Keeping your eyes on the ball while working from home

[CatRen27]

Help! I am a freelance consultant and love what I do. I have gotten into a terrible pattern though of messing around during the day doing "important" life admin and household tasks aka procrastinating and then panicking to meet my deadlines. I always get the work done and have had good feedback (and follow on work) but its so stressful and unsustainable.. how do you lot avoid procrastination and distraction?

I have tried working at the large library in town that has desk space clearly set out for working/ studying so wondering if that's best so I'm not around the distractions? I tend not to have work calls during the day so can go for a whole day not talking to anyone except dd before/after nursery..

Any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated as I really want freelancing to work and to kick my lazy arse into gear. Thanks!

Get "ready" for work in the morning, dress properly. Put makeup on if you usually would.

Shut the doors and make sure the phone's off or on silent.

Wear shoes.

These things are what helps me. Oh and never work anywhere other than a proper desk. Not at the kitchen table or so forth.

It can be really hard. I have worked for myself for years and close myself away in a little "office" which is really a glorified space on the landing with no distractions.

Use a calendar app (or a paper calendar!) to schedule in your work periods and also schedule in short breaks regularly. keep a to do list, either on paper or using an app, write in all the jobs you've got on your calendar and tick them off as you go along to keep you on track. Set yourself specific times of day to check emails/facebook etc.

Thanks so much everyone that's really helpful. I'm going to get my calendar and work space up over the weekend and get some work clothes ironed and ready. I can do this!

Ignore the housework and go to your workspace. Good luck. Freelancing is tough but the flexibility is great!

Think about your work style.

I have worked from home- self employed for 15 years. I know my patterns. I work very intensively for 2 hours- very hard, very focussed,
Then I need to change my activity. I may do some housework for 20 minutes, do a different task, or just have a coffee and have a break.
And then back to work.
I rarely work more than 2 hours at a stretch. I work 7 days a week, and often evenings. But I need to break it up.
I get more done by having hard short bursts than if I try to work 7 hours at a stretch.
We are all different.

Thanks Speakout, I think I'm the same as you although I get the guilt if I stop after getting things done. I like your pattern, think I'll give it a try!

And thanks MaGratgarlik1983, (hi from the TTC threads..!).

Drop the guilt. It's the breaks that fuel my short bursts.
The breaks are vital to the way I work. It allows my mind to settle, to regain energy.
It's all part of the deal.

Reading with interest. I wfh and I'm an expert procrastinator!

I don't find it hard to work.

Effort = ££

And that is a huge motivator for me.

I have two kids in further education. The cost of that support makes my head spin. I will be working today at 8am.

I'm back into this type of lifestyle and I think it can be hard but I also feel lucky to have this flexibility.

I've been working in an office environment before now and if you see how much down time there is, you won't feel guilty about stopping to put your wash out!
Can you start your day with a to do list of home activities (don't go mad as you've got all week) and a to do list of work activities? Then every couple of hours, stop and do some of the home jobs and make a cuppa and go back to work.

My sister in law works from home and after the nursery and school drop off she does an hour in the gym - EVERY MORNING 😬

She reckons, healthy mind, healthy body

And then often works from the gym drinking nice coffee using their wifi!

This works well for her she says the same xx

Bella that sounds amazing! I might try that.

And yes a to do list definitely has helped over the last few weeks. Home chores plus work tasks. I can do this!

@CatRen27
I think I'd be the same if I worked from home. The gym does sound like a plan tho! Worth a try x

I freelance a bit from home and am not the best at focusing, but definitely not the worst either. I also work pt, so enjoy the stimulation of going to a workplace.

I think the advice above on knowing your own style is good. For me I spend a bit of time at the beginning of the task just thinking, collecting information, fiddling around setting up a document. It looks unproductive, but that gets me into it and actually my brain is getting into gear during that phase. Then the peak of my productivity comes 1 - 2 days before the deadline.

Hth.