Why Routine Matters if You Work From Home

Raise your hand if you work from home or work remotely.  I know there are a lot of you out there. And, I bet you know that working from home is great.  But, working from home can prove to be just as much a curse as it is a blessing. I imagine a lot of you reading this are nodding your heads right along with me.  

Why can working from home be so difficult?  The ugly truth is that it can be hard to motivate yourself.  As a fellow work-from-homer, I know this struggle all too well.  You try to get up early and go get ‘em, but with freedom and many distractions, sometimes your motivation gets pummeled to the ground like a fallen bull rider.  

But, there’s one thing that really pushes me to get ‘er done: routine.  As an independent worker, building a strong routine is essential to being productive and crushing your to-do list.  Here’s some of the routine components that have really pushed me to work well at home:

1. Set a standard wake-up time on workdays.  I try my best to treat a workday at home like a job I would go to.  I do my best work in the morning, so I get up at 5 am every morning to start my routine.  
2. Set boundaries around work time. Do you work a certain amount of hours per day? Are there certain things you mark as not allowed during work hours?  One of my no-no’s is scheduling scheduling social time during work hours.  
3. Make a to-do list. Every. Single. Day. This is one of the single most important parts of my routine.  If I don;t make a to-do list, I am noticeably less productive. My to-do list is my guiding light during the workday.  
4. Take breaks.  If I sit at my desk all day and never get up or go outside or take a break, I start to get antsy and I eventually hit a productivity wall.  Plan breaks into your day. Take a walk around the block. Do midday yoga. Read for 30 minutes while you eat lunch. These are the breaks that help me keep killin’ it in my workday.  
5. Change it up.  I’ve found that sometimes sitting in the same place all day just doesn’t work for me.  One of the great things about working from home is that you can really do whatever you want.  Try working from the couch in the morning and switching to your desk in the afternoon. Issue yourself a productivity challenge on Fridays.  Make working from home fun. After all, most of us would say flexibility is a main reason we chose to work from home.  

These are just a few practices I have found helpful in my work-from-home journey.  What are your routine non-negotiables? Let me know in the comments.

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