How to Make the Most Out of Working From Home

I recently cancelled my coworking space membership. If you recall, paying for a membership no longer makes sense to me. I’m also waiting for a café to open up the street from me. In the meantime, I’m working from home almost every day.

The challenge with working from home is we’re easily distracted. We’re distracted by our beds, cooking, laundry and other chores. Depending on the situation, you may also be distracted by other people. Sometimes the energy also isn’t right because our homes are supposed to be where we rest.

However, working from home can also be amazing. As a self-employed individual for five years, I can tell you that having the option to work from home is not something I take for granted. Here’s how to get the most out of working from home.

Have a designated space to work.

If you want to make sure the energy is right for working from home, try not to work where you sleep. Instead, try to make some sort of designated area where you can work – even if it’s just a corner.

A friend of mine lives in a loft and uses a partition to separate her work space from her bed. I work from the living room table. Sometimes if I’m feeling tired I’ll work from the balcony. This brings me to my next point.

Go outside.

If you have access to a balcony or a porch, take advantage of it. I spend a lot of time working from home from my balcony. The ocean breeze wakes me up and sometimes I just need to feel grounded in nature. I find it especially helpful when I’m getting cabin fever from being indoors too much.

If you don’t have access to these things perhaps you can work from the backyard or a nearby park. Whatever the case may be, just get outside when the weather allows for it.

Create a cutoff time.

As a business owner, you need boundaries. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you forget about them. In fact, having boundaries is more important than ever when you work from home.

The struggle is the lines between work and home can get blurry. This means it’s more of a mental game because you’re not physically leaving an office. One thing that helps me is scheduling something – like a fitness class – after business hours. I will also put a vacation responder on weekends. Small acts like this help me keep the boundaries I set for myself.

Your cutoff time also depends on your natural energies. For example, I hate working at night. In fact, I can’t stand it. My roommate, on the other hand, does her best work late at night. Whichever it is for you, just make sure you give yourself some kind of cut off time.

Final Thoughts

Working from home can be a great experience that gives you flexibility. The key is to remember to put certain boundaries in place – like a designated work area or cutoff time.