How to Work from Home and Overcome Procrastination

Keep Your Workflow Steady From Anywhere

The Coronavirus pandemic has caused 4.7 million Canadians to figure out how to work from home, as they’re told to stay in their houses and make a living. This is not always an easy task, as most of us have numerous distractions at home, such as children or pets. Your workflow may decrease because of the change of environment. Procrastination can begin to creep up as you start to feel more comfortable at home.

Working remotely requires you to readjust your workflow, and allow for the change of environment. Thinking you can simply do what you've always done at the office, at home, will not be effective. This can cause stress for you, your family, and your employer.

Although the most effective way to simulate an actual office is to set up a home office, not everyone has the living space to dedicate solely for this purpose. If you work with a laptop you can choose several nice areas within your home to work in. On a nice day, you can set up your work area outside and enjoy some fresh air while you kick your brain into work mode.

Working from home while social distancing, can leave you feeling isolated, which is why it’s important to stay connected to others. This can be done with video calls or even social media, to have some form of communication with your coworkers, friends, and family.

Remote workers also sometimes find that work life bleeds into their home life, and this can cause stress. It helps to set and stick to working hours, and put your work away once you reach the end of your day. Increase your work ethic and you won’t feel the need to work later to complete projects.

Here are 3 Ted Talks to Help you Work Better From Home

Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator

This Ted talk by Tim Urban, the writer behind the wait but why blog, is light hearted yet informative. Urban does a great job of explaining how procrastination works, using his stick figure sketches to narrate the concepts. If you’ve been struggling to get started on projects, this talk will help you gain clarity, and get to work.

The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers

This talk by Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and author, explains how a small amount of procrastination can increase creativity. He dives into how original thinkers work, and how you can help yourself have more creative ideas.

How to Achieve your Most Ambitious Goals

Stephen Duneier’s talk is by far the most helpful for anyone who struggles to stay focused on the task at hand. His approach to getting things done is effective if your attention wanders off while you are trying to work. All of this from a man who holds a Guinness World Record despite having trouble staying focused.

Whether you're working full time or part time, working from home does come with great flexibility and freedom once you get the hang of it. You might even ask your employer to make this arrangement permeant once the pandemic is over. If however, you find yourself laid off check out these tips for finding a job that will lead to success despite the pandemic.