Tips for Staying on Task While Working at Home

Being able to stay on task when working from home is easier when you recognize when and where your attention slips away from you. 

Here are some tips that have helped me.

Phone Down

I always set a timer on the apps that suck up my time the most. Social media is the biggest time drainer by far. 

I give myself time to post, then that app goes gray and I can't use it anymore. 

This helps break away from using the phone as an entertainment crutch. If I don't pick it up I don't end up wasting time scrolling. 

I also set a widget on my home screen for screen time usage. As soon as I pick up my phone I see how long I’ve been on it throughout the day. Seeing how much time I waste on my phone has been a huge step towards breaking my slight phone addiction. 

Snack well, snack often

I like to prepare meals on Sundays because it makes my life easier. I don't just have dinner lined up for the week though. I have snacks locked and loaded. I cut all my veggies, make all my dips, portion everything out so it's ready to go.

When I'm tired I eat, when I’m bored I eat and when I need a break and don't feel like working I also eat. I try to make my snacks nutritionally dense. This keeps me from procrastinating by meandering through my kitchen. It also keeps me from snacking on easy junk food that I don't need to be eating. 

 Bed Clothes are not work clothes

This one seems silly but might be the most important, at least for me. Everyone does it. You wake up, you know you don't have to go anywhere so you rock the clothes you fell asleep in the night before, all day. Seems pretty harmless. The reality is that all day you’re fighting the urge to get back into bed and sleep. Why? Because you’re in your bed clothes. These are not working clothes. 

This doesn't mean you have to be uncomfortable all day. By all means take advantage of the fact that you are working from home. Switch it up though. Change your outfit, change your frame of mind. 

Schedule your workout and outside time

You know the part of the day when you're the least useful to anyone? For me it's right at noon. Instead of fighting that afternoon lag. I schedule my work time before and after that. When I feel myself getting more useless by the second I get up and I go for a run or I walk my doggies. 

I find that I am way more productive afterwards. It’s like having an adult recess and it's totally necessary. 

These tips aren't earth-shattering but they’re easy enough to implement. I find those tips are the most useful because they end up being the ones you can stick to. Good luck!