7 simple strategies to stay motivated when working from home

I’m not going to lie – I’ve found it incredibly difficult to stay motivated of late. 

It can be tricky to stay motivated when working from home at the best of times. Add a global health crisis into the mix and things get a whole lot more challenging. 

I know that I am so lucky to still have a job. I want to perform to the best of my ability as I always strive to do. Yet still I have had this lingering lack of motivation that I have really struggled to shake. 

When I can’t focus in a pandemic-free situation, I change my working environment for a couple of hours. Swapping my home desk for a coffee shop or coworking space has got me out of a productivity rut no end of times. Our brains love a change of scene, which is why popping to the cafe is one of the easiest ways to boost your mojo. A change is as good as a rest as they say.

But with my go-to option cut off from me for the time being, I have had to revisit how to stay motivated. After some self-reflection, experimentation and Googling, I have found that what it really boils down to is this:

• Having a purpose
• Knowing your worth
• Finding ways to keep your energy levels up 
• Understanding the value of perspective

You may think that these are very basic points. And you’re right, they are. But it’s very easy to lose sight of these things. The stresses and strains of modern life tend to take over and this has never been more true than it is at the moment.  

Sometimes, we need to take a step back and reset so that we can come back stronger and more motivated than ever. 

How to stay motivated when working from home

Here are some strategies that can help you to stay motivated when working from home. I’ve found these incredibly helpful but we’re all different. Experiment and find out what works best for you.

Work out your why

Being very clear on why you work is one of the most important things you can do to stay motivated. It’s much easier to keep slogging away at your desk if you know there is a reason for it. 

Clearly, we need to work to earn money. Without money, we’d be pretty screwed. That’s just an obvious fact and isn’t going to necessarily help you power through your ever-growing to-do list. 

But if you use specific goals to capture your why, it can really help to give you that extra push. For example, the reason why I work full-time and run a blog is because I want to buy a house next year. I’m totally fed up of living in rented accommodation. I work because I want to put down real roots in a place I can truly call my own. 

Your why might be similar to mine or it could be something entirely different. It doesn’t matter. But having your purpose clear in your mind can give you that kick up the ass to stay motivated. Write it down and refer back to it whenever you need a boost.

Celebrate successes, however small they may be

Not letting the small (and big) wins pass you by is crucial for staying motivated. 

An article in Inc magazine suggests that by failing to celebrate success, you’re “training your brain that what you are doing isn’t all that exciting and important.” If you’re not excited, you’re not exactly going to stay motivated. 

Imagine you had an employee who consistently produced amazing results but you never praised them or recognised their achievements. They would soon feel undervalued, downtrodden and depleted, which would do nothing for their motivation to carry on working for you. 

Treat yourself in the same way you would treat someone working for you. Recognise your worth. Pat yourself on the back when you achieve a goal or meet a deadline. Even if it seems trivial, making the effort to reinforce that you’re doing a great job will work wonders for your motivation.

Break down tasks into manageable chunks

There is nothing more demotivating than a to-do list the length of your arm with no idea where it even begins. If I had a pound for every time I felt totally overwhelmed by everything I had to do, I would be rich enough not to care about motivating myself to work. 

If your motivation is sapped because of sheer volume of work, you need to break down your to-do list. Look at your list and work out:

• The most urgent tasks
• The tasks that are quickest to check off
• The things you like doing
• The jobs you really don’t want to do

Obviously, the most urgent and time-sensitive things should be done first. But after that, I highly recommend you do the things you really don’t want to do FIRST. If those things also happen to be the quickest to get off your list, even better. You will feel so much more accomplished getting rid of the horrible tasks first and more energised to get to the things you actually like doing. 

Put yourself up against the clock 

Even though I don’t really like to admit it, I’m pretty competitive. So there probably is no better way for me to stay motivated than competing against myself to get things done.

Here’s how it works:

• Pick a task from your to-do list
• Set yourself a time-frame for either completing the task entirely or reaching a mini-deadline (I recommend 30-60 minutes)
• Get to work and try and beat the clock!

You’d be surprised how effective this technique can be, particularly if you have a real competitive streak!

Build in time for breaks

No one can stay motivated without taking time out every now and again. In fact, taking breaks can improve productivity and motivation. 

According to psychology professor Alejandro Lleras, “when faced with long tasks…, it is best to impose brief breaks on yourself. Brief mental breaks will actually help you stay focused on your task!”

While taking regular breaks throughout the working day is important, having set periods of time when you don’t work at all is key to protecting your motivation over the long-term. It can even help boost your creativity.

Look after yourself

If you’re struggling with your mental health, it can be super hard to stay motivated to do anything, let alone work. Equally, if you’re not eating well or exercising frequently enough, you won’t have the energy to keep your mojo going strong.

Take time for yourself every day, even if it’s just ten minutes. Try short meditations to keep your mental health in check, or take a long relaxing bath to reset your mind.

Schedule at least 30 minutes a day for exercise. If you’re not a gym buddy or a marathon runner, fear not! There are plenty of fun home workouts you can do online, mostly for free. Once you get into the habit of regular exercise, you’ll be surprised by how ready you feel to take on the world!

See the bigger picture

Keeping perspective is a really powerful tool for staying motivated. 

Whenever I’m stuck in a rut at work, recognising that my lack of motivation is just a small blip really helps me to get back on track. Demotivation is just a phase – it will eventually go away. In the grand scheme of things, these moments only represent a tiny fraction of your life. Things will get better.

Taking a step back and realising all the things you have to be thankful for is also key. Next time you’re struggling to stay motivated at work, write down five things you’re grateful for that wouldn’t be possible without work. Remind yourself of this list whenever you feel your perspective slipping away.

How do you stay motivated working from home?

There are A TON of motivation strategies out there. I’ve only gone through a few things that have worked for me. I would love to hear your thoughts. Let me know how you stay motivated in the comments below!