Working from home is the real deal. You get to choose when to work, where to work, and who to work for. The best part is that you’re the boss. There will be no management telling you how to dress or to do your work. You get to decide for yourself. In this blog post, discover 8 tips to work from home while staying effective and sane.

Working from home means that you’ve totally freed yourself from being an employee. It means that you’re now self-employed. It’s no wonder that a lot of people are getting all wrapped up about leaving their day jobs to work from their warm abode.

Tele Research Network conducted a study about office and home-based workers, and guess what they found? Apparently, 80 percent of the people who are working in an office wish that they could get a home-based job. They also pointed out other studies that show how telecommuters and home-based workers were happier and a lot more productive than people working in an office.

Working from home is quite the life but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. It has its drawbacks too. It can make you feel isolated. It can make you forget to take breaks, or worse, you may not be able to resist procrastination. As a result, you end up chatting with your friends all day instead of working.

Working from home requires a great deal of concentration as well as self-discipline. Since you’re working in the comfort of your own home, you might be tempted to do something else when you’re supposed to be working. You could be tempted to clean your room or go to the garden when you’re supposed to be working on a project.

You might even be tempted to run errands, go to the fridge, or do other leisurely activities such as baking, reading – the list is endless. It takes time to mentally adjust from the idea of working from home without feeling as if every day is a weekend. You might feel that you’re going crazy, but as difficult as it seems, there are techniques in order to effectively work from home. Here is how you stay sane and productive while working from home. with these tips to work from home:

8 Tips to Work from Home While Staying Effective and Sane

1. Take short breaks

When you work from an office, it’s quite normal for you to visit somebody else’s office or cubicle. But since you’re now working in your own space and in your own terms, you now have fewer reasons to stand up from your working area.

So, why should you take short breaks? You should do it if you want to maintain your sanity. It doesn’t matter if you’re working at home. Work is still work. Burnouts happen and when they do, your efficiency and productivity stop.

2. Do regular exercise

Do it on the time that works best for you. If you want to work from home then it is important for you to stay in shape. Not only will it help you become more productive and efficient, it will also help you relax.

Most people think that relaxing means sitting on a couch, watching TV, and taking long naps. On the contrary, what it actually means is that you are free from pressure and stress.

When you spend too much time working, this is the time when all the pressure and stress starts pouring. Since you’re already in the verge of stress, you’d want to lie in bed for longer periods of time. You’re waiting for your energy to be replenished. Unfortunately, it never happens. You begin feeling as if you’re always tired.

There’s no better way to get rid of all your stress than through exercising. Back when you were still in the office, you thought that you would have given anything to get some rest.

Now, you’ve officially achieved your goal working from home, you’re probably got used to the idea that you’re never going to get stressed out ever again. Why would you, now that you can rest anytime you want?

Well, you’re going to learn the hard way that there are loads of stress factors. It’s not about knowing how to avoid stress. You’re never going to avoid it no matter how much you try. You should instead know how to relieve stress. You do it by sweating. You do it through exercise.

3. Make social contact

When you start working at home, you get the feeling that everything is going to get better. Why wouldn’t it when now you have your time in your hands? You’re the one who gets to decide how and when to use it, but the thing is, once you start to work from home, that’s also the time you say goodbye to your social life.

It’s like I said. When you work from home, you need loads and loads of concentration. With that, you’re going to spend lots of your time in your room, all alone.

If you don’t want to go crazy in the next couple of weeks, then you need to keep social contact.

Perhaps, you should do a lunch out. That way, you’ll have the chance to run into and talk with your peers.

4. Get some pet time

Working in an office is a lot more stressful than working from home. The only difference is that when you’re in the office, you share the same stress as everyone whereas when you work from home, you have the stress all to yourself. This can result to a burnout.

You know what’s a fun way to avoid burnout? I sure do. You do it by spending some time with your pet. It’s up to you how you want to spend the time with your pet. You can take him for a walk. You can play games. You can pat it on the head. You decide. The point of the whole thing is to keep you away from work and stress for a few minutes.

5. Don’t ever bring snack in your work area

Just because I advised you to take break doesn’t mean I wanted you to do it in your work area. When you find the need or the time to get something to eat, always take the time to actually stand from where you’re sitting and go to the kitchen or the dining table.

Remember what I said about self-discipline? Well, that is exactly what this is about. You have to teach yourself to know the difference between place for work and place for breaks.

When you start treating your work area as a break area, then you’ll be tempted to munch on when you’re supposed to be working. It’s already hard enough to be productive when you’re sitting comfortable in your home. Don’t make it worse by adding more temptations in your own work area.

6. Spend a few bucks on a good chair

When you’re working from home, you’re bound to earn more money than you did when you were working in the office. With that, you might be addicted to the idea of saving more money.

With that in mind, you might think that spending money on a chair is a waste of money but as a matter of fact, it’s actually an investment.

So, how is it an investment? You have to remember that since you’re now working from home, you’re going to be sitting on a chair for the rest of the day. The only time that you’ll be moving is probably the times when you need to go to the rest room or get something.

With that, you need to sit on something that’s comfortable. It will keep you from feeling tired. It will help you collect enough energy to maximize each day that comes by.

7. Be cautious about the kind of music you listen to

Back when you were still working in the office, you were always in the zone to work. Perhaps, that’s just the kind of atmosphere an office is supposed to have.

But now that you’re working from home, things became a bit different…well, a lot different to be honest. Since you’re all comfy in your chair all day long, you can’t deny the fact that just about everything that you hear or see can greatly affect your mood. It just takes one thing to take your concentration away from your work and into something else.

It’s a common habit among home-based worker to listen to music while they work. It makes them feel calm and in the zone, but be careful with the type of music you listen to.

There is music that gets you in a work mood while there is also music that makes you sleepy or idle.

8. Keep a bottled water within your reach at all times

Other than being work efficient and staying sane, it’s also important to always stay hydrated.

Due to your workload, you might forget to get up to drink some water. With that, it can be useful to keep your water within your reach so you can drink without getting up. Having a water bottle on your desk will also remind you that you need to drink water.

About the author: 

Kristoffer Canimo has been working as a freelance writer and content manager for over five years now. He is currently based in the Philippines, and writes for Sydney-based businesses like JMAC Wealth. See more from Kristoffer by following him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.