How to Stay Focused When Working at Home

Posted on 07. Dec, 2009 by Holly in Productivity

Do you find yourself flustered, with a lack of direction? Are you filling your day with “work,” but when it ends you aren’t sure if you accomplished anything at all? Do you get pulled into every offer, new product, every distraction that comes your way online? If this is you – you are not alone. There is no sense of accomplishment, when distractions are ruling your day. You may feel overwhelmed, lacking in direction and frustrated by getting to this place. If you’re feeling that way now – I think it’s time to make a change. I’m struggling with this myself, and in my search for solutions – I found some resources that may help us all. If you’ve found a technique or method that helps you stay focused, please feel free to share it in the comments section below.

Distractions & Priorities

After reading numerous articles on how to stay focused, I discovered some great advice. I will share this with you in my post today. According to Natalie Gahrmann, who wrote the article “How to Avoid Distractions at Work and Accomplish More,” the number one distraction is e-mail. This is one that I struggle with daily. A few years ago, I had someone hired to answer all my e-mails for me. As much as it helped, I always felt that was too impersonal, and I went back to doing this myself. I think it’s important to know what you can and cannot handle – and when I get behind in answering the e-mails, it’s difficult to catch up. I’d prefer to answer each one personally, but if it’s done a couple weeks late, it almost isn’t even worth it at that point. The person probably doesn’t even remember writing to me by then. So, as hard as it is to let it go, if you’re struggling with it, you may want to outsource. If you aren’t sure how to outsource it, go to Scriptlance and post a project, stating what you need and how much you want to pay for it. People will bid on the project, tell you what their skills are, and offer their help as a freelance worker.

The one thing that has helped me immensely, is using Toggl. Toggl is a free, simple software tool which allows you to “clock in” when you start on a certain project, and “clock out,” when you are done with that project. You can create numerous projects or tasks throughout the day, and monitor where your time is spent. Many freelance workers use this, as it also allows them to specify whether that time is billable or not. At the end of the week, or at the end of the month, you can see exactly where your time is spent.

Lacking in Structure

Learning how to balance working from home, managing an assortment of tasks, figuring out what is important or profitable, and staying totally focused while working – is a challenge. I think planning in advance, setting goals, following through and taking one project at a time is important. What bothers me at times is that I may have 5 to 10 open projects. For example, I created an actual e-book which contains tutorials on how to use Wordpress, called “Wordpress and Beyond.” I can see now that what I enjoy most is writing, teaching and completing the actual writing part of the project. I had no problem finishing that entire guide. From there I bought a domain name and basically installed Wordpress – yet never finished the text on the page and currently it still is not done. From that, I can see what my weaknesses are – so I can either finish what I’ve started, or outsource it. If you have unfinished projects, it may help that you evaluate what is done and what is necessary to finish. It may help to create a checklist and accomplish one thing at a time, until caught up. Of course that is easier said than done, but take one thing at a time. When I have all these open projects, I feel flustered. I want balance back in my work and life – and I need to finish those in order to get that balance.

Working in Spurts

One thing that has worked well for me, is to work in spurts. What I mean is that I do not sit in front of my computer screen all day long, from morning until night. When I do that, on occasion, I feel groggy and less-than productive. Since my son is home with me most days of the week, it is easy to also find myself distracted leaving the computer to spend time with him. I love having him with me, but at times, when working on important projects, I must tell him to wait. Today, for example, he was constantly interrupting me – at least every five minutes. With such constant distractions, it is really hard to get anything done. I told him I loved him, but I redirected him with a project and set the timer on the microwave for one hour. I told him that when the timer would go off, I’d take a break from my work and play a game or do another project with him. He loved that idea and the anticipation made it exciting for him, and a motivation for me. It’s been really hard for me lately, to put him first and get any work done. But in the end, if I do not keep a balance – I will lose what I’ve worked so hard to have, and it will have a major negative impact on the family. So, back to working in spurts – it helps to time things – like I did with my son and also with using Toggl.

