5 Ways To Make Working From Home Work For You

Working from home affords you a wide range of advantages, and even liberties. At the same time, it can be quite tough to really ‘work from home’, because of the sheer number of distractions, and also because of the primary prerequisite for everyone who works from home – self motivation. It can be quite tough to be able to strike the ‘work-life’ balance since the two zones are no longer separate, but meshed into one. That said, with a little bit of determination, you can make work from home work for you, simply by paying attention to certain things, five of which have been listed below.

 

1. Investing in your ‘work-space’ – Your workspace is going to be the source of your productivity, and the environment you work in, undeniably has a huge effect on your productivity. It makes sense to invest in setting up a comfortable, and practical workspace where you feel motivated to work from. Ensuring proper lighting, a comfortable (yet not too comfortable) desk and chair. Resources such as a small printer, good internet connection, and power back-up could prove to be indispensable necessities.
   
    

2. Time Management – When you work from home, you might find yourself shuttling between household chores and your work routine. Ensuring that you manage your time properly is quite essential when you work from home.  While working from home has the advantage of being flexible, the balance might be a bit hard to maintain, especially since you may not end up having fixed work hours.
   
    

3. Discipline – To be able to work from home and be happy with your productivity, you need to be very self-motivated. When you need to go to office, discipline is easier to maintain since your schedule is built around your office timings. It might be some effort doing that when you work from home. Even though you don’t have to go to office, ensure that you have a routine which you follow. Maintain your working hours like you would if you had to go to office, based on which you can organize the rest of your routine to optimize productivity.
   
    

4. Communication and Networking – One of the biggest drawbacks when you work from home is that you are isolated from the rest of your team if you are working at a remote location, or working on your own in case you are a freelancer. In which case, it is a prerequisite for you to make an effort to communicate with the rest of your team. When you are not a part of a formal office set up, it is even more important for you to make an effort to network and communicate so that you are aware about everything that is happening around you, and more importantly so that you don’t lose out on opportunities.  Making yourself “visible” by actively communicating and networking matters the most when you work remotely.
   
    

5. Honesty – Accountability might be a problem when you work from home, since in a lot of ways, you really are your own boss. Adhering to your work timings, refraining from running personal errands during your work hours, holding yourself accountable by setting goals for yourself and measuring how much you really got done are some of the things you could do to ensure you are honest with your work.