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10 Rules to Follow to Stay on Task While Working From Home

Here are 10 rules to follow to stay on task while working from home. If you are new to working from home as many people are in 2020, then I have some tips for you. I have been working from home long before Covid came and forced many others to work from home. It was a hard adjustment learning to keep myself accountable and on task, so I want to help save you some hardship.

1. No Social Media While Working From Home

This one is a fairly obvious one. Social media is a huge waste of precious time. Unless you have to get on social media for work, for example you are a virtual assistant or marketing agent, then there is no need to get on social media. Especially right now in August of 2020. It is filled with negativity and drama. It’s not like it use to be in the good old days when you could just share a fun family picture and laugh at memes. Now it is all about politics, masks vs no masks, or human trafficking.

I’m not saying to never get on social media and that all of those listed topics aren’t important. I am just saying that it is a rabbit hole and you will easily waste 30mins to an hour of work time. These are tips to help you stay on task remember, so no social media during work hours.

2. Set Reminders on Your Phone

Setting reminders on my phone or my Apple Watch has really helped hold me accountable and keeps me on track. If you have certain things that need to get done by a certain time each day then this could be a life saver.

Because of Covid we are homeschooling our daughter this year and so I have to not only keep myself on task but my daughter as well. On top of that my husband works 24/7 and has also started a trucking company on the side. I manage all of the bookkeeping and finances for the company plus run errands for him since he works so much. Plus, I have this blog, my bookkeeping clients, and I manage my mom’s social media accounts for her business too.

Needless to say, we have a lot going on and setting reminders for myself really helps keep my on task because I know there is another task coming up that needs done too.

3. Set Timer

Along with setting reminders, I suggest setting a timer. This not only helps keep you from staying on one task all day but you get a sense of urgency when you see the clock counting down. It also works as a game or competition.

My daughter is very competitive so when I say let’s complete this task before the timer goes off she is way more likely to do it because she wants to win and beat the timer.

I see it counting down and it makes me move a little faster. Knowing I only have 30 mins to finish the task prevents me from taking too long to do something just because I am naturally a more chilled person. I’m normally not in a huge hurry unless I have to be.

4. No Television While Working From Home

My daughter and I both get VERY distracted by the television. We can not function with it going. We both end up zoned in and watching the show, whatever it might be, and definitely do not stay on task.

Television is another one of those things that can make 30 mins to an hour just disappear!

5. Play Music

Since you won’t have any television on you may not like the sound of complete silence. I personally love it. Any other noises and I can’t focus. My husband on the other hand doesn’t like silence. He likes background noise.

A healthy solution is up beat music. It helps provide some background noise while naturally uplifting your mood. With fun upbeat music it can even help you feel more energized!

6. Get Enough Sleep

For some reason our society has labeled sleep as lazy. We need sleep to function properly. You hear it all the time from doctors that people need more sleep.

A couple months back at Church one of the Pastors said he read where Netflix said their only competition is sleep, and they are winning. All of the streaming services just go straight to the next episode and the next thing you know it’s 1am. Ask me how I know…

Then we wake up late, exhausted, grumpy, and barely functioning. Just to do it all over again and stay up too late then wake up regretting you did. If we were to hold ourselves accountable and go to bed on time we would be much more productive the next day! So turn off the Television, log off social media, and pick up a good book.

This helps create good habits plus nothing helps make me feel tired more than reading a book!

7. Spark

Now even with enough sleep we can still feel like we are dragging throughout the day. I suggest trying a Spark from AdvoCare. I have been drinking these for over 7 years and I don’t go a day without having one or two.

They are sugar free, taste amazing, and give you so much healthy energy. I stopped drinking coffee and pop (soda) which stopped all that sugar from being in my daily diet.

It gives me mental focus and I always feel like I can take on anything when I drink one.

Here is a 10% discount to try one for yourself!

*Keep in mind that everyone is different and results may vary.*

8. Dress for Success While Working From Home

If you are new to working from home you maybe loving the fact that you can wear whatever you want all day! I know that was a huge plus for me when I started working from home.

However, I realized that the way you dress does impact your productivity. Staying in your pajamas all day can make you feel a bit lazy. Every time you walk by a mirror you may think wow…I look like a hot mess!

Dressing for success really does change your mood and puts a pep in your step! Plus, a little advise, now that you are working from home, people like to randomly show up. It’s always so embarrassing when they catch me still in my pajamas.

9. Do Not Disturb Sign on Door

Like I said, people like to just stop by because they know you are home. This is all fine and dandy as long as you have your work done. If you don’t and you end up chatting then the next thing you know, you just lost an hour or work time.

In our neighborhood people drive around on golf carts and just pull up in your driveway if they think you home and want to chat. It isn’t nearly as bad because of Covid but it still happens every once in awhile.

Especially if you are planning on doing elearning/digital learning or homeschool. You don’t want to get off task by the doorbell. Placing a do not disturb sign on the door will help prevent disturbances.

10. Follow Block Scheduling While Working From Home

Have you ever tried block scheduling? It’s when you block out certain times to complete certain tasks. This goes hand in hand with setting a timer. When you have a block of time designated for a certain task you focus on just the task at hand and get it complete before moving on.

Some people try to multitask and I think some people can actually manage that but other’s can not. My husband is one of those that can. He can juggle so many different things at once. Me? I like to focus on one task at a time. I can bounce back and forth but not multiple at once.

I see block scheduling like wear “one hat at a time”. When I block out time to work on bookkeeping “I wear that hat”. Then when I switch to homeschooling I “wear that hat”. If I try and work on both at the same time I’m not giving my best effort to either.

10 Rules to Follow While Working From Home

I hope these rules help keep you on task and prevent you from getting off track or procrastinating. Procrastinating is your enemy when working from home. Don’t get into a bad habit that you struggle to get out of!

Good luck and God bless!

Vanessa