People have this imagination that working from home is great.
You don't have to wake up early in the morning like when you have to go to the office because
if you are late, you might lose your job.
You have to dress up appropriately and then get stuck in traffic who knows how long it
will last.
But the reality is entirely different.
Working from home is way difficult because you are simply going to get lazy, especially
if you keep waking up at random times.
Why go to bed early when you don't have to wake early in the morning.
Your discipline is going to fade away.
And I am saying that purely based on my personal experience and anyone else who worked from
home would tell you pretty much the same thing.
Because working around the same time, dressing up, and having some morning routine is an
excellent way to keep yourself motivated and productive.
But since we are all stuck in this quarantine.
Many us are losing the motivation to do anything and aren't used to work from home, we are
getting lazy.
Whether you have to work from home or want to keep yourself motivated, here are few tips
that I would like to share with you that have been helping for years to stay motivated while
working from home.
Start with a task completed.
I have been working from home for years already and I have tried different ways to keep myself
both motivated and productive but what I never took seriously is making my bed first thing
in the morning until I came across the speech by Admiral William H. McRaven at university
of Texas back in 2014.
It might seem like a small and insignificant task, but by finishing one task, it will motivate
you to do another task that I have experienced personally.
When you wake up and check your social media first thing in the morning, it gets much more
challenging to get up and do something, whereas when you complete a small task such as making
your bed, it sends a message to your brain one task is compelled and its time to move
to another task.
So one task completed will soon turn into many tasks completed.
2.
Second, Drink 2 cups of water and Get some fresh air
Do Not jump directly into working, prepare yourself first.
Because if you do not, what might end up happening is that you turn on your computer.
You start to procrastinate, you might turn on Netflix or YouTube, and next time you check
the time you realize that Hours has already passed.
So, first get yourself hydrated by drinking 2 or 3 cups of water.
Remember, you are made out of water so not drinking water for 7 or 8 hours is going to
make you feel lazy.
So a simple method to motivate yourself is to get hydrated.
But as a living creature you need some fresh air, usually I just go for a little jog in
the morning.
Your body needs that.
Being locked down in one place can easily lead to depression and anxiety.
But if you really can't leave because of this quarantine, at least open your window and
breathe for a few minutes to get some fresh air.
But to be honest, I believe that even in the middle of this crisis, people should be encouraged
to go for a little jog at least.
It will help us to stay active and spend this difficult period a bit more wisely instead
of just lying on the bed the entire day.
The point isn't to run for an hour until you get yourself exhausted; the purpose is to
change your environment and get yourself into working mood.
So I usually jog for 15 or 20 minutes at best every morning.
3.
Workout in the morning
And if you want to get the best out of it, follow it up with a short workout routine.
I am not a big fan of working out in the morning, because it drains out your energy and will
power that you suppose to spend on more pressing matters.
But, `your body needs to move and stretch after 8 hours of sleep.
You know those days when you spend the entire day just lying on your bed, you start getting
lazier and tired whereas if you get up and do something, you start getting more and more
productive.
So working out or at least stretching and doing some lightweight workouts would encourage
you to get more done.
And don't forget to shower in the morning, even Elon Musk said that showering could have
the largest and most positive impact on your life.
It might sound like an exaggeration, but it helps anyway, so don't miss it.
4.
Next, Dress up as if you are going to work What I also practice and you might have heard
other people suggest it is dressing up as if you are going out.
The purpose is to trick your brain into thinking that you are ready to work.
If you wear the exact same clothes, you were sleeping with or usually wear at home.
It pushes your brain to think that you are at home, and you suppose to relax.
But dressing and preparing yourself as if you are going to an office would trick your
brain into imagining that its time to work.
It really works!
Try it out!
5.
Fifth, Have a separate workplace
I remember when I moved to a different city.
I rented a studio since I wasn't planning to stay there for long, after a week or so,
I realized that I started getting lazy, I felt like I didn't want to work.
So the next day, I decided to work at the local Starbucks, guess what happened?
That feeling of laziness disappeared.
I don't think it has much to do with Starbucks coffees but I started getting lazy because
everything I did was in one single room.
I slept, worked, and even had food delivered to that studio.
Don't be surprised that you are lazy if you aren't leaving your room at all.
And that's why going for that morning jog in the morning is essential.
I am convinced that separating your sleeping place from your working place is going to
have a significant impact on your motivation.
6.
Clean up your desk the night before you go to bed
To keep myself motivated to work starts way ahead of the morning, the night before I go
to bed.
I am not sure about other people, but personally, I feel like I am more motivated to work when
my room, office, desk, or the place I work is clean.
But I don't like cleaning up first thing in the morning because it takes a lot of willpower,
and I would love to put that energy into a more important task.
So before I go to bed, I make sure that I clean up my desk so the next morning, when
I get out of the shower and dress up appropriately, I can start tackling important tasks.
7.
make a short to-do list of your most essential tasks.
However, the thing is that not every task is equally important.
Some are much more important and urgent than others.
And some tasks can wait another day or two or even a week.
Before I start working, I make a shortlist of 2 to 3 most important tasks of the day.
These tasks are so important that if I accomplish them within the day, I would consider the
day to be successful such as writing a script for a video, it takes hours and hours of research
and work.
But if I do not, the day is wasted.
So I would start working on them, first in the morning.
And the goal is to accomplish at least 2 of them by afternoon before having lunch.
It is afternoon, and I have already accomplished so much.
You have no idea what a strong psychological impact it has on me to achieve even more throughout
the rest of the day.
But to do that, I wake up at 7 am and start working from 830 to 12 pm with short breaks
in the middle but zero distractions.
I even keep my phone in a different room.
8.
Work with teams Here is another thing I found out that keeps
me motivated, is when I work with teams, when other people are dependent on me, when their
work can't be accomplished without mine.
It forces me to get the job done in order not to leave my teammates down.
Take an example of this channel, when I started, I didn't know what I am doing.
I would procrastinate on making videos, but then I hired graphic designs and animators
to help me with the process, I can't procrastinate.
I have a deadline to meet since my teammates are dependent on me.
So whatever you are doing, try to create a team around it or join a team, a great team
would inspire you.
Many of these tips might not seem to make a huge difference.
Individually, their impact might be limited; however, self-improvement or progress is about
making small changes incrementally.
If you are freaking lazy, chances you will suddenly get motivated and productive like
Elon Musk overnight are really low.
But what you can do is to start implementing these tips to gradually keep your self motivated
to work.