Productivity Tips for When You're Working from Home

Do you work from home full time, part time, or in your spare time? Productivity can be a struggle.

Have clear goals and a schedule. It all starts with goals. You don’t know how to be productive if you don’t know what you need to produce. Right? What do you want to accomplish this year, month, week, today?

Saying you want to write more or you want to network more is a good start, but it’s vague. You want to write and publish two blog posts per month and a newsletter every other month. Or you’re going to join a new organization and reach out to three people in your field this month. Those are clear goals. Do it like that.

I’ve tried scheduling methods ranging from super strict time blocking to scrambling and procrastinating until the last second—and everything in between. What works for me now and has done for years is forming my schedule on a monthly and weekly basis.

At the beginning of the month, I assign projects and clients to days of the week. At the beginning of the week, I assign specific daily work. I include flex times for meetings and surprises. For me this uncomplicated, goal-driven scheduling system works.

Use whatever scheduling method works best for you, but use one.

Prioritize. Look at your schedule. Does it say, “write a letter to Aunt Polly?”

If you’re overwhelmed by your to-do list, it’s important to prioritize. Treat your business like your business.

For example, you have to write landing-page copy for a client by Friday or risk losing that client. You want to finish writing the blog post for your website, and yes, it’s important but it won’t cost you that client.

It makes perfect sense. It’s easy to put together. It’s also easy to mess up. A “really, really want” can feel a lot like a “have to.” 

Have a dedicated space. You owe it to your business and yourself to have a serious setup. It will help you stay focused and organized. It will help keep your business at home separate from your home.

It doesn’t have to be a dedicated office, but it should be a dedicated space. A converted spare closet, a corner with a small table and a lamp, a desk by the bed, or a nook under the stairs can all serve. They must serve only the purpose of your office space.

Limit distractions. What distracts you the most? Pets, loud neighbors, a full clothes hamper, social media? Whatever it is, you must find a solution or your work is toast.

My dog does a bang-up job of distracting me. I do my best to wear him out with play and attention before I start work. I keep my desk tidy and my housework done.

You can’t win the war against all distraction, but you can reduce the impact.

Whatever your distraction, do your best to take care of it. Wear headphones, do prework chores, or use social media blocking apps. Identify the problem and come up with solutions for the sake of your business.

Find your most productive time. Everyone has that sweet spot in their day where they’re most efficient, most creative, their best self. Find when that is and show up. Pay attention to how you feel during your days and this magic time will reveal itself. Get as much done as you can in these moments.

Protect your time. When you work from home, especially as a freelancer, you may find some people in your circle don’t understand they should respect your time. They may insist working from home makes you available when they need to drop in at any time—to borrow something or when they need a babysitter in a pinch. Because, you know, you’re there.

Whether you feel like an asshole for standing up for yourself is up to you, but do stand up for yourself. This is your job. This is how you make a living. Politely and consistently let them know you’re working. Because you are.

Record your work time. Write it in a notebook. Type it in a spreadsheet. Use an app like Clockify. Keep track of your tasks and how much time you’re spending on them—for productivity and billing purposes.

Know what works for you. Tools, advice, and strategies to help you get the job done are plentiful. It can be easy to get lost trying to find the best resources out there.

Don’t try to use them all; that will trip you up and waste your time. Use a few that work for what you need. If something doesn’t serve you, pass on it.

Go on, get to work. Happy writing or whatever.

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Photo by Kevin Bhagat on Unsplash