How can we stay productive working at home? It’s a tough question. There are so many distractions working at home – for example, I get up in the morning and look out my window. Outside, I see a big old tree that I can climb in case I want to get away from my desk for a moment. I also have a nice big yard that I can do some gardening in, or even wander out in the middle of the night and look at the stars.
I can go downstairs and cook breakfast, or walk to the corner and get a cup of coffee. I can do laundry, I can go to the store. I can go out with my family and socialize, or I can sit in my backyard and read a book.
The problem is that I am a workaholic. I am a very productive person. I have a lot to do, and I am doing a lot of it. I’m writing for this blog, I’m writing for other sites, I am doing freelance work, I’m working on my novel, I’m building Joomla extensions, I’m working on my online business… I’m running a marathon here!
I’m not very good at staying focused. I have trouble staying on a topic for long periods of time. I get distracted by minor details. I get bored very easily, and I get distracted by new projects. I like to work on a lot of projects at the same time, and I can’t focus on any one of them for very long. I have to keep moving around. I have ADHD, and I’m not ashamed of it.
I’m not going to tell you about how I’m going to cure my ADHD. That wouldn’t be possible. What I’m going to tell you instead is that I’m learning to live with it.
I’m going to tell you how I’ve been able to work from home for a very long time and do a lot of work. I’m going to tell you how I’m able to focus for long periods of time and how I’m able to stay productive when there are so many distractions around me.
My No. 1 productivity tip is to always have a clear goal in mind. I’ve talked about this before, but I really believe that having a clear goal in mind is the most important aspect of being productive. Without a clear goal, your productivity is going to be all over the place. When you have a clear goal, you can easily prioritize your task list.
In order to have a clear goal, you have to know what you want to accomplish. When you are working for yourself, this is much easier to do. Working from home, you are your own boss. You can set your own goals. And you can set them for yourself. If you don’t set your own goals, then you are working toward someone else’s goals, and that’s not going to help you stay productive.
I’ve talked about setting goals for yourself before, and it’s not a step that you have to take to become more productive. However, I believe that goals are crucial to your success as a freelancer. They are the way to measure your productivity. Without a goal, you are just going to be wandering, aimlessly around, and you won’t know how to plan your days and weeks. You won’t know when you are successful and when you are not.
Planning your day and your week is pretty easy to do when you have a clear goal.