A Year On: Tips for Staying Motivated When Working From Home

“Over the last year, each and every one of us has been impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic, whether that be physically or mentally. With many of the UK workforce still working in the comfort of their homes, it’s important to stay on top of work and not let it affect our wellbeing. Thankfully, we have put together a few short pointers on how to stay motivated working remotely from home, even on the days when you’re not feeling your best.

Tidy Up
Start off by giving your home office a tidy. Start by going through and decluttering your desk, and then get rid of any paperwork that you don’t need. This doesn’t just apply to your physical workplace – if you have old software or bulky files that you no longer need then delete them from your computer. Not only will this help boost your productivity levels, but it will also improve your mental and physical health. Spending time in a clean, clutter-free environment will make you feel more encouraged to knuckle down with work.

Get Dressed
It’s comfy to just come down to work in your pajamas, however doing so will not be doing you any favours in terms of productivity and work mindset. It’s been proven that your clothing can have strong psychological impacts on your level of motivation. Spend some time each morning getting dressed in your work clothes, as if you were leaving to go into the office. You will step into work feeling much more energised and ready to start the day.

Take a Breather
When you’re working from home you miss out on those short bursts of conversation and office banter. It can often be hours at a time before you speak to your colleagues or even get up from your desk to take any sort of break. Making sure that you’re taking regular breaks from work doesn’t just help you to feel less drained throughout the day, but it can also cause some physical issues from the repetitive nature of your working days.
It’s recommended that you should get in the habit of taking a short break for 5-10 minutes every hour to help you regain focus and allow you to disconnect from your computer. Make sure to get up and walk away from your computer to stretch your legs, or maybe go and sit with your pet for a bit. You’ll reap the benefits when you head back to your desk.

Check In With Colleagues
Despite the feeling of being alone when you’re working from home, it’s important to remember that you are part of a team. Make sure you make the point to give your boss or colleagues a call where possible when discussing new projects or the current status of a task. This will not only help you feel much more connected to everyone, but it may also help give you that little needed boost to help motivate you moving forward.

Give Yourself a Reward
When you’re finding it difficult to get through tasks and complete projects, sometimes rewarding yourself with small incentives throughout the day can be a great way of motivating yourself; whether it be getting a cup of tea or a little snack.
On a larger scale, you could even give yourself larger rewards for the end of the day to help you get your focus going, for example, an episode of that show you’ve been binging, or a long relaxing bath.
Little things are often overlooked, but you can’t underestimate the importance they may have on your life during these difficult times.
Maintaining motivation levels right now is extremely challenging but with the 5 points above we hope to have offered a small helping hand to get you through these troublesome times.

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