6 easy ways to get motivated while working from home this year

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Here we are again – it’s a whole new year, and yup! the majority of us are still remote working. Despite the fact that I have been working from home even before the pandemic, there is definitely something about this unique and drawn out set of circumstances that make it super challenging to get and stay motivated while working from home – whether you’re used to it or not! With that said, today, I wanted to share these 6 easy ways to get motivated while working from home.

1. Don’t think about it as work

Crazy as this might sound, but seriously…have you ever tried thinking of work, not as work – but as a game? I have a little technique I’m going to share with you. I use Trello to put all my morning and afternoon tasks on. The game is this: you have to zap all the tasks on the morning section, and then the afternoon session before your time is up. It is incredible how looking at your work in this gamified way not only makes everything seem less arduous, but also motivates you to complete everything with gusto too!

2. Reward yourself

In my book, waiting until the end of the day is just too far away for a reward. Instead, try building in an after lunch reward. I tend to work through lunch and then straight after, I treat myself to a little reward. Usually, this is an hour’s long walk in nature or a trip to the local coffee shop to get a coffee and have a conversation with another human. For you, it might be something else. Of course, it’s important to pick something realistic and then stick to it!

3. Sort out your to-do list at the end of the day

Again – I use Trello for this (see above), but when you sort out your work flow at the end of the day, ready for the next, there are no qualms about what you have to sit down and do the following day. Be sure to create small, actionable goals. This way you’ll feel that as you work your way through your to do list, you’re making progress every step of the way.

4. Cut out the time wasters

These days, people want a zoom call for absolutely everything! Heck, I don’t know about you but I am definitely experiencing zoom fatigue. Before you let your diary get crammed with zoom after zoom call, think about whether you really need to book that in. Is it something that can be done over a quick email exchange instead? Would a zoom call with that person actually serve you? And if you do need to book in zoom calls, perhaps only agree to schedule them on specific days/times so they don’t take over your life.

5. Know when enough is enough

Nobody can be motivated every hour of the working day. If you’re starting to feel sluggish or finding it hard to stay focused, then it’s either time to take break, or quit for the day. Taking a break away from the screen during the day, and then letting go of the demands of work at the end of the day means you’ll likely be more focused and productive when you are sat down to work.

6. Rejig your work space

By the end of last year, I was so sick of how shabby our spare room-cum-home office was looking I couldn’t stand it any longer. So we decided to give it a massive overhaul – new carpet, new desk (we invested in a standing desk because I was getting so much back pain!), and a gorgeous new chair from Lakeland Furniture so I could alternate between standing and sitting. We also tidied up all the clutter into boxes under the bed, transformed the sleeping area into a daybed look. All the accessories we sourced on Amazon. It’s also important to appraise your workspace and make sure you’re comfortable when you work from home, making any necessary tweaks to help you max out on comfort.

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I worked with a grey and mustard palette as I love that look for home offices/work areas. We are still trying to source the right curtains to finish off the room but this is the result and I can not tell you how much having a better environment has helped with my work motivation levels!

I hope you found my tips on how to get motivated while working from home useful. I will especially be deploying number 4 this year! I would love to hear what else you to do to get motivated while working from home.

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94 comments

  1. This chair would make a huge difference! My back and neck have really suffered last year from sitting on a couch with no back support and using a laptop on my knee!

  2. This lovely chair would save us some space our old chair is extra heavy and wide, it also keeps dropping down we least expect it.

  3. This chair look s comfortable, would be far better than the only one I have , hard plastic and no padding

  4. Your office looks great. It is really important to have somewhere nice to work. That chair looks really comfortable, unlike most office chairs!

  5. I was sitting with my laptop on my knee last year but got motivation from my husband who bought me a new chair and desk for xmas and put a few cushions and fluffy blankets into the small room upstairs ready for the new year. I now love going to work and don’t really want to go back to travelling to the office. All we need now is these for my husband to feel the same

  6. The chair is a great neutral colour and would fit in with our lounge decor. It also looks supportive, which is essential when you’re getting on in years – as me and my husband are! Ideal for using our laptop – fingers crossed.

  7. This chair looks very stylish. I have an office chair I am using whilst working from home but it’s so uncomfortable

  8. This would be great! Since I started working from home I’ve been suffering from lower back pain, and I think it might be because of my desk and chair set up. This looks way more comfortable, and gorgeous too!

  9. My daughter is home from uni for the foreseeable and is having to sit on the edge of her bed leaning on a table she has set up. This would no doubt be more comfortable for her and actually will look stylish in her room

  10. This would be fabulous with kids home iv lost my work space so my back and mostly my neck have suffered as a result of sitting on the sofa with no support. This is stylish and would fit any room in my home so I could work or just sit in peace

  11. This chair would make a huge difference, at the moment I am using the dining table chair and it’s a bit hard on my bum!!!

    • currently have a computer chair which has seen better days and looks so out of place in my lounge where I have set up a corner of it for my work area. This stylish chair would not only fit in with my decor but looks so much more comfortable than my current one, love to win.

  12. This would be perfect for my daughter to sit at her desk to study for her exams. She currently has a stool and its uncomfortable so studies in her bed.

  13. The chair and desk would make a real difference.
    The chair is an amazing colour, and looks high quality, and the desk would make a real difference as I always seem to be glued to a screen.
    An amazing addition to any household, and you could make a home office with little effort.

  14. My husband and I are working from home, we have no office so had to move a desk up into our bedroom and are currently using a dining room chair! Not only does this chair look comfortable and stylish, it would fit right in to our grey bedroom and make the work space much less conspicuous! I love it!

  15. This looks like a great chair and nice to look at too. I have a really sore neck hopefully this would cure it.

  16. I think it would make the whole experience more comfortable and I’d be more smiley as I like to have nice things around me!

  17. this chair looks great I have been working from home since March last year – jut recently got a desk and am considering getting a new chair as current one is a dining chair lol

  18. My daughter has outgrown her beanbag so it’s time for another chair in the living room for the lockdown tv evenings

  19. The chair looks comfy for when I’m sitting with my laptop as I can spend a long time on it! And the chair I use is a little uncomfy (understatement!) xx

  20. This chair looks great and would make a big difference to my son who is currently wfh and is using a wobbly chair

  21. I have a make up table which my my bedroom which I also use as a desk for working from home. Currently I just have a small make up stall. Which is great for 10-15 mins but not good for long hours. This chair looks gorgeous and would the in lovely with my bedroom as well as giving me good back support and being comfortable for work…and doing my make up for those zoom calls (but only when they are needed!)

  22. Some useful tips – I’m working from home & my kids are both homeschooling, so always looking for ways to improve it!

  23. effective time management tip, stick a post it note on parework each time you touch or move it, then you will see how much time is spent per day just paper shuffling, so make a pile and file it, do not keep moving it around your desk

  24. I would love to have a comfortable chair for my 77 year old body – who complains all the time!

  25. This chair looks like it has great back support which is just what you need when you’re working 8-10 hours a day at home!

  26. This looks great for posture and backs as I have a chronic back condition and trying to work from home in a rubbish chair!

  27. If you seen how my office chair you would see why I need a new one Mine is a hand me down from my eldest and years old. Defitinetely not only would this be more comfortable but it would be more contemporary and stylish

  28. I’d love this office chair as currently I’m on an very basic, rather unattractive, desk chair and with my workspace being in my living room, i’d rather something more beautiful.

  29. This chair would be a godsend to be honest. I have Fybromyalgia and suffer a lot with pain so something like this would help I’m sure. Plus it would look stunning in my lounge! lol

  30. I love the look of this chair. Its a good size for my back room office and it looks comfortable. Perfect for those long hours doing my college coursework!

  31. This is a gorgeous chair. Very stylish. It would fit perfectly in my bedroom where I currently have a home office set up. It might also help my husband’s back!

  32. This is so beautiful. Working from home since lockdown, it’s so important that the space is inviting. This would make it so beautiful.

  33. This chair looks both comfortable and stylish – neither of these can be said about my current office chair!

  34. We had to quickly get a desk set up for my son and he has an old uncomfy dining chair – this would transform things for him especially as he spends so many hours at his desk. Would also look great alongside his new desk.

  35. Ooo this chair would be lovely in my office! Better than the boring office chair I currently own!

  36. We’re just in the process of moving bedrooms around so my younger two can have their own space and some quiet space to do their home-schooling, this would be perfect for my youngest daughter 🙂

  37. This would be awesome. – a vast improvement on the hard wooden chair I’ve commandeered from the dining room! My home office (aka the spare room) is definitely lacking a decent chair!!

  38. It’s a lovely looking chair. Working from home has pros and cons. Not commuting but the lack of social interaction in the office is tough psychologically.

    • My husband and I are both working from home, but we only have one decent chair! This would save us arguing over that one (although we’ll probably just argue over this one instead…)

  39. This chair would make a perfect replacement for the chair I am using at the moment as the seat padding is very thin and uncomfortable now.
    It would also give me more room to move around.

  40. This is a lovely looking chair, and would be perfect for my husband while he’s working from home

  41. My husband has been working from home since the lockdown in March 2020. He uses a rickety old chair which was good for the rare instances he had to work over the weekend or from home when my daughter was off of daycare but since lockdown, the chair has seen better days. I keep telling him to get a new chair but he doesn’t like any on the market currently. I think this chair sounds suit his aesthetic tastes! Ah, what the heck, I’m in love with this chair and will probably end up using it myself LOL

  42. Im actually using a dining chair in the bedroom at the moment at my makeup desk, this would be perfect so we can have the full dining chair set around the table once again

  43. this would make a huge difference for me,at the minute im having to sit on a old bar stool because my chair broke,i have back problems and im studying for my nursing associate degree and its so hard

  44. Love the look and colour of this office chair. I had one on rollers that wrecked the bedroom (office) carpet so have been looking for one like this, instead. Good tips in the post. I loved working from home pre-Zoom days but not sure how I would like people seeing what I look like first thing in the morning!

  45. This chair would help me huge, my current one is on its last legs, and looks like it takes up less room than my current one.

  46. The chair looks super comfy and the one I am using has lost its gas and I keep going lower and lower! I love the colour and modern design too

  47. This chair looks so comfortable and supportive. I’m sure it would help my posture when sitting at my computer

  48. The chair looks amazing and it would be so good if I won it, my back is killing me with working from a makeshift desk and a kitchen chair. It also looks so stylish it would compliment any room.

  49. I’ve recently finished decorating my bedroom and all I have left to find is a chair for my dressing table / desk I have been searching for a grey chair for weeks (I’m very fussy) this one is perfect!

  50. I need the motivation to homework and to encourage my son to do his homework, so this would be great and looks amazing too. Thanks for the chance xxx

  51. This chair would make a huge difference to my home office space and hopefully improve the back problems I get from sitting on my current rubbish chair!

  52. This chair would be great in my son’s room. He currently has a huge office chair that you just can’t get past.

  53. It’d be wonderful to have a new chair, it looks so much more stylish and comfortable than the one I’m using!

  54. This chair looks comfortable and stylish. The colour is neutral enough for it to fit any decor in any room.

  55. This would look fantastic in our re-jigged home office which we recently renovated for our home working. It would go very well with our grey walls and carpet.

  56. It would be amazing to be able to move the tatty black desk chair that is cluttering up our living space and replace it with this sylish and much more comfortable chair.

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