Top 5 Ways To Improve Your Concentration When Working From Home With Children
Working from home can be a fantastic way to get more work done in less time and with less stress. You have no commute, don’t need to change out of your pajamas, and you can keep an eye on the kids at the same time. It’s a win-win situation for pretty much everyone. However, working from home also comes with its own challenges. If you aren’t careful, it can be easy to lose focus and start procrastinating instead of working productively. So, how can you keep your concentration at bay?
Turn Off The TV
One of the first things you need to do is turn off the TV. The truth is that TV is a huge source of distraction and often leads to a mindless waste of time that might have otherwise been spent productively. You can fight this by turning off the TV and replacing it with something more productive. For example, you could use a podcast to get some new information, listen to music to help you concentrate, or try one of the many guided meditations that are easily accessible these days. If the TV is part of your family’s daily routine, you’ll need to devise an alternative way to appease everyone.
Create A Working Space
It’s also essential to create a working space. This might sound like more effort than it’s worth, but it’s surprisingly easy to get distracted when working from home. It can be easy to forget that you’re supposed to be working and end up getting sucked into whatever the kids are doing or watching TV instead. You can avoid this by creating a dedicated working space. You don’t have to go all out and make a whole office or anything like that, but you should have a dedicated table or desk where you do your work. A working space is more than just a place to put your laptop and coffee cup; it’s also an essential part of helping you get into the right frame of mind to work.
Make Healthy Snacks Part Of Your Routine
Working from home can be so flexible that it’s easy to justify eating junk food all day. You can fight this by making healthy snacks part of your daily routine. This might sound a little silly, but it’s surprisingly important. You don’t have a boss keeping tabs on you, so it’s easy to justify having the chips and cookies all day long. If you want to keep your focus and productivity high, you’ll need to find healthy snacks to keep you going. You don’t have to make this an extreme lifestyle change or anything like that, but it can be helpful to make healthy snacks part of your daily routine. In particular, nuts make for a great healthy snack, as do fruits and vegetables.
Block Out Distractions With Noise-Canceling Headphones
If you’re working from home with children, you’ll probably notice that their noise can be a huge source of distraction. You can fight this by investing in a pair of noise-canceling headphones. These headphones can help you block out kid noise, TV noise, and pretty much any other distracting noise that might be going on around you. They can also be helpful if your home is a busy place. You can use noise-canceling headphones to help you stay focused, even if you’re in a place that’s usually loud. You can also use them to help you relax in a noisy environment, like if you’re trying to sleep in a typically loud place.
However, some people do need background noise in order to work efficiently, so finding a lofi playlist on YouTube may be great for helping you get into a productive mindset. Yet, you must be considerate of others around you and so you could invest in really loud wireless earbuds, so you can still enjoy music while you work without disturbing others.
Take Breaks & Celebrate Small Victories
Another thing you can do to improve your concentration when working from home is to take breaks and celebrate small victories. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you must work for hours on end every day. This can lead to endless procrastination and frustration. Breaks can help you reset and re-energize, and they also help you stay away from burnout. Of course, you don’t have to take long breaks or anything like that, but you should take some short breaks throughout the day. Taking breaks and celebrating small victories can also help you stay positive and avoid frustration from working from home. Working from home can sometimes be challenging, and it’s easy to feel like you’re getting nowhere.
