

Staying Productive When Working From Home - MarlonPro
http://www.productivitybits.com/5-tips-for-staying-productive-when-working-from-home

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ganley
I worked from home (as a full-time employee of various companies) for 12
years, and I 100% disagree with the point made here and by the various
commenters. A huge part of the benefit of working at home is being able to use
my time in a way that works as efficiently for me as possible, and that means
spending the time of day when I'm sharpest (early morning) working, not taking
a shower and getting dressed. I generally took a shower and got dressed around
lunchtime, which provided a nice boost from the early afternoon need-a-siesta
feeling.

If showering and getting dressed first thing works for you, great, but I get
really tired of seeing people dispense that advice as the "right" thing to do.

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sidmitra
Yup. I don't think treating your home like an office works for everyone. I
feel more productive in shorts and a T-shirt. I work on my desk, but mostly on
my bed actually. I work lying down and propping up the laptop+stand on my
knees. I work sitting down or even standing at times, basically whatever gets
me working.

I can probably not work in a normal office anymore!

What is more important is to be organized.

\- Figure out a system that works for you and concentrate on striking off
stuff from your task list. My system involves pivotal tracker + Gnome
Pomodorro applet timer.

\- Manage your notes/references/bookmarks better. Eg. Evernote + pinboard

\- Make repetitive tasks automated

\- Drink sufficient water!

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MarlonPro
Working from home probably demands more discipline that when your working in a
corporate office. It is not for everybody. The slackers cannot thrive in a
home-office environment :-)

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michaelchisari
Simple rule I've discovered: When I find myself just mindlessly screwing
around on the internet (manically surfing between reddit/hn/slashdot, for
instance), I'll stop and go do something productive. Whether that's wash some
dishes, brush my teeth, do a few Khan Academy math problems, fold some
laundry, any activity which requires direct focus.

For me, it really helps me from spiraling into "holy crap, it's been an hour
and I haven't done anything" mode.

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MarlonPro
Break the bad cycle! Do something that will kickstart your productivity mode.
Reviewing a complicated code would help you create the momentum you need.

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randomdata
I have been working for home for nearly a decade now. At first, with some
pressure, I tried to keep regular business hours and really struggled with
that. I would quickly burn out and seek some other activity to relieve the
strain. At the end of the day, my overall productivity was low. I will note
that my productivity when I worked in an office was not much better, for much
the same reasons.

After some trial and error I started to realize that shorter stints of work
spread over the entire day lead to much greater results. I now start work
around 11AM, deal with emails/first morning problems, take a lunch break at
noon, then put in around four hours of solid work in the afternoon. I relax
throughout the evening and then go back to work for the last 3-4 hours before
bed. I am now able to put in a far more productive number of hours and my
output has increased significantly.

With that, I have to disagree with a lot of the points in the article. Home
_is not_ the office. You need to change your work habits to fit into your new
place of work, not try to make your home fit your work habits. In my
experience, trying to move your office into your house is bound to fail.
Change the way your work, however, and your potential for greatness exceeds
that of working in the office.

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MarlonPro
The article is for those who work from their home office. But you are right.
Home and office should not be mixed. It's a bad concoction. The key is to
separate the home from the office and vice versa in all aspects - mentally,
physically, and spiritually.

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bradleyland
I've been working from home for the last 5 years or so. The best tip I can
give anyone is to "act" like you're at an office.

I set up a spare bedroom as an office. I have it set up like an office, and I
keep non-officy stuff out of that room. I get dressed for work every morning
in casual attire, but I impose a personal requirement that my shirt has to
have a collar (usually a polo). I keep an open Skype channel with my remote
office as frequently as possible, even if I'm not talking to the person on the
other end. The sounds of an office on the other side help me keep the office
mindset.

Basically, I solve the problem by pretending that I'm in an office. Maybe
that's silly, but it's worked really well for me.

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qzio
To me that sounds like you actually _want_ to work in an ordinary office.

I worked from home for a couple of years, but I'm currently working from an
ordinary "open" office I was far more productive when I worked from home, in
an asynchronous team, with less interruptions.

However, I do think a lot of people are -more- productive in an ordinary
office environment. I think different stuff works for different people, I
don't think we're all the same.

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MarlonPro
You're right, it depends. It depends mainly on the industry one is working in
and also, I should add, the type of personality. Outgoing, extrovert people
may have a had time working from a home-office :-)

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rlivsey
I find the pomodoro technique really useful.

Just the simple thing of having a countdown timer going makes me focus on the
task at hand and restricts my procrastination to the breaks, which I also
limit in length using the timer.

I'm currently using 45min working periods with 15min breaks, I've found that's
the best balance for me after experimenting with various combinations.

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MarlonPro
I have heard a lot of good things about the pomodoro technique.

If you're working from home in which your bosses are not around, you need
something to kick your butt. This technique really helps on that regard.

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steverb
I've found that an important tool for me is establishing a routine just like
if you were going into the office to work (albeit allowing less time for the
commute).

Shower. Shave (unless in Grizzly Adams mode). Put on clothes that you would be
willing to wear outside the house. Eat breakfast. Go to work.

I personally find that the ritual helps to put my mind in "work" mode.

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MarlonPro
Some people prefer to just go in front of the desk in their home office
straight from the bed. This is so wrong! Your home office IS NOT just any
other room in your house or apartment. It is THE office.

Like I said in my other reply, treat your home office as you would any typical
corporate office. Take a shower, put own fresh clothing, etc.

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randomdata
I really don't see the benefit of having a distinct office. I do my
programming job from:

    
    
        1. Anywhere in my house, depending on which
           location feels right at any given time.
        2. Restaurants, coffee shops
        3. Hotels
        4. From moving cars (while not driving, obviously)
        5. From tractors way out in the middle of a field
        6. In friend's living/dining rooms
        7. Decks, porches, patios, picknick tables
        8. You name it, I have probably tried it
    

As I mentioned in my other post, working at the times you are mentally fit for
the job is far more important than any other factor. The only thing that leads
me to distraction is burnout. I find that if I work when I am fresh, there is
no temptation to do anything else.

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MarlonPro
I think there are 3 distinctions that we need to identify here:

1\. employee that works in the traditional office 2\. employee/freelancer that
works in the home-office 3\. employee/freelancer that works in the cloud.

These are the distinctions that define the modern workforce. Whichever
category you fall into, I believe that you still have to have a home-office of
some sort - may that be a dedicated room, a corner, or just a desk in the
living room.

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rue
How does someone work “in the cloud”?

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MarlonPro
Those people who are always on the go - especially those backpacker
freelancers. Those who can work regardless of their geographical location.

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MarlonPro
Since I'm getting lots of nice feedback about this article, let's discuss a
little bit further: do you or agree to the article or not? And why?

What do you think are the good points of the article? The bad points? Defend
your position!

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known
"You are a product of your environment." --Clement Stone

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MarlonPro
First time I hear that. And it's actually nice! Your environment can
definitely affect your outlook in life

