No doubt remote work is becoming more popular. Due to reasons beyond our control, we have to change the workplace from the office to our home. But remote work does come with certain obstacles. Not every person can adapt to this form of work. In many cases, you end up too distracted to even finish your tasks.
But there is a way to avoid distractions when working from home. Here is what works for me best and hopefully will work for you.
5 Ways to Avoid Distractions When Working From Home
1. Put Your Phone Away
We spend too much time on our phones. According to a screen time statistic, we spend 3 hours and 15 minutes each day on our phones. So it’s logical to assume that you’re doing it as well while working from home. Putting in those hours each day isn’t necessarily harmful, but it does hinder your work. So one of the easiest things to do is to put your phone away while working.
That might be a problem for some who rely on their phones for work. But if you’re scrolling through social media, it’s best to put it away.
Better yet, put it on do not disturb.
Even if you’re not sitting on social media, notifications and messages are enough to distract you when working from home. Games can be just as distracting. So another uncomplicated thing to do is to put your phone on “do not disturb.” That way, you won’t hear notifications and have an easier time focusing on work.
2. Develop A Habit For Better Focus
Working from home can sometimes be quite dull. Maybe you’re not used to the silence and miss chatting with coworkers. No one is blaming you for feeling this way. Not every person is familiar with remote work before the pandemic. But you’ll quickly conclude that you’re developing negative habits that hinder your focus.
The best counter to this is to develop habits for better focus. But how do you do that? No doubt, motivation is a huge factor. If we don’t feel like it, we probably won’t do it. So one way to develop habits for better focus that will help avoid distractions is to create a to-do list or a step-by-step plan.
By ticking off items on your list, you’ll feel the rush of dopamine through your nervous system. Dopamine is an essential hormone that makes you feel happy and motivated. The more work you get done, the more motivated you’ll feel.
3. Don’t Just Work, Take Breaks
When working from home, you must maintain some level of balance. You don’t have to sit at your desk the whole day working like your life depends on it. Doing that can be pretty unhealthy. More so, it’s easy to walk away from any task if you don’t take scheduled breaks.
Taking breaks is good for you. Unless you’re a robot, taking scheduled breaks helps remove distractions such as your phone. You can determine when and how long the pauses will last. If you have kids at home, use your break to spend time together. Make yourself a coffee or even read the news. But it’s essential to take breaks.
If you don’t, you’ll only end up distracted from work.
Again, find out what works for you best and synchronize with your family. If you live alone, then come up with a break schedule that will allow you to thrive in your work.
4. Make A Home Office
To work from home successfully, you need to have your own space. Making a home office will help you avoid all kinds of distractions. For example, if you work in the living room, you’re making it very easy for others to distract you. But if you work in a room with a door, then you can close the door, and everyone will know you’re working.
A home office is also the best way to maintain productivity. A home office creates the feeling that you’re at the office. Make sure to get yourself a sign that tells family members or housemates when you can and cannot be interrupted. Or better yet, get a key.
5. Don’t Work In Your Bedroom
If you’re a young adult living with your parents, your bedroom is probably your home office. But the bedroom is the absolute worst place to set up a home office. Granted, most family members stay away from your bedroom as it is the only room in the house where you can have some privacy. But a bedroom office does an abysmal job of creating the feeling of an office.
So what you end up doing is getting distracted from all the stuff inside.
If you have no other room to work from but your bedroom, then it’s time to do some rearranging. Come up with a system where you’ll divide space to cut off distractions. For example, allocate one corner of the room, turn it into an office, and make sure to add dividers. That way, you won’t get distracted by items in your bedroom and have an easier time getting work done.
Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself
Like it or not, distractions will happen when working from home. But the important thing is not to get bogged down too much on it. Allow them to happen once in a while. Just remember to get back to your work afterward.
It’s nearly impossible to avoid distractions when working from home, and you’ll even end up feeling motivated by them. So it’s not about how often you get distracted, but how quickly you get back to your work.
