Staying Focused and Productive When You Work at Home

I know that for me one of the biggest challenges I face while trying to work at home is staying focused. It's so easy to get distracted by a zillion different things both online and offline.

If you're online, you'll find yourself wanting to check your Facebook and email constantly. Housework and chaos coming from the kids are two of my biggest offline distractions.

There is no “right” way to handle these problems. No matter what you do, you're always going to face some sort of distraction.

However, there are lots of things that may help keep the distractions to a minimum and increase your focus so you'll be much more productive.

Block Yourself From Facebook

You will be more productive working from home if you block yourself from Facebook. Well, unless of course you're a social media manager or moderator and your job is to be on Facebook.

There is a program you can download called the Facebook Limiter that is completely free and will block you from Facebook.

It's very customizable. You can set it up to block you for just a certain period of time or even do a “duration lock” where you tell it to only let you have access to Facebook for a certain number of hours per day.

Are you using Google Chrome as your browser? If so, you can install the Stay Focusd extension which helps you become more productive by limiting the amount of time you spend on Facebook and other websites that are big time wasters. I think Pinterest would be another good one to add to it!

Limit How Often You Check Your Email

Unless you are eagerly expecting an email that needs a fast reply, you don't really have to keep your email open while you try to work.

If you leave it open, you'll notice every time a new message comes through and you'll be tempted to stop what you're doing and see what it says.

I am notorious for this! And guess what? Most of the time it's not even anything that needs my immediate attention.

I realize I need to take my own advice here … but try to set aside two specific times per day when you check your email. Say for example first thing in the morning when you wake up and get online and maybe again after dinner.

Be sure to clean out your inbox during these times as well so your list of messages doesn't get too overwhelming.

I would also suggest taking a few minutes once a week to unsubscribe from promotional messages that you know you don't want junking up your mailbox anymore.

I know that after I've spent a few minutes doing this, I feel so unburdened! There's nothing like a clean, streamlined inbox to make you feel like you have yourself together. 🙂

Set Aside a Block of Time For Housework

One problem that I've always faced while working from home is feeling guilty that I'm not doing housework instead of earning money.

It's very hard for me to focus on my work when the sink is full of dishes, the laundry is overflowing, and toys are scattered all across the living room floor.

If that's what my house looks like, that little voice in the back of my mind keeps nagging at me to get up and clean.

One thing I've been doing that seems to help is set aside one block of time for housework before I start working. I know that I can only spare about one hour to clean before I need to start the work day, so I set the timer on my oven for 60 minutes.

I clean house during that 60 minutes and then stop when the buzzer goes off. You would honestly not believe how much you can get done in your house in an hour if you clean non stop!

I find that my focus on work is much better if the environment around me is fairly tidy. If you have kids at home with you, get them in on the cleaning action too during the 60 minutes. 🙂

Controlling Chaos at Home

Many of us work at home so we can be with our kids. However, there is no denying that our kids can make it hard to focus on work. You may or may not find this to be the case depending on the ages of your kids and your current living situation, but for me it's always been a challenge.

If your kids are old enough, try to make them understand that they need to keep noise to a minimum when you're in “work mode.”

You could also try to arrange your schedule around times when another adult will be home if your job will allow for that.

If possible, try to work in a different room of your house where you can close the door while the other adult cares for the children. Working before your kids wake up or after they're asleep is another option. I've done both of those things before.

I know that it's very hard not to feel guilty when we work at home and have to distance ourselves from our children. After all, for many of us they are the reason we are trying to work at home … so we can be with them.

But work is work and money can't be made if time isn't taken to actually do the work, just like a job outside the home.

If you start feeling guilty, remind yourself that even though you have to concentrate on your work, you are at least still there with your kids and you have immediate access to them if anything super important comes up while you're working. This is really something to be thankful for!

If you have a job where you can set your own schedule, make sure you stick firmly to whatever hours you set for yourself.

When you create your own schedule, it's really easy to get caught up in working and work off and on all day whenever time allows. But by doing this we might be taking away time we could spend with our families.

I am also guilty of this … I find myself blogging and working on this and my other websites when I don't really have to be.

Figure out what time you officially “stop working” and turn off the computer at that time, if possible. That's your time to focus on family.

Do You Think Productivity and Focus Are Hopeless For You?

If so, there is something you may want to check out — Crystal Paine of MoneySavingMom.com has created the Make Over Your Mornings course to help you revolutionize your productivity, streamline your days, eliminate decision fatigue, cultivate your soul, and a lot more.

Some of the topics covered in the 14-day course include:

• Discovering why planning your morning revolutionizes your entire day
• Establishing firm bedtime routines
• Designing a morning routine centered on your main priorities
• Setting goals for yourself
• Getting a task management system set up
• Making healthy breakfasts and exercise a priority
• Creating internal and external motivators
• Building stamina when you need it most

The 14-day Make Over Your Mornings course that takes a unique three-fold approach:  a chapter to read, a video to watch, and a project to complete – all of which will take no more than 15 minutes of your time. 

A tiny investment and just 15 minutes of your time each day can yield potentially incredible results for yourself and your family. 

Head on over to Make Over Your Mornings and decide if you think this would benefit you. The price is only $17, and you can get your money back (all of it) no questions asked in 30 days if you bought the course and didn't get anything out of it. Plus, you get FREE access to day one, no questions asked, before you purchase the full course.