How To Be Productive At Home - Tips and Ideas For When You’re Not Motivated

This post will give you a list of tips and ideas for how to be productive at home everyday, when you’re not motivated. I will share tips for time management and how to stay organized when working or studying from home, for teens in school, or people working at home.

Over the last year, we have all been forced to work and study from home. Almost everyone I’ve spoken to has found it hard to stay motivated and be productive at home. That’s understandable.

Our brains were so used to home being ‘home’ and not a place where you are in work-mode. So it’s only natural that we would require some extra effort to get into a productive routine, when you’re just not able to find the motivation.

Personally, I never did leave the house for work. I work on my blogs from home. You’d think that means I’m an expert on being self-motivated, but on the contrary, I’ve only recently started taking my websites seriously, and getting into an actual routine to be consistent while working from home, and being self-dependent for motivation.

I made some changes to my mindset, as well as my routine and lifestyle, over the past few weeks. I can honestly say that I am now spending almost everyday being productive and working on my dreams. So, I thought this would be a good time to share my best tips and ideas for changes that will help you be productive at home, too. Whether you’re in school, working at your job remotely, or starting your own business from home, I think these tips could really make a difference to your productivity levels.

Create a Workspace:

This change may have been the biggest help in making me more productive. Earlier, I would just sit wherever, on the couch or comfortably in bed, with my laptop and work. This was so unhelpful. I was lazier than ever, had no ability to focus, and got distracted very easily. It also messes with your sleep pattern, if you work where you sleep, because your brain doesn’t know how or when to get out of work-mode. You need a change of environment.

I decided to sit at the dining table - a well-lit area and far from my bedroom - and made it my permanent workspace. Every morning, I come and sit at the table and easily get into work-mode. It’s made a huge difference in keeping me focused on the task at hand, and making me less prone to distractions.

Everything I need for work - my devices, books and pens, remain here on the table, so I have no chance of falling prey to laziness and deciding to work from my bed on a lazy day. I’ve been coming downstairs every morning to work from here, and well, so far so good. 😌

Give Yourself Deadlines/Plan a Schedule:

When working from home, it’s very important to keep yourself in check. There’s no supervisor to make sure you’re getting things done and chase you to complete your deadlines, or to ensure you’re not wasting time. You’re going to have to do that for yourself if you want to keep up your productivity levels.

What has been helping me keep track of my productivity, is making a schedule and giving myself deadlines. Honestly, if I hadn’t created a schedule to follow, I would have fallen off this routine very quickly.

On some days, you wake up less energetic and don’t have the mental capacity to think about all the things you need to do. On those days, it’s so easy to just fall off your routine and lose your consistency. This is where the schedule helps me tremendously. I know exactly what I need to work on so I don’t need to think about it. I’ve laid it all out in advance, to make things simple for myself.

I plan my content and tasks for the following 4 weeks. Then, I set reminders for important deadlines on my phone. I also make to-do lists every night which I will get into a little later in this post. All of these things combined, helps me stay on track, and not only work consistently, but also effectively. It stops me from thinking I’m “working,” when I’m actually whiling away time and not really getting much done.

My favourite app for all things productivity and creativity is GoodNotes 5 on the iPad. Here is a post of my favourite useful, creative and productive iPad apps, if you’re interested.

Set a Daily Routine:

It’s easy to get distracted by all the other things you could be doing, or not doing, at home. There’s always something, right? A new episode of your current favourite show, snack time, a good book, family or pets needing attention, or perhaps friends wanting to meet on zoom.

Well, all of those things can hinder your productivity when you don’t set aside time for work, and other activities. It’s important to set a routine for your day, so that you know when your free time is for activities other than work. So when friends want to meet zoom, you know what time you can enjoy it without feeling guilty about not working. Or, so you can watch your favourite show without feeling bad about whiling away time you could have spent being productive.

Setting aside time for everything you need to do helps you stay motivated to get your work done, as well as lets you enjoy all the things you enjoy doing, guilt-free.

I get to work as soon as I wake up and eat breakfast, and usually set aside lunch time to watch Netflix or Youtube. Then, I take some time after lunch to relax. Taking one long break this way works for me and gets me recharged to get back to work in the evening. I then work till late at night, since what I’m working on is a passion project and I haven’t started getting tired of it, lol.

Come up with a routine that works for you, keeping your habits and body clock in my mind. You know your body and mind best, so use that knowledge to get the best results from yourself. 😊

Make a Vision Board:

I am a believer of manifestation and the law of attraction. I think that vision boards are awesome and help you manifest what you want in life.

Even if you don’t believe in this, or aren’t really sure, I’m sure you can see the benefit in just having your goals laid out and looking at them everyday to keep you motivated to work towards achieving them.

Make a vision board with pictures and maybe a few words, illustrating what your dream/ideal life looks like. Have some short-term as well as long-term goals on it. And then put it up where you will be able to look at it frequently, throughout the day.

Then, work towards achieving those goals, and wait for the magic to happen. ✨

I have been making vision boards since a few years now, and yes, a lot of wishes/goals have been achieved. I will write a more detailed post soon, about my experience with vision boards and how to make a vision board, for those who may want more tips and information about them.

Manage Distractions:

Ah, the hardest part - distractions. So many devices, so many apps, so little productivity.

Well, the good news is that even without focusing on this point much, just doing all the other things has naturally increased my motivation and ability to focus, and therefore reduced the power of distractions.

But, a tip if you’re struggling with distractions is to keep the source of that distraction away from you. For example, unless you constantly need your phone, keep it somewhere far enough that you would have to get up and walk to it if you needed it. Use your laziness to your advantage. #lifehack

If you’re working on an iPad or another device that has distracting social media apps, please do yourself a favor and delete them. I have nothing but work/creative apps on my iPad, and therefore that device has become my creative work zone. And I love it.

Another thing you could do is add time for those distracting apps/activities to your routine. It might help you put off the distraction, knowing that you have set aside some time for it later. Hey, no harm trying? But, if it doesn’t help much, don’t worry. I really think doing all the other things helps with focus and making you less distracted.

Daily (or Nightly) To-Do Lists:

Along with the larger, long-term schedule you make with deadlines, it’s important to also make daily to-do lists. In fact, I make my to-do lists the night before, for the next day. It’s because I’m still in work-mode and all my upcoming tasks are fresh in my memory. If I sit down and try to make a to-do list in the morning when I’m slow and just trying to get back into work-mode, I really don’t think it would help me much.

It really helps to sit down in the morning and look at your to-do list already planned out. Less thinking, more doing. You can just get started and get into the flow of your work.

Another benefit of these lists is that you tend to be more productive and work effectively, because you don’t have to wonder what to do next, every time you complete a task. I’ve noticed a significant difference in the amount of work I get done because of these lists. Highly recommend.

Constant Access to a Notebook:

The notebook in which I make my to-do lists is ALWAYS by my side at my workspace. It’s so important to me, to have that little scratchpad to jot down any ideas or tasks that come to mind.

While working or studying, so many important thoughts cross your mind that need to be remembered. But, you can’t always simply stop what you’re doing and focus on the new thought. So, write it down in your little notebook. That way, you can review it later, or even at the end of the day, and maybe even add it to your next to-do list.

This increases productivity levels because it helps you focus on one thing at a time, without being afraid of forgetting other important tasks. You can park any important information in that book until you’re ready to use it. That makes a world of a difference.

Practice Hobbies:

It’s so important to set aside enough time during the day to do the things you enjoy. Nobody wants to experience burnout. Make time for your hobbies and favourite pastimes. It’s important. It isn’t just important for your physical and mental health, but also helps you work more efficiently. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

If you make an effort to add activities that you enjoy to your daily/weekly routine, you will notice that you feel more refreshed and recharged, thereby increasing your efficiency and productivity.

You need to re-energize your being often. Nobody wants the life sucked out of them while constantly doing things that are stressful and repetitive. You need to replenish your energy and motivation, and the best way to do that is to prioritize your hobbies and other fun, relaxing activities.

Get Back Up - You’re Doing Great:

It’s normal to lose track when making these new lifestyle changes. It’s common. That doesn’t make you incapable in any way. It takes time to incorporate these things into your every day life. And it’s okay to falter. The only thing you need to make sure you do is to GET. BACK. ON. IT.

I have days every so often when I choose the lazy route and feel terrible for doing it. But, guess what? The next day, I’m back at it. You don’t lose it that quick. You’re not starting from scratch, if you miss a couple of days. So what if you had a bad few days? Muster up some strength and get back to your productive lifestyle. No one’s judging you for faltering and taking time to adjust to a new routine. I know it’s a cliche, but - Don’t Give Up. 😊 A few slow days are better than giving up completely and having 100% slow days after that. Just go back to making your lifestyle changes. It’s takes consistent effort, but it gets easier with time.

I hope you incorporate some of these tips and changes into your life/routine. I really think they could help you be more productive and achieve all your goals. Just put in the effort and nothing can stop you!

Have a productive day. Thanks for reading!