How are you staying motivated working from home?

[User1110]

I have been working from home since March 2020 and finding it more and more difficult to stay motivated. I’m not sure if I just need to take a break and reset (I have taken 1 week holiday since then as I can’t travel, had no time off over Xmas etc).

I am finding it a massive struggle to motivate myself and get work done. I put a lot off, which then ends up being a stressful rush when the deadline comes. I’m constantly making cups of tea, going to get water l, checking my phone, replying to whatsapp messages, hoovering, washing etc etc. On busy days/weeks I do work hard when pressure is applied and generally work late and stay focused.

My lack of motivation has only come on in the last few months and I am quite ashamed of myself.

Any tips? I tried turning my phone onto airplane mode but then turned it off again. I almost just feel twitchy and a bit all over the place, if that makes sense.

Op I could have written this.

I do have huge burst of energy where I get absolutely loads done and lots of tasks ticked off but then I have days where I'm so slack and so distracted.

I've started to put the radio on which is helping as the total silence is quite depressing. I used to have moments of procrastination in the office but nowhere near as bad as now. Just not having colleagues there fir a quick chat to break up the day is really draining my motivation. But wfh does really suit me and working around the kids so I'm not even sure I want to be back in the office.

I need to find a way to stop losing motivation. Another thing I need to do is buy a new desk and chair as the ones I am using are uncomfortable and not helping me want to work.

Me too!!! It sucks

This all sounds like wfh'itus. Maybe hybrid and one day in the office will help? I think more people are missing colleague interaction than they realise.

And procrastination of putting off tasks. I put tasks off. P11D's, Year End Reconciliation. Every time I then do it, I'm so cross with myself for procrastinating and putting it off, it's never as bad as I thought it was going to be. I don't know why I do this to myself.

I am also the same. I keep telling myself that I will sent back soon so I have to make the most of my sabbatical by sitting in the garden while I still can. But this then means the work piles up. I am getting worse and worse as time goes on.

I’m worried my DH is feeling like and not telling me about it. He used to spend one day in the office, 2-3 days on the road and 1-2 days wfh. He hasn’t been in to the office or out to a client since March 2020 and he is definitely struggling.
He has also found routine helps (or it did!) he walked the dog at lunchtime (when it wasn’t so hot) and was always up showered and dressed as he did the school drop off before starting work.
He has always been a ‘work under pressure, last minute’ person and this has got much worse, and is spilling into other household related tasks.
He has a meeting with an actual person just over an hours drive away today and he is so excited, it’s very sweet!

I find I’m fine if I have enough work to do, but at the moment I frequently don’t so the days tend to descend into chitchat with friends/colleagues and housework.

Everyone I know is in the same boat. I justify putting the washing out/making tea as time I would have also wasted in work going to the kitchen/having a chat to a colleague for 5. I think you’re a bit burnt out, I was too but had a nice long weekend booked off and now a week off in July and I can’t wait. It’s reset my batteries a bit. Motivation and productivity is not at office levels sometimes but management accept that and understand. My work has task times so it’s not too bad, perhaps a 15 minute task that takes me 5 minutes means I make a cuppa and browse MN. Other times it takes 5 minutes but I quickly move onto the next task. All about balance, perhaps you need to set focus times?

I’m similar. Went into the office for a day this week for the first time in months and I was astounded at how much I achieved without distractions.

This is all very interesting as it's exactly how I feel all of the time forever with ADHD.

Clearly for most people it's a temporary state brought on by a long period of working from home, but it makes me think it's likely brain chemistry related.

Possibly a shortage of dopamine? This is a neurotransmitter associated with reward and motivation. We get dopamine from connecting with people/social validation and achieving goals. So if you're being blocked from accessing some of your usual sources of this then it will cause these kinds of difficulties. You'll more likely seek out any small "hit" of dopamine (Facebook messages, any task that feels easier than the one you're facing aka procrastination by cleaning, etc) while lower levels of dopamine in the body make it harder to get started, get organised, make decisions etc.

If this sounds like it might be an issue for you what can help is totally banning/blocking those predatory sources of dopamine like FB while you're working, and going out of your way to try and boost your levels in whatever ways work for you. Exercise is good, if you are the kind of person who likes dressing up then making sure you dress nicely will help (and turn your video on so people can see). Try to make time to socialise, whether virtually or in person. Try to choose leisure activities that make you feel like you've achieved something, even if it's something inconsequential like completing a jigsaw, rather than just vegging on your phone or watching TV. And for work itself try breaking tasks down into smaller milestones. Pomodoro can help with this.

Urgency/deadlines override the dopamine reward system so creating pressure can help as well, but it's liable to make you stressed if you over rely on this.

I struggle too, the radio helps. While I can justify doing washing during the day and hanging it out, I wouldn't hoover that takes too long.

I definitely need a bit of pressure.

Same here, op. I just don't feel like I'm on it at all.

At the moment I am really missing the separation of work life and home life, that feeling of arriving home for the day. Its all merged together.

Wow @BertieBotts that's really informative! Thank you

This is me as well. It’s looking like our return to the office is off until at least September now so I really need to tackle it. I used to pride myself on being really self motivated and organised, and having good time management skills. Now I’m just all over the place.

Can you go into the office at all ?
I booked a desk for "mental health " reasons on Wednesday and it was bloody fantastic- I was so productive. Planning to go in once a week from now on.

@BertieBotts ADHD here too and I agree with everything you've said.
I had sessions with a work coach recently and we worked on methods of giving me a boost to keep me motivated snd focused (making a nice coffee with flavoured syrup, lighting a scented candle, putting on perfume. Setting a timer on my phone really helps as I find I don't want to "cheat" and look at Facebook or whatever when the timer is on! Regular short breaths to get away from the desk, make a drink, fold washing etc. Giving myself built in reward time to do internet shopping etc. Literally weighting myself down in the chair with my weighted blanket makes me less fidgety and helps me concentrate.

OP if you can get back into the habit of showering and getting dressed before work. I've had lots of days where I've rolled out of bed and started work in PJs but it feels kind of horrible. Put on something nice to wear, perfume. Reward yourself in some way.

I have adhd as well, and I find a standing desk is really helpful. I stand on a wobble board sometimes too, and that is also helpful!

Can relate to this. Even with DC back in school (thank god!) am not enjoying wfh FT. Many of the things I enjoyed about work have been removed, and the tricky things have been amplified.

Not having taken annual leave is a health risk, and won’t have helped. Many organisations require a minimum amount of leave to be taken. So would seek to address that.

Totally!
I've had a big deadline last week which I had to work quite hard to meet so have given myself some slack this week.
I think you have to have a routine. Good work hygiene if you like, just as if you were in work.
Get up at a reasonable time, get showered and dressed and work - set a few goals for the day and have planned breaks. You know what your own procrastination techniques are. Try to avoid them. Decide on a time to finish and stop then. If you can't do that every day maybe start with every other day.

I think you need to take some leave, I know you can't really go very far but a break from work makes a real difference. Without taking a break you're risking burnout. Honestly a week off will make the world of difference.

I'm also wfh and have been since March 2020, I didn't take much leave last year and suffered for it, I'm being more disciplined about it this year and feel so much better!

I’ve worked from home for years and love it. Some people take a while to adjust ordinarily and being pushed into it hasn’t helped.

I’m surprised your manager hasn’t made you take some leave. It’s essential for maintaining motivation and wellbeing. There are plenty of places to get away to in the U.K., so holidaying is possible if staying and doing nice things from home isn’t appealing.

I’d say;
Set goals. Have a daily ‘to do list’ that offers a sense of completion of tasks.

Work to a pattern. Have lunch breaks and move away from the computer. Go for a walk, a swim, do Zumba. Have a start and finish time. Work in chunks - do an hour, then a coffee a stand and stretch or five sit ups. Doesn’t matter what, just refocus for a brief while.

Keep in touch with people. Gossip (nice chattering gossip, not meanness). Call people and have a virtual coffee break together. Once you realise most others welcome a chat, you don’t need a reason. We have a system whereby people are encouraged to call someone they haven’t spoken to in a while, someone new or someone they don’t usually work with once a week. It’s called teapot time in our diaries.

Don’t expect work to be everything. Have other goals and things to achieve outside of your contracted work. That can genuinely be anything - but should be constructive. Something as simple as growing sweet peas, making bread regularly, learning to speak another language, losing three pounds, sewing a dress or making birthday cards. Be interested in something outside of your immediate work.

Reward yourself. Be kind to yourself. Plan things in for the weekend so it feels different. Invite someone for coffee or a pizza. Visit a different place with a friend or partner. Spend time outside. Cook nice meals.

I’m trying out the Pomodoro method today with a free app on my phone and so far so good (currently on my ‘long’ break)!

I’ve been using the 5 min ones to do all the stuff I need to to do like hanging up laundry, making tea etc. Because I know I only have 5 mins it’s made me go a bit faster.

Most importantly, I feel like I’m getting a lot of work done! I feel like it’s got me in a good headspace - yay! Really determined to stick with it, thank you to those who suggested it

I know this is slightly a zombie thread - sorry - but just jumped on this too!

I love WFH for the flexibility and freedom but find myself getting very distracted and I had an app come up on MS Viva for not getting distracted - music?

Is there anything else anyone would suggest?

Funnily enough in a previous job I didn't get distracted before - it was more Team PA/Sec and I had loads of tasks but in an order. I worked more than I should've done.

My downfalls now are either I get up at 8.30 shower, breakfast and then start work or I get up at 8.55 then breakfast and MN/emails etc and start work at 9.30 which is what I used to do in work anyway.

I have tea breaks at 11 and 3 and a lunch at midday.

Any tips? I'm usually really organised but as I said I prefer a scheduled work day and also love catch ups with colleagues which I like because you can offload stress and tension - did this in old job, new job rarely do!