If you are new to working from home, this may be a struggle for you at first. It is so easy to get off track, lose productivity, or even overwork yourself. This is bad especially when it reduces your opportunity to destress and spend time with the family.

If you are not sticking to your work schedule. You can really put yourself into some very stressful situations. This may cause your work to not be very good. You may find you are having to work later at night to make up for the lack of productivity during the day, or you may find that you become overwhelmed.

Sticking to that work schedule at home is very important for your job security, the ability to continue to work from home, and your own sanity.

How do we stick to a work schedule when working from home?

Here are some amazing tips to stick to your normal work schedule at home. These tips and strategies will help you be productive, reduce your work stress, and help you balance your work-home life.

Keep the Same Routine.

Being consistent and following a daily routine will help you stay on schedule. Just become you are not at the office, does not mean you can or should alter your daily schedule.

Sure, the day will be a little different, obviously. You no longer have the commute and you are not around fellow employees that may interact or distract you during the workday.

But if you are suppose to work from 9 am to 5 pm, then that is the same schedule you should stick too.

The time that you normally would commute, you could use that to exercise, or possibly spend time with your family or relaxing.

Start at the exact time, which in most cases the companies will require anyway, and make sure you end at the normal clock out time.

Another key here is to actually get out of bed at the same time, do your normal morning routine, take a shower, go for a walk. Keep it as is.

Set Boundaries.

This can be hard at first. But this is very important if you can achieve it. Of course, having little kids may make this a little difficult, but if you have a spouse that is regularly home as well, you can work with them to come up with a plan.

You need to ensure that you have boundaries set when you are working. You do not want to be consistently interrupted during your most productive times during the day.

Over the course of a day, that interruption may be damaging to your productivity. This is not what we want.

The overall object here is to make sure that everyone in your household understands when you are working and they should not bother you or be distractive during this time.

Once your roommates or family members learn to understand this and when things are in place, working from home is rather pleasant, and sometimes there are fewer distractions when you are working remotely.

Create A Comfortable Work Space.

Your workspace is a pretty important part of making your workday a pleasant one. Sure it would be nice to work from bed, on the couch, or even out on the back porch. However, it is important to have a place where you can go to be productive and a place you have designated to be your workspace just as you would at a desk in your office.

The best way to accommodate a comfortable workspace and have the ability to close off the rest of the home and its distractions is to dedicate a room for your home office.

This will make it easy to escape other family members, create the ambient work environment you need, and be a quiet perfect setting for those video meetings.

Take Your Breaks & Lunch.

This can go in with the set the routine bucket above, but sometimes, people miss this, even when they are in the office. These breaks or lunch hours are very important for your workday.

Not taking those breaks will catch up to you. It will make the day longer, you will become droggy and less productive as the day moves on.

Taking your breaks have some advantages. First, it will allow you to “checkout” for a bit. It will allow you to reset and refresh your mind. You can take this time to relax, or perhaps, do something around the house like throw a load of laundry in the dryer.

Secondly, it will allow you to break up the day and make the day seem shorter. Lunchtimes are fantastic. Not only can you grab a bite of your favorite food, but it is great for your mental state. Normally at lunch, you know you are halfway done with the day, so if that doesn’t make you feel any better not sure what will.

No Phone, No Television, No Social Media.

All three of these things can put a major dent in your work from home productivity. All three of them need to be put away to reduce the distractions in your work space.

The phone – This could also fit in the set boundaries section above. The phone should only be answered if there is an emergency or if there is a call related to your work. You should set boundaries with your friends or family that may know you work from home. Let them know what your normal work hours are and that they should only call you if it is an emergency.

Social Media – this one is a real productivity sucker. It’s easy to scroll down your timelines on your phone or on the computer. Don’t just stay away. you have to be self-discipline here.

Shut the Tv Off – This may not be for everyone, however, it is a major distraction for most. It is a focal center point that will capture your attention at times and drag you out of your productive zones. It’s best to just turn that off right from the start. If you need background noise to work. Then check out the next tip.

Turn On The Radio.

Some people need sound, while others need silence. Sometimes you may need a bit of both. But having music playing in the background from your radio, iPhone, iPod, Echo, or other, may just be the thing that gets you through the day.

This may also drown out other “noises” in your home so that you can stick to your schedule.

Take a 5 Minute Stretch Every Hour.

One thing I found to be an issue what how into the work I would get when working from home. This is especially true when I have set those boundaries with family members, eliminated the distractions, and created my comfortable workspace.

Getting out of your seat and stretching for a few minutes will go along way in your day. It will allow you to stay productive throughout your workday and not get too uncomfortable in your office seat or where ever you are working.

Self-Discipline.

This is important. You will have to push yourself to be true to your work. You will have to be strict with yourself. This is key to not getting distracted or occupied with things that are not relevant to your work.

Shut it down.

And lastly, probably the thing that some of us who work from home struggle with the most. We fail to shut down when we are supposed to. You need to be strict here. If you are following a routine daily, this will help you shut the computer down when the end of your shift is complete.

This at times is hard to do. You may lose track of time or maybe in the middle of a project. It doesn’t matter. Shut the computer down and check out. At this point, it is time for you to decompress, and to spend time with your friends or family. You need to check out of work so that your home life isn’t ruined by your work life.

Let it go, get away from your computer and live your life.

The post How to stick to your work schedule at home appeared first on Remote Working Geek.