Working at home with distractions

Almost everyone has done some type of work in their own home. Now the internet has made it more possible to participate in remote work. However, there is always the chance of distraction. As someone, who accidentally has three cats, two dogs