Tips for Staying Focused While Working From Home

While remote workers don’t have to deal with office parties or excited co-workers over the holidays, there are still some logistical challenges to overcome – such as staying focused and sane. Here are five quick tips for staying focused and sane when working from home on holidays.

1. Set Clear Expectations

It’s not uncommon to see some sectors shut down over the holiday season, while others ramp up production and stay open until the last second. Understanding how your clients and overall industry respond to the season is crucial. If there’s anything you aren’t sure about, then now is the time for some added transparency. Let people know your plans for the holidays and what they expect to get done. Make sure key people around you know your plans, such as any time you’ll need off outside of the traditional dates.

2. Work Backwards with Plans

The holidays mean you have fewer business days to work with. Even so, you’ve got to meet your deadlines. Look at your calendar and work backwards from the due date when preparing. Include tasks and when they need to be finished so you can do everything on time. Stick to your schedule. Doing this gives you a roadmap for how to work over the holidays. Avoid unnecessary meetings and multitasking.

3. Be Proactive

While your daily life gets more bustling, your work environment is likely getting quieter. While clients and potential teammates are away on the holidays, you can use the time to make headway on more important projects. What you do now could have a big impact in the future. This is the time to tackle those intense tasks that need you to buckle down and concentrate. Not to mention it feels satisfying to finish them, which is just what you need for some holiday cheer.

4. Draw a Line Between Being “On” and Being “Off”

Achieving a healthy work-life balance is the biggest challenge for any remote worker. You need to set a hard line between work and home. Start by creating a calendar notification when it’s time to “clock off” for the day and put your work to bed. Whether you help your kids with homework, go shopping or run other errands, or just enjoy the festive mood, make sure you do it. Given that you’ve told people your plans for the holidays, they’ll hopefully respect that and not bombard you with messages during family time.