Staying Productive When Working From Home | Hacker News Reader

Staying Productive When Working From Home

productivitybits.com

57 pointsMarlonPro28 comments

I worked from home (as a full-time employee of various companies) for 12 years, and I 100% disagree with the point made here and by the various commenters. A huge part of the benefit of working at home is being able to use my time in a way that works as efficiently for me as possible, and that means spending the time of day when I'm sharpest (early morning) working, not taking a shower and getting dressed. I generally took a shower and got dressed around lunchtime, which provided a nice boost from the early afternoon need-a-siesta feeling.

If showering and getting dressed first thing works for you, great, but I get really tired of seeing people dispense that advice as the "right" thing to do.

Yup. I don't think treating your home like an office works for everyone. I feel more productive in shorts and a T-shirt. I work on my desk, but mostly on my bed actually. I work lying down and propping up the laptop+stand on my knees. I work sitting down or even standing at times, basically whatever gets me working.

I can probably not work in a normal office anymore!

What is more important is to be organized.

- Figure out a system that works for you and concentrate on striking off stuff from your task list. My system involves pivotal tracker + Gnome Pomodorro applet timer.

- Manage your notes/references/bookmarks better. Eg. Evernote + pinboard

- Make repetitive tasks automated

- Drink sufficient water!

Working from home probably demands more discipline that when your working in a corporate office. It is not for everybody. The slackers cannot thrive in a home-office environment :-)

This!

The moment I wake up, I very often have some idea in my head that I want to jump on immediately. Knowing that I have limited time before I need to commute stymies my ability to harness that energy.

Mindset. That's very important. Then comes motivation. That creates momentum which will translate to productivity :-)

I really think that siesta should be legalized in the workplace. How much time do we really spend on actual work during that 8-hour period at the office? At least 20% of that is wasted.

When working from home you can maximize your working time. You are not forced inside the 8-hour box.

I think that's one of the many benefits of working from home. Yes, you have to follow a strict rule of professionalism when working from home-office, but not to the point that it becomes rigid. You have the option to be casual. Choosing which time you are most effective is a critical key when working from home.

Simple rule I've discovered: When I find myself just mindlessly screwing around on the internet (manically surfing between reddit/hn/slashdot, for instance), I'll stop and go do something productive. Whether that's wash some dishes, brush my teeth, do a few Khan Academy math problems, fold some laundry, any activity which requires direct focus.

For me, it really helps me from spiraling into "holy crap, it's been an hour and I haven't done anything" mode.

Break the bad cycle! Do something that will kickstart your productivity mode. Reviewing a complicated code would help you create the momentum you need.

I have been working for home for nearly a decade now. At first, with some pressure, I tried to keep regular business hours and really struggled with that. I would quickly burn out and seek some other activity to relieve the strain. At the end of the day, my overall productivity was low. I will note that my productivity when I worked in an office was not much better, for much the same reasons.

After some trial and error I started to realize that shorter stints of work spread over the entire day lead to much greater results. I now start work around 11AM, deal with emails/first morning problems, take a lunch break at noon, then put in around four hours of solid work in the afternoon. I relax throughout the evening and then go back to work for the last 3-4 hours before bed. I am now able to put in a far more productive number of hours and my output has increased significantly.

With that, I have to disagree with a lot of the points in the article. Home is not the office. You need to change your work habits to fit into your new place of work, not try to make your home fit your work habits. In my experience, trying to move your office into your house is bound to fail. Change the way your work, however, and your potential for greatness exceeds that of working in the office.

The article is for those who work from their home office. But you are right. Home and office should not be mixed. It's a bad concoction. The key is to separate the home from the office and vice versa in all aspects - mentally, physically, and spiritually.

I've been working from home for the last 5 years or so. The best tip I can give anyone is to "act" like you're at an office.

I set up a spare bedroom as an office. I have it set up like an office, and I keep non-officy stuff out of that room. I get dressed for work every morning in casual attire, but I impose a personal requirement that my shirt has to have a collar (usually a polo). I keep an open Skype channel with my remote office as frequently as possible, even if I'm not talking to the person on the other end. The sounds of an office on the other side help me keep the office mindset.

Basically, I solve the problem by pretending that I'm in an office. Maybe that's silly, but it's worked really well for me.

You're spot on! Treat your home office as a corporate office. I wonder if anyone is allowed to wear his pajamas in the office. If you're in your home office, do the same. Respect your home office. Treat your office as you would any typical corporate office :-)

To me that sounds like you actually want to work in an ordinary office.

I worked from home for a couple of years, but I'm currently working from an ordinary "open" office I was far more productive when I worked from home, in an asynchronous team, with less interruptions.

However, I do think a lot of people are -more- productive in an ordinary office environment. I think different stuff works for different people, I don't think we're all the same.

You're right, it depends. It depends mainly on the industry one is working in and also, I should add, the type of personality. Outgoing, extrovert people may have a had time working from a home-office :-)

I find the pomodoro technique really useful.

Just the simple thing of having a countdown timer going makes me focus on the task at hand and restricts my procrastination to the breaks, which I also limit in length using the timer.

I'm currently using 45min working periods with 15min breaks, I've found that's the best balance for me after experimenting with various combinations.

I have heard a lot of good things about the pomodoro technique.

If you're working from home in which your bosses are not around, you need something to kick your butt. This technique really helps on that regard.

I've found that an important tool for me is establishing a routine just like if you were going into the office to work (albeit allowing less time for the commute).

Shower. Shave (unless in Grizzly Adams mode). Put on clothes that you would be willing to wear outside the house. Eat breakfast. Go to work.

I personally find that the ritual helps to put my mind in "work" mode.

Some people prefer to just go in front of the desk in their home office straight from the bed. This is so wrong! Your home office IS NOT just any other room in your house or apartment. It is THE office.

Like I said in my other reply, treat your home office as you would any typical corporate office. Take a shower, put own fresh clothing, etc.

I really don't see the benefit of having a distinct office. I do my programming job from:

    1. Anywhere in my house, depending on which
       location feels right at any given time.
    2. Restaurants, coffee shops
    3. Hotels
    4. From moving cars (while not driving, obviously)
    5. From tractors way out in the middle of a field
    6. In friend's living/dining rooms
    7. Decks, porches, patios, picknick tables
    8. You name it, I have probably tried it

As I mentioned in my other post, working at the times you are mentally fit for the job is far more important than any other factor. The only thing that leads me to distraction is burnout. I find that if I work when I am fresh, there is no temptation to do anything else.

I think there are 3 distinctions that we need to identify here:

1. employee that works in the traditional office 2. employee/freelancer that works in the home-office 3. employee/freelancer that works in the cloud.

These are the distinctions that define the modern workforce. Whichever category you fall into, I believe that you still have to have a home-office of some sort - may that be a dedicated room, a corner, or just a desk in the living room.

How does someone work “in the cloud”?

Those people who are always on the go - especially those backpacker freelancers. Those who can work regardless of their geographical location.

> This is so wrong!

Really, wrong?

Certainly, give it a go if your routine now is less enterprisey, and vice versa.

What my point is this: one should not identify the "home" with the "office" in a home office environment. A distinction should be made. I do my side projects from my home-office (I also have a day job in a traditional office). But I don't "treat" my home office as I would any other space at my house. Do I go straight from bed to my working desk in my home office. Yes, I do sometimes but I don't make that a habit :-)

Since I'm getting lots of nice feedback about this article, let's discuss a little bit further: do you or agree to the article or not? And why?

What do you think are the good points of the article? The bad points? Defend your position!

"You are a product of your environment." --Clement Stone

First time I hear that. And it's actually nice! Your environment can definitely affect your outlook in life

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