Dear reader,

This article doesn’t concern you if you work from home only occasionally (once or twice a month). This is for all freelancers and permanent home-workers. This if for people who want to improve their productivity between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm (yeah…).

1. Set up comfy working environment

  • professional desk,
  • comfortable chair,
  • good headphones,
  • solid Wi-Fi + alternative connection when something fails during this important call with stakeholder,
  • second screen (try it!),
  • whatever else makes you happy.

You are your own Office Manager right now. Don’t think of buying an expensive chair as a waste of money. Think of it as investment in yourself (and your back).

2. Dress up

I’m not saying you should be wearing a suit or the best shirt while sitting at home. It’s more about distinguishing your casual clothes from work clothes. The worst idea ever, although tempting, is working in your pyjamas / whatever you use for your bedtime. That sounds comfy, but at some point you won’t be able to tell, whether you are still in bed, or at work.

3. Housekeeping and cooking — just don’t…

It sounds like a great idea to use some time at home to clean up your bathroom or cook something for lunch. This is actually the biggest mistake everyone does. Cleaning and cooking will totally ruin your day, you will feel distracted and won’t accomplish your task for today.

Hint: Prepare your meals the day before, just like you used to when you worked 9–5 at the office.

4. Work from different places

Home office doesn’t mean you have to be working from home all the time. You can go to the following places and see how it boosts your productivity:

  • coffe house,
  • park,
  • open co-working place,
  • your friend’s house (if he also works from home),
  • and the best one — TRAVEL.
    If you have such possibility, go somewhere far away for couple of days and start working remotely from there. Nothing boosts your creativity better than new working environment.

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5. Plan and execute your breaks

It might feel like you are on a break while working from home, but again — you are not. Switching from your tasks to Facebook or Medium article is not what i mean by break.

You should go for a quick walk to stretch your legs, visit the nearest park or local grocery shop. In general, it’s about leaving your working space for a while and contacting other human beings. Of course, it is also good for your eyes and spine, but that’s kind of obvious.

6. Keep your desk clean

Sketches, notes, 2 mobile phones, 5 pens, 2 mugs and 1 plate, SD cards, car keys, wallet. Sounds familiar? Messy desk is another productivity killer. Remember to keep your desk clean at all times.

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7. Use your flexible working time wisely

Don’t be afraid of quiting earlier if you are done or want to go to the gym. Go swimming in the morning, because you don’t need to show up at the office at 9:00 sharp. In general —try to use your flexible working hours as an advantage. What is that you usually do after work? Just do it between the time you get up and start working. You will see how much additional time it gives.

8. Don’t let other people change your schedule and daily routine

People think that working from home is just sitting in front of your laptop and waiting for another Facebook message or Insta like, especially when they work from 9 to 5. Your job is to educate them, set your standards and don’t answer all the messages and phone calls. You have a lot of other distractors to deal with.

9. Schedule your tasks, set up the “finish time”…

…and stick to it.

I would also suggest creating some small deadlines or follow up calls with your colleagues during the day.

10. Hydrate

It is much easier to forget about drinking water when you work from home, because it feels like it’s just 3 steps away, right there in the kitchen. Personally, I would keep glass of water at all times at your desk.

It is also helpful when someone calls you on Skype suddenly, but you have really dry throat and no time to get H2O.


Do I follow those rules? Yes.
Should you? Yes.
Otherwise, you may end up like this:

Photographer:Xavier Sotomayor