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Anyone who works from home will be familiar with how simple it is to become complacent. When you work from an office or a brick and mortar business, you constantly have others watching you – business owners, managers, and a whole host of other authority figures. This means that you are constantly pushed to work. You are also likely to have more strict deadlines, as you will have to complete work before you take your breaks or head home at the end of the working day. When you work from home, you only have yourself to answer to. You often choose your own projects, set your own deadlines, and make up your own targets. This is great at first. You are prepped and enthusiastic. But as time passes, you’re likely to start to slack. So, how do you beat complacency when you only have yourself to answer to? Here are a few ideas to keep things exciting and compelling!

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Education

Sure, you may think that the days of education are behind you. But nowadays, more and more institutions are beginning to offer online or distance learning courses. This means that you can interact with higher education from the comfort of your own home. You can fit your studies around your existing work, meaning that not only are you learning, but you’re earning money at the same time. You will be stimulated by the educational experience. Try to keep things relevant. Opt for something that will help or benefit your business along the way, like a masters in business management. This will come in invaluable if you do expand and begin to take on some staff of your own.

Creating a Designated Workspace

Problems often arise because you feel a little too comfortable in your own home. If you’re working from your bed or your settee, you’re unlikely to take your work seriously. You will likely have your attention distracted by things like televisions too. So, create a designated workspace in your home. A home office would be ideal. This allows you to divide work and play more easily. Your home office should feature good natural lighting, as this is proven to boost your mood and increase productivity. You should also invest in ergonomic furniture such as a desk, specially designed seating, and accessories such as keyboards. This is an investment in your health, as it reduces your chances of developing problems such as repetitive strain injury.

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Choose Working Hours

If you have a sense of routine to your work life, you will get tasks done properly and on time. Sure, working from home gives you the benefit of working at whatever time you like. But do you really want to allow yourself to leave absolutely everything last minute and find yourself working through the night on a regular basis? You can still revel in not having to get up at 5am to commute to an office in time, but try to set yourself some boundaries. Perhaps start at 10. This gives you time for a rest or to go for a quick jog in the morning, but also means you’ll have most of your work complete and out of the way for a reasonable time.

Embrace the freedom of working from home, but don’t allow yourself to become complacent. Following the above steps will allow you to be productive in a comfortable and pleasant manner.