Help! I Want to Work, but the TV is Right There: Routine to the Rescue!

    Have you recently transitioned from working in an office to a remote position at home? If so, your house has probably undergone a renovation. However, this renovation did not change the structure of your home; instead, it changed how you think of and view your living space. So, what sort of renovation am I speaking of? The conversion of your living room or bedroom to a home office, of course! In appearance, this conversion may be subtle. In practice, your productivity can be seriously impacted by your ability to stay focused on work matters in the same space you binge Netflix in your pajamas.

    According to a survey conducted by Statista regarding the challenges of remote work in 2020, 47 percent of employees cited managing at-home distractions as their biggest challenge to working remotely. This is probably not surprising to you. When working in an office, you don't have the option to stop what you are doing and nap in your bed or finally take care of some household chores you have been putting off. In an office, temptations are often out of sight and thus out of mind. In your home office, an opportunity to procrastinate is available everywhere you turn. So, you may wonder, how can you minimize these distractions and create a home workspace conducive to getting work done? Well, you are in luck! FBTB is here to explain the most essential and straightforward strategy to make your home workspace work for you!

Create and Stick To a Routine/Schedule.

    

    In an office, you must clock in at a specified time, take your lunch at the same time each day, and complete certain time-specific tasks throughout your day. This helps to structure your workday in an easy-to-follow fashion that becomes routine. When working from home, you may be afforded more flexibility that allows you more autonomy and control over your work day. This flexibility can be either a gift or a curse, depending on how you handle it. As anyone who has ever struggled to pick something to watch from the sea of endless content on streaming services can tell you, sometimes too many options can be paralyzing.

    To combat the phenomenon of having too many choices about how to structure your workday, it is best to create a routine that suits your needs. This will probably take some trial and error as you figure out what works for you. Ask yourself when you are most productive? When should you take breaks, and for how long should you take them? Should you start early in the morning or in the afternoon?

    Once you have tried many configurations of your day and have found what works for you, stick to it! If you allow yourself to break from your routine regularly, you will likely be less able to stay focused and end up procrastinating. Showing up to an office forces a routine to become second nature. When working from home, you will be in charge of making sure you stick to routine. This will be easiest after you have consistently adhered to your schedule for a time, as you will no longer have to think about it as much! 

Make sure to check FBTB regularly for more tips on minimizing distractions when working from home!