Working from home sounds like a dream job to many people. One of the most appealing aspects of working from home is that you have the freedom to decide where, how, when, and how often you spend time earning a living. On the flipside, one of the biggest obstacles to overcome is how to stay productive while doing so.

It is all too easy to lose focus and succumb to distractions that, before you know it, end up taking up the majority of your day. If you find yourself spending more time daydreaming than working during your remote workday, or you are getting ready to make the transition to a work-from-home job, this list of four top tips will help keep your day profitably productive.

1. Create a designated home workspace.

This tip is typically at the top of any list of suggestions for staying productive while working from home, with good reason. Any old space in your home won’t do when it comes to building a workspace that contributes to your daily productivity.

While staying in bed or lounging on the sofa in your pajamas sounds like a great way to “go to work” in anyone’s mind, those spaces should be the last place you plan to use as a home workspace.

The ideal workspace is a separate room with its own door that you can close and use as the dividing line between home and work. If that isn’t an option you can make a home office out of any area that can be designated your workspace, where you can set up and arrange the tools you need for work, and enforce a “do not disturb while working” policy for family, friends, children, and even your pets.

2. Establish a schedule and routine for your workday.

For those with the option, choosing to work whenever you can find the time is detrimental to any hopes you may have for a productive day. This is usually because you end up either not working at all or putting in much less time, energy, and effort toward achieving a full day’s work output.

Establishing a daily schedule for your work time and a routine to follow for each day significantly boosts productivity by providing structure and organization for your work-from-home habits. When you know you must “go to work” at a certain time and in a specific way, it is easier for you to prepare yourself mentally for the day ahead and stay on track for achieving work output goals.

3. Set goals, identify tasks, and track your productivity daily.

Whether you are working at home for someone else or for yourself, you should have goals you need to achieve each day and tasks to complete to achieve those goals.

It often helps to put these things in writing to give you a black-and-white point of reference to refer to when you want to gauge your progress or get yourself back on track. You can also track your productivity in writing, as well. A simple time-tracking spreadsheet is an excellent way to record what you are actually getting done each day and how much time is being spent on each activity.

At the end of the day (or week), you can review your productivity tracking data and see if there are things you are doing to contribute to or take away from your overall success in staying productive. This kind of performance monitoring is also a good way to determine if there are goal-oriented tasks that are taking too much time or are not being allocated enough time, as well. This gives you a better idea of whether you need to allocate more or less time and effort, and in what ways, toward reaching the goals you set for yourself each day.

4. Maintain separation between your work and home time and activities.

Workers who do their job at a company location do not have the luxury of snacking throughout their day, playing fetch with their dog, reading a book to their kids, surfing the internet, or watching a movie. Those are home-related activities and should be kept out of your work-from-home routine except during any break time you designate for yourself during each day.

Likewise, you should also never interrupt your at-home time with work activities. Avoid popping in your office and answering emails because you passed by or stopping to check in on projects before your designated work time. When you keep your work life separate from your home life as much as possible, it helps you stay focused on accomplishing your daily work goals and keeping your productivity level as high as possible.

5. Stay organized – and not just your desk!

Staying organized is a cornerstone of productivity when working from home. It serves as the glue that holds all the essential elements of remote work together, ensuring that you can maximize your efficiency and achieve your goals.

A well-organized workspace not only minimizes distractions but also helps create a conducive environment for focused work. But it’s not just about your physical workspace. Organization extends beyond your desk to your digital realm. Keeping digital files and documents neatly categorized and labeled helps you locate crucial information swiftly. Effective digital organization also means setting up an efficient email management system, using project management tools, and maintaining a clear calendar.

When your digital environment is structured, you can prioritize tasks effectively, avoid missed deadlines, and collaborate seamlessly with colleagues. Ultimately, staying organized while working from home allows you to minimize stress, maintain a sense of control over your workload, and devote more time and energy to productive, meaningful work.

These five tips will get you going in the right direction toward working from home and staying productive at the same time. You can also find many other great ideas to add to this list and make your home-bound work life the dream job you always hoped it would be.

Do you ever get distracted while you’re working? According to a recent study from Mopria Alliance, “today’s employees experience 77 distractions a week on average, or one distraction every 31 minutes,” leading to lower productivity levels and negative impacts on mental health.

When we are engaged in something, we tend to ignore other things around us — because our brains are hardwired to focus on the present moment. When that focus is broken, a distraction occurs. It’s important to be aware of these distractions and deal with them immediately. If you don’t limit distractions, they’ll eventually take over your entire day.

Here are some tips to help you stay focused and productive while on the clock:

1. Identify your triggers.

Distractions can come from many different sources: incoming phone calls/texts, emails, meeting notifications, coworkers, family members, social media, and even pets. It’s important to know what kinds of situations are most likely to divert your attention. Once you are able to identify those situations, it will be easier to either troubleshoot their impact or avoid them altogether.

2. Turn off your notifications.

Constant pop-ups and audio notifications can pull your attention away from what you’re working on, thus making it difficult to focus. Notifications from personal devices and accounts should be turned off when working — you can always turn them back on later.

3. Create a workspace that works for you.

It’s important to set clear boundaries between your working and personal spaces. You may not be able to completely eliminate workplace distractions, but you can certainly minimize their impact. When working in a noisy environment, try to close your door (if you have one) or use noise-canceling headphones.