It’s Tough to Work From Home

Working from home has its major benefits – but it is tough to do. Many of the sales pitches online will promise you insane riches in a short amount of time, with no work involved, and no sacrifices to be made – but those are just not true. Working online is tough mentally – and if you can balance your work, family and all the rest – you can make it work well for you. Several articles I read about on productivity stated the importance of having a clear state of mind while working. And the articles stated that you need to find your way of achieving that, before beginning your work for the day – to avoid stressing out, being overwhelmed and distracted. When I lived in Thailand several years ago, I would wake up early and my son would go to school, then I’d go to the gym before beginning my work. That was the absolute best start to my day – and left me refreshed and completely able to focus on those tough projects.

Have you found a method that works well for you? How do you keep your work day balanced, while doing work from home? If any readers have any advice or suggestions, please share them!

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Tags: add, distractions work online, how work at home, Productivity, stay focused

19 Responses to “How to Stay Focused When Working at Home”

Jenna

07. Dec, 2009

I am exactly like you. I love starting new projects but have such a hard time completing them. I began to set daily goals to try and stay focused. I find that if I set an achievable goal I will try to outperform it because I am competitive. Although sometimes I get lazy and dont even come close

Since I just landed a full time writing job from home I have had to really discipline myself. I only check my email once I finish a project and I only go on Facebook during my breaks. I also sign out of email chat so I dont get disturbed by them. It has not been easy as I am easily distracted but the small effort has paid off.

I have to work in spurts like you. I have to keep things new or I lose my focus. After I finish a writing project I take a small break even if for just a minute and do something I want. Then I feel OK to continue. If there was a job that required you only to start projects and other people would finish them, it would make me the happiest person in the world! Oh well, one can dream

I will have to check Toggl out….looks like a great tool. I just hope I can discipline myself to use a tool that will help me to be more disciplined. LOL
As always, thanks for the post!

Jenna

Reply to this comment
- Holly
  
  08. Dec, 2009
  
  Jenna, that is so funny! “If there was a job that required you only to start projects and other people would finish them, it would make me the happiest person in the world!” – I think I’d love this as well! I wasn’t always this way – but have been like this a lot lately. I hope to get more focused!
Irish Tom

08. Dec, 2009

Grest article Holly. You have just hit the nail on the head. We do tend to get into bad habits or routines and that screws up our goals. I have had to reorganize my daily routine and stop bad habits…
A little tip is a daily ToDo list and on the back of it, split the page and draw a line down the middle..your heading on the left should be -$ and the heading on the other side should be +$…start putting under the appropriate heading what you are doing..you will very quickly see what is costing you money…
Back to my books!!!

Reply to this comment
- Holly
  
  08. Dec, 2009
  
  Thanks for the tip Tom! Great idea – and I need to start doing this every day – I know it will help.
Roland Aichinger

08. Dec, 2009

You are absolutely right, Holly!

It is, in fact, really hard not to get disturbed by what kind of distraction whatsoever.

I always make some plans for me, where I write down EXACTLY what I want to reach in my life: in my business, in my private life,…etc.
Long term goals, short term goals, and goals between.
We all know this kind of things, I suppose…
But it helps, if you really keep at it.

Each day in the evening I go through my goals, and out of this I “create” a schedule for the next day or even the next days.
BUT, to speak from my own experience: Don´t put too much things into one day, because what you can always expect is the unexpected.
So, I always have 2-3 hours a day for such things that one can´t plan in advance.

Once a week I adjust my lists, and cross out the things I´ve finished in the course of the week.

To really stay focused, I switch off my cellphone and have a kind of “countdown-timer” laying right beside of me, that sounds an alarm. I always set the expected time for a project, and at the time the alarm-clock is ringing, a certain project should be finished.

´It´s not the hours you put in. It´s what you put in the hours.´

Best regards, Roland

Reply to this comment
- Holly
  
  08. Dec, 2009
  
  Wow that’s great Roland. I love that you do this each night before the following day. Also, you are right that you shouldn’t over-task yourself. I read that if you can accomplish just one major thing each day, you will feel inspired and continue on with your accomplishments – all the small goals equal big results.
Davin-The Viral Sanctuary

08. Dec, 2009

Hey Holly,

Great article. The last little while I’ve been trying to improve upon the very same thing. It is tough!

As you know, lately I’ve been doing quite a lot of work for other people to, and, it can be very distracting to accomplishing my own needs for my own business. Working for others at times doesn’t seem to have a time schedule…or a very loose time schedule anyhow.

I tried Toggl a while back but just couldn’t get used to it for some reason. Instead I found The 5 Bucks A Day Action Enforcer from Dennis Becker. It seems to be working out a little better for me anyway.

Definitely though, as much as I try to put it out of my mind email is still a big problem for me. A lot of my communication back and forth with things I’m lining up with the job I took on is done with email, so I sort of need to check it continuously throughout the day.

It’s a major distraction… Anyhow….great article Holly…onwards and upwards!

Reply to this comment
- Holly
  
  08. Dec, 2009
  
  Hey Davin – you know what is strange? When I have projects to do for others – I work hard to get their project completed in a timely manner. When I am doing a project for myself, it is more likely that I will take it easy and not always push forward to complete it as fast. It’s strange – but I think that’s why Toggl (and why the Action Enforcer software you use) works well. i guess it helps to have a deadline or to be timed.
Anna

08. Dec, 2009

Same boat, here. I get absorbed into everything online that needs to be done and have a hard time keeping up with the rest. But lately I have been slowly changing that. For example, I make sure that I take regular trips outdoors with my husband, for example on the weekends. I just spent 6 days in a resort in Central Oregon and that was great, we had a studio with a great internet connection, kitchen and washer/dryer, so I could get my online work done in the mornings and evenings and go outside in the afternoons to freeze my fingers off while photographing rapids

But in any case, outsourcing I think is the real key. I have recently hired a full-time assistant in the Phillipines who can do all kinds of tasks from web design, to Wordpress, to simpler tasks.

I also have a writer who writes most of my content except for my two more personal blogs (which are thus abandoned at the moment lol) and a Native English editor (hired on Odesk) who edits text, posts it to Wordpress, adds images and metadata, and now even helps to spin and distribute articles.

Bit by bit I am farming out everything I can. So that instead of being immersed in hundreds of small tasks that must be done daily, weekly, monthly, etc, I can step above all of that an spend more of my time researching and planning.

It costs money, but I am buying back my freedom so that I will have time for what I really want to do (including post on my personal blogs!), but also so that I will have time to really think and strategize and grow my business.

I strongly recommend Odesk for tasks which are repetative, continual, or even hard to price. Odesk is used to pay outsourcers by the hour and there are some very talented individuals there. People who don’t have a lot of feedback and ratings on Odesk (though they might still be very experienced) often quote very low hourly rates so they can get jobs and thus build up their reputations on Odesk. You can build up contacts with people who you can call on whenever you need a certain type of job to be done. Or, you can start a bid on a project and within minutes find a provider and have someone found, and have the whole thing done right away – sometimes within the hour.

Many times we think “only I can do that” when it’s really a matter of just writing up how it is to be done, and coaching someone else to do it. Examples of things that can be outsourced :

Article writing/posting
Article spinning/distribution
Web design
Wordpress setups and installation
Wordpress upgrades and updates
Ecommerce stores
Comment moderation
Headers and logos
Basic image editing
Handling friend requests
Video creation
Etc, etc, etc …

Reply to this comment
- Holly
  
  08. Dec, 2009
  
  Thanks Anna for that great advice – and I think you’re right about outsourcing so that you can pay for your freedom and so you can do what you enjoy doing online. That is awesome!
Jenny

08. Dec, 2009

Holly,

The first paragraph describes me to a tee (sp?), the lack of direction at times can be very overwhelming.

I appreciate the tips and plan on using some of them. Recently I a have found myself bouncing from one thing to another.

I find that taking breaks in spurts helps me the most thus far. However, I usually end up taking power naps:)

Thanks again for the advice!!

Reply to this comment
Walter

10. Dec, 2009

Working home is no easy task for me with my one year old son. I always have to take care of him when my babysitter is not around. Even though, I try my best to work whenever there’s an opportunity, like when my son is sleeping. I think it is effective if we can be flexible in matters of concentration.

When I sit on my computer I focus to gain concentration, when I’m interrupted, I let go and take note of where I am or the idea I have on mind. This way I am able to regain back the momentum I had prior to the interruption.

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Vance Sova

15. Dec, 2009

Hi Holly,

I still struggle with distractions and the chief among them is email.

I started to unsubscribe from many lists, especially from those that hammer me almost daily with information and sales pitches.

One tip that I like is not checking your emails until the last 15 minutes on the computer.

This is hard to do but by far the best solution to getting absorbed in sorting emails and reading them. For me it could take hours.

Working in spurts is also a good idea as you suggest.

I tend to spend hours behind the computer and getting up and stretching every hour or so does wonders.

Vance

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Cary Bergeron

22. Dec, 2009

I find that working from home can be very difficult as well. Sitting in front of your computer and hammering out content, links and code can be mind numbing.

I like to take a break in the late morning and get some exercise in. After that I work for a couple more hours and take a short lunch. This helps to break up the work and get me out of the house as well.

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josh

27. Dec, 2009

A great tool that has helped me organize my life is a Mind Map software. I notice that as entrepreneurs, we generally are flooded by ideas – a blessing if used wisely, but a major setback if uncontrolled. Ultimately it still boils down to asking my self – “Will this activity, email, program, etc help in my over all vision.?”

Another is starting my day right with routines that I generally don’t want to do, but I know if started right – my day is just beautiful. If I have a good day, then the week will be splendid. If we have a great week, the month will also be wonderful – then the year. It what currently call “the Law of the First Moves.” Easier typed than done, that’s why a coach or someone to keep you accountable, will be a key asset.

So in a nutshell
1. Mind Map Software
2. Regular routing – if you want to break a habit, kill it in 30 days.

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Bill Vlasak

28. Dec, 2009

Staying focused with as many things that you do ,Holly,must be difficult.It is certainly one of my weaknesses.Add to that a noisy household with a grandson and dog and 500 e-mails a day I am amazed I get anything done.
Speaking of outsourcing,if you remember the name “Josh.Josiah” ,he started an outsourcing company in the Phillipines for chores like article writing and spinning and other IM tasks.He did this not so much for personal profit but to help fellow educated countrymen to use their talents in various occupations to make money on the internet,such as writing in topics of their expertise.Since English is quite prevalent there he has offered to give out free article samples “To-Order” via a survey.After that I am sure the rates will be more than reasonable for outsourcing various tasks and still deliver quality.If you are interested or anyone else is,e-mail me and I will forward you Josh’s contact details.
Now there I focused on at least writing this comment in one sitting ;I didn’t have any distractions.Then it is midnight.

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Bill Vlasak

30. Dec, 2009

That is the same Josh as commented here.Worth checking out his site.

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Lock Chee Hoong

18. Jan, 2010

Use sticky notes, write each task on ONE sticky note, organize them according to priority and paste the most important one at the corner of your PC or laptop.
Then after the task is completed, throw that away and replace it with the task with the second highest priority.

With that Sticky Notes staring at you constantly in the face..you will be compelled to get rid of it.

Try that and see if it works /

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PV Reymond

27. Mar, 2010

Hi Holly,

I couldn’t agree more, you touched something really important.

I think that it is important that you analyze the techniques and strategies others are using and then test them to see if they work for you.

Also, you have to adapt them to your business and give it your personal touch to stand out from the crowd.

Being unique and different is crucial in any business.

As you say, if you make a promise you have to deliver on it… if you over deliver it is even better because your customers will be happy and they will come back to you…

It is a principal that Napoleon hill called going the extra mile.

To succeed in this kind of business you have to build trust and credibility because people buy form those the belive in and trust.

On the other hand, you have to make things easy for your visitors, if you have lot of stuff on your site that confuses them, they never come back.

Thanks,
^PV Reymond

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