How on earth do you get anything done at home?

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Forum -> Working Women -> Work at Home Mothers

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amother

Honeydew

Wed, Jul 29 2015, 11:15 am

I moved recently and since my office is now pretty far and I'm technically able to work just as well from my laptop as at my desk I would like to work from home as much as possible and save myself the commute.

But I can't seem to focus at home. And I don't even have kids here. I'm only trying to work when they're in camp. Somehow I end up doing laundry, dishes, cleaning out closets... wondering into the kitchen to look for nosh, getting sidetracked on the internet, yada, yada....

Is there some magical method to getting things done at home? I do not have ADD and I focus just fine in the office. But here I feel like an incompetent.

mha3484

Wed, Jul 29 2015, 11:38 am

Leave the house. Work at Starbucks, the public library anywhere but home. I have even gone to my fathers before. As long as you are home you will get distracted by something.

amother

Firebrick

Wed, Jul 29 2015, 12:02 pm

I also made the transition when I moved out of town a year ago.

It is hard! You need to be very self-disciplined. It is not for everyone.

Keep in mind that you are getting paid to work! You cannot do anything but work during your scheduled hours.

I also set up semi-weekly scheduled phone meetings with my boss so both of us could keep each other in the loop with where work is holding and to discuss any issues. I found that those calls really help keep me on track.

It also helps to set up personal deadlines of when the work should be done. And keep in mind that you don't want to lose your job and that may happen if you don't keep up pace!

Good luck!

tigerwife

Wed, Jul 29 2015, 3:52 pm

I'm totally with you. I thought that by working from home I could get the best of all worlds but it turns out that I feel like my house is neglected, my work is suffering, and my baby spends too much time screaming for my attention.

I'm really considering working in an office again, but I have to figure out if it's worth giving up the flexibility I have now.

Rubber Ducky

Wed, Jul 29 2015, 4:26 pm

amother wrote:

...Is there some magical method to getting things done at home? I do not have ADD and I focus just fine in the office. But here I feel like an incompetent.

I wish there were a "magical method" but I'm afraid the magical method is mostly self-discipline.

Here are a few things that can help:
• Don't answer the phone.
• Set daily and weekly goals, and even shorter-term goals within goals. Reward yourself for meeting them.
• Find a quiet spot to work.
• Set times for non-work tasks such as laundry.

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