4. Make a list of priorities.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the number of tasks that need to be done. To help manage your workload, create a list of priorities based on the most important projects first. Then, prioritize your remaining tasks using the same method.

5. Break bigger projects into manageable tasks.

When you have too much to do, it’s tempting to just start doing everything. But that approach won’t lead to success. Instead, try breaking big projects into smaller pieces which will help you stay focused and make your workload more manageable.

6. Avoid multitasking.

Multitasking doesn’t work well in today’s world. In fact, research shows that people who frequently switch between activities perform worse than those who stick to one task at a time. So if you want to maximize your efficiency, don’t multitask. Focus on one thing at a time.

7. Take breaks.

If you find yourself getting distracted throughout the day, take a break. Go outside, stretch, walk around the office, or grab a cup of coffee. Taking regular breaks helps you refocus and recharge so you can continue working effectively.

You might not be able to ignore every distraction that comes along, but with practice and a little trial-and-error you’ll be able to focus on the tasks that matter most to you.

Many people claim to experience the difficulty of procrastination when deciding to start a new business, hobby, or project – despite being determined to do it. Studies have shown that about 20% of adults suffer from chronic procrastination, while 1 in 4 adults see procrastination as “a defining personality trait for them.”

By unnecessarily putting off decisions or actions, your to-do list will continue to grow and your goals will be difficult to achieve. It’s important to understand the root cause of your personal experience with procrastinating to break these habits.

Let’s look at two common causes of procrastination to look out for.

Overestimating your availability.

Have you ever confidently told yourself “I’ll start that tomorrow” and then neglected to follow through? Or maybe you delayed starting a task because you thought “The deadline is weeks away – I have plenty of time”, but then something unexpected popped up and caused you to miss it?

Instead of pushing off an overwhelming project until it becomes an urgent matter, start by breaking it down into smaller tasks and working on them for at least 15 minutes a day. That way if something does throw you off your schedule, at least you’ve made some progress. In short: get ahead while you can.

Decisions, decisions.

Having too many options, having options that are too similar, or having goals that are too abstract can all make the decision-making process overwhelming. (These are usually caused by a fear of commitment, or a fear of losing out on other choices.)

Avoid the “paradox of choice” by making S.M.A.R.T goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound). Display these goals in a place where you’ll see them every day to remind you of your commitment – and inspire you to take action. Once your goals are established, try narrowing down your options so that they’re aligned. This will make the process of eliminating choices much easier.

Now that you are more aware of the root of your problem, you’re one step closer to achieving your goals. Procrastinating doesn’t have to wreak havoc on your aspirations – start working on those hindering habits today.

While some people thrive in traditional office atmospheres, many have had to adjust to working in the comfort of their own homes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2025, it is estimated that 22% of the U.S workforce will continue to work remotely, an 87% increase from pre-pandemic statistics.

There are often drawbacks to working in an office environment, but remote work can present challenges as well – such as prioritization and time management.

Here are three easy tips to help improve your WFH time management skills.

1. Schedule deep focus time.

To minimize distractions and maximize your efficiency, establish blocks of uninterrupted work time into your day and put them on your calendar. Consider using tools / software that temporarily blocks access to websites or apps of your choosing. Deep focus time blocks can be beneficial to get your hardest or most tedious tasks done since you won’t be able to use your identified distractors, and your colleagues will see that you are currently unavailable.

Scheduling these focus blocks for the periods that you have the highest energy levels will help you optimize your time, make the most progress on bigger projects, and improve your quality of work. Aim for sessions between 1.5 to 2 hours at a time to achieve maximum productivity.

2. Give yourself breaks.

Instead of dreading certain tasks that you end up dragging out, try scheduling microbreaks (short, regular interval breaks) into your day. Research has shown that taking breaks can give you a fresh perspective that helps maintain job performance throughout the day, lower stress levels and exhaustion, and increase productivity. Mental and physical fatigue can result from things like repetitive tasks or sitting in one spot for a long period of time.

Short breaks can give your brain the time it needs to recharge and the option to move and stretch your body. Use these breaks to meditate, call a friend, grab a healthy snack, or take your pet for a walk outside in the fresh air.

3. Establish boundaries.

Working in a traditional office setting makes it easier to be in the mindset and schedule of a good work/life balance. Without leaving an office and commuting home, you may struggle with “clocking out” or unplugging at the end of the day at home. Try disabling notifications from work applications, changing your chat status, and setting an alarm on your phone to remind you to “sign off”. This will help reduce the urge of checking back in after-hours, which should be time spent unwinding with your family.

Working remotely also means that your TV and refrigerator are within close proximity, so you may find yourself trying to multitask (unsuccessfully) or roaming to find a snack more often. Designating an area of your home for specific purposes can help you create a connection that allows you to focus on specific tasks. While it doesn’t have to be an entire office in your home, try to section off a small corner to establish as your desk and office space where you only perform work-related duties and nothing else. It can take up to 23 minutes to regain focus after being distracted, so the best advice is to limit those distractions as much as possible.

Because there are only 24 hours in the day, and often too much to do, it’s crucial to be efficient with how you manage your time. Give these tips a try so your time doesn’t slip away while working remotely.