Working From Home: Staying Motivated!

We all have our days when we’re tired, unmotivated, and just don’t want to do any work. Hello, Monday? It’s the worst feeling! People in the workplace have no choice but to get moving though, as there are co-workers and employers to look over their shoulder and who would notice a sleeping employee!

Not true for those of us who work from home. Without anyone to see what we’re up to, it is easy to get off-task and surf the internet, dawdle over the morning paper with an extra cup of coffee, call it quits early, or even crawl back in bed! We need an extra dose of motivation to be successful working at home! So how do we deal with this challenge? Here are some ideas from which to pick and choose and create a plan that works for you and your personality!

Pinpoint Your Goal. Why do you work hard? Is it to support your spouse or kids? To make your self-owned business succeed or get a promotion? To be able to take a long vacation, save for college or buy something special? There are a thousand reasons why you might want to work hard, but only a handful which will get you excited and motivated to keep doing your best. Think about what you want to achieve and even write it down to look back on when you hit a slump.

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Create an Inspiration Board! Place a bulletin board on the wall above your desk and tack up motivational quotes or pictures that remind you of why you want to work hard. Each time you get distracted, your eyes will eventually fall upon that inspiration board and you will remember why you should get back to work and enjoy working hard to achieve your goal.

Dress the Part. Lots of us who work from home enjoy doing work on the couch in our pajamas. It is so easy to roll out of bed and over to our computer when we don’t have to shower and dress up, but this isn’t the best way to get energized. Think about whether dressing the part would help you to wake up, get refreshed, and find extra energy.

Connect With the Outside. If you have co-workers or teammates who work in other places, get together for periodic face-to-face meetings. You’ll feel a stronger connection with the co-workers and be influenced to do your best.

Find a Motivation Partner. If you know someone else who works from home, collude with each other to get inspired. Send each other an email on Monday mornings, reminding the other why they should be excited about their job. Make plans to work hard all week and then reward yourselves by going out for drinks on Friday. Pick up the phone when you can’t find that inspiration, and ask them to help motivate you. If you have someone keeping you accountable and reminding you of your goal, it will be easier to succeed!

Take a Break. Don’t forget that when you just can’t pull yourself out of a slump, you sometimes just need a breather! Although you can’t be constantly taking breaks, you do need to create time just for you, so that you can recharge and reconnect with your goals and inspiration. When you get back to work, use that extra enthusiasm to move forward with extra energy!

We are all different and enthused by various kinds of motivation. What works for you personally to keep yourself excited when you’re working at home without being surrounded by co-workers? I’m sure there are a lot of other great ideas out there, so share what you’ve found to help you on those days when you feel uninspired!

what keeps you motivated when working from home?