6 Common Mistakes People Working From Home Make (And How To Avoid Them).

Over the last few years, more and more people have been working from home. The rise of agile management and the “remote first” movement coupled with complications around the containment of covid-19 has made telecommuting the new normal.

There are many advantages of remote work. Among other things, it allows the management to save money in co-working spaces and employ people from all over the world. The employees can also save time, money and be more flexible which results in increased productivity.

Yet working from home is not a walk in the park. Unlike the highly structured and regulated office environment, at home, you are your own boss. So unless you are armed with the right strategy, it is very easy to fall behind.

Are you planning to start working from home? Or have you been working from home and you want to increase your productivity? Here are 6 pitfalls to avoid as well as actionable tips to get you acing your goals in the comfort of your home.

1. Going in without a work plan.

It’s been rightly said failing to plan is planning to fail. If you are to succeed as a remote worker you must plan how to go about the work.

Good. But what does a good work plan consist of? It’s simple.

The first step, be clear on the task(s) at hand. What exactly needs to be done?

Understanding the task is important for a couple of reasons. First, for psychological preparation. It enables you to know what you are up against beforehand.

Secondly, it gives a clear picture of the tools and resources that will be needed to get the work done. That will allow you to gather everything in advance so you won’t be running around looking for things when you should be working.

Have you ever been on a video call with someone who has to excuse themselves every few minutes to get something? That’s a lack of a work plan on display. Avoid such a scenario if you want to be taken seriously.

After understanding the task, the second step is to split it into manageable pieces. Depending on the bulk and longevity, divide the work into monthly, weekly then daily tasks.

That’s important for organization. It will also prevent you from getting overwhelmed and burned out. Approaching a huge task as one whole, like attempting to eat a loaf of bread in one bite, is pretty overwhelming.

Breaking work into small manageable pieces spreads the load making daily tasks easier and fun to do.

Moreover, it makes monitoring and evaluation easy. Daily targets are easier to evaluate and then based on the outcome effect necessary changes early.

After that is done, set out the working hours. This is the third and final step in planning. Complete the process by assigning the daily tasks specific times of the day. Whether you are a day or night person, be sure to assign critical tasks the most productive times of the day.

If assigning every task a specific time is not feasible, then just note your working hours. So long as the day’s tasks are not complete continue working.

Tip: Ensure the tasks to be done the next day are noted (and if possible listed) before going to bed. This eliminates potential time wastage in the morning trying to figure out what to do.

Also, factor in break times in the daily work plan. Social breaks, meal breaks, etc. are very important. After about 1–2 hours of work take a short break to break monotony and refresh. Long breaks in addition to disorientation open the floodgates of distraction.

2. Not investing in a good working space.

The picture many people have when they hear about working from home is someone laying on the couch gazing at their laptop with a mug of coffee in hand and a beautiful pooch nearby. Well, while many work-at-homers do this it’s not always the best idea.

For good reasons.

Studies have shown a positive correlation between the work environment and productivity. Therefore, get yourself a conducive working space within the house.

If possible, designate a room. A home office of some sort. That alone will cut off many potential distractors. Moreover, a dedicated working space sets the right mood and mindset for work.

See, the mind already associates most rooms in the house with leisure. When you work from such spaces, getting the mind off leisure to work mode can be difficult. Dedicating a specific room for work purposes could be the secret of tuning the mind to go to work quickly.

That said, whether a dedicated room or not, ensure the working space meets these two minimum requirements.

First, it has to be well lit and ventilated. Tap into nature’s free sources. A good large window(s) would do the job. So if your house doesn’t have enough of them, it would be a worthwhile investment in your next house renovation.

Secondly, get a good table/ platform and comfortable chair. This allows you to work while seated upright. Medical benefits aside, the upright posture bolsters concentration and alertness which are performance boosters.

3. Only working when you feel like it.

Feelings, like the waves of the sea, change all the time. You cannot depend on them. Not when you have targets to be met.

This is what winners do. When the scheduled work time comes, go to work whether you feel like it or not. Let the feelings catch up with you later, if they wish to.

And they mostly do. The hardest thing usually is to start. Once you overcome the initial resistance and get started, soon you will find yourself enjoying your work.

If you are to be successful in any endeavor you must learn to master yourself. A major component of that is controlling your feelings. Don’t let your feelings master you, master them.

Decide what needs to be done and push yourself to do it. Sooner than later the body learns to cooperate.

When working from home, discipline and consistency is the name of the game. It’s achieving daily targets that build up to a month or year of met goals. Control your feelings and get work done.

4. Not taking your grooming seriously.

Another mistake people working from home make is going to work straight from bed. No freshening up, no grooming.

Well, while hygiene is a matter of personal choice, not grooming could limit your productivity.

In addition to health benefits, bathing and grooming activate the body. That hastens the transition from sleep to work mode.

Further, it gets you into the right mood and mindset; assets that you will need in abundant supply as you work.

Grooming also readies you for any audio-visual engagement that may come up during the day. Say an impromptu video call with a client or boss. You will not have to run up and down the house trying to find a presentable outfit.

Don’t populate the internet “most embarrassing moments” lists when the camera captures the pantless you by mistake. We won’t mind having another laugh but save yourself the embarrassment.

Groom and dress at the earliest opportunity in your schedule.

When I say you dress I don’t necessarily mean adorning your best pair of suits or that official office wear. Well, if you want to that’s okay but just get out of your pajama. Whatever you chose to wear is up to you.

See, the mind already associates the pajama with sleeping. When you work in pajamas, the mind may revert to sleeping mode. Maybe this is why you always feel sleepy as you work. Get rid of that pajama and your mind will understand sleeping time is over and tune to working mode.

Ultimately, a clean man is a happy man. And a happy man is a productive man. Take your grooming seriously.

5. Isolating yourself.

Working from home is not synonymous with being anti-social. Humans are social and relational beings. Alone you cannot blossom, not as you could have with good people around you.

Developing good and meaningful relationships is, therefore, a must-do.

Thanks to the internet, people can connect virtually via various online social sites. Make good use of such platforms.

Over and beyond virtual connections, make a point to connect with people physically. There’s something about physical connection that you won’t find in virtual platforms –depth.

Meet up guys over coffee. Participate in social events. Make new friends. Go to the movies. Host family and friends, and accept invitations from them. In short, make it a habit of getting out of the house and connecting with people physically.

Socializing is very important.

First, it boosts your creativity. People have different perspectives about life and its issues. So when you socialize you broaden your mental scope. Who knows, a great idea may just pop up in the interactions.

Secondly, healthy relations rave positive energy within. You will need tonnes of this when working alone. Stock up.

6. Letting the motivation tank run dry.

Working from home will drain you, perhaps more than the normal office setup. There are days you will wake up and not feel like doing anything. The very sight of the laptop and work equipment will be offensive.

In an office setup, you work with many people who constitute a ready support group. Besides, it is very easy to cruise along in herd mentality. These can somehow keep you going in the low moments.

Luxuries you won’t have when working from home. Support is limited or even non-existent. You are on your own.

That means you will have to find ways to motivate yourself.

The key is pinpointing what makes you happy and doing it often. This is the fuel that will keep you going.

Whether it is that good tune that tunes you into the right mood to work. Hanging out. Or a chat with that good friend. Traveling to some picturesque spots. Hitting the gym or working out in the house. Walks or runs in the neighborhood. Cooking some good meal and feasting on it. You name it.

Single out these hobbies and fun activities and engage in them regularly. Do them, even more, when you sense you are running low on motivation.

And don’t leave it to fate. Include leisure time in your work plans. You don’t want to be the dull Jack who is all work and no play. When it is time to play, play hard so you rump up the motivation to work hard when you sit on your desk.