Ask HN: How do you stay focused when working at home? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do you stay focused when working at home?

12 pointsthrowaway256259 comments

Using a throwaway for (I think) obvious reasons.

Like a lot of people, since the pandemic started I have been working from home.

I have a lot of trouble focusing or completing work this way, to a point where there will be days (weeks?) where I accomplish nothing at all other than showing up for meetings that I don't care about. I know a lot of people say they are more productive working from home, and I would like to be too, but that's just simply not been the case for me.

I'm currently on several medications, and am talking to a psychiatrist, and the meds (Wellbutrin + Lamictal) do help a little, but they are insufficient.

I'm not proud of this, this isn't me bragging "look how little work I do!", and I don't want any pity, I just want people who are "good" at working at home to tell me what they do to stay focused. It's getting to a point where managers are giving me the "we're just concerned" speech, and I do not blame them for that.

I have struggled with this too.

A couple things that have worked for me:

1. Early morning walk after the sun’s up.

2. Set just one task, no matter how small, that you can get done in the day. Even if it’s just writing a few lines of code or filling out the weekly status update types of paperwork.

3. Eat healthy. Different diets or methods work for different people but generally I would say eat mostly meat, fruit, veggies, and nuts like almonds or cashews. Don’t eat anything, especially junk food, after you finish your dinner. For me that’s about 6:30 PM on most days. No drugs or alcohol period. You don’t want to be voluntarily altering your body chemistry when you’re already struggling.

4. Given your mention of medications and psychiatry, I would guess mental health is a factor. Check out EMDR. For me it was healing on a miraculous level. YMMV.

5. In your spare time, don’t pressure yourself to do things you think you should do. Just do what you enjoy unless it’s an unhealthy behavior like drinking to excess.

6. Cleaning the house and doing daily chores like folding laundry and washing dishes are a good way to accomplish something and seeing the chore done is very rewarding considering the ordinariness of the task.

I am very well acquainted with the mental health struggle. Not saying any of these are a panacea but they can be helpful.

One more thing, maybe the most important. Find the people you love and trust the most and spend time with them as often as possible. I never would have gotten through my mental health struggles without my wife, kids, and friends.

For me it depends on the day, some days I am super productive, other days it’s impossible for me to focus no matter what. I find that I’m more focused in the early morning before anyone else is up.

A few apps that help keep me on track are: Structured [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/structured-day-planner/id14991...] - A planner that I cannot recommend enough. and Stoic [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stoic/id1312926037] a journal app that I mostly use for white noise generation, it allows you to mix sounds perfectly. (The journal part is locked behind a subscription, hence why I don’t use it)

I used to be very against losing focus, mostly due to being afraid of looking lazy and pushing myself to give as close as 100% as possible without sacrificing my health believing good work would lead to career progression. Since I started WFH and decided to chill a bit about performing since employers don't reciprocate as I expected, I'm ok with losing focus every 15 or 20 minutes on a normal day. This is my normal focus level, I've found and I was really pushing it before. It could have ended in burnout very easily.

The pandemic and WFH have required me to develop skills I never had. My small children are in school from 8-2:30 (if they aren't home due to a covid exposure, snow day or holiday). In that time I have to get all my work done, do chores and, if it's about 30 degrees, go for a run.

Its really been an exercise in making hay while the sun shines. I can almost never get into a flow state, but I tend to do a lot of thinking beforehand so I can just sit down and start typing code when the time comes.

Flip that question - when would you be the most focused at home? Work at those times. Don't force your home-based work schedule into the 9-5 schedule offices encourage. Find your own rhythm.

Likewise, encourage your team to schedule meetings at times that you aren't productive anyway. Use your down hours for tasks that are non-productive, but required.

Between those two things, many people can find a schedule that is personalized and gets stuff done.

If the problem is working from home, then maybe look for a hybrid set-up or a majority office set-up.

Also, what do you think you're missing from the office? Is it the casual conversations? or the camaraderie? Being able to understand the cause might help to form the proper solution.

I recommend https://www.focusmate.com/ — it’s been working very well for me. Sort of a Pomodoro with an accountability buddy.

For me, music helps me focus. It helps block out distracting sounds and keeps me energized.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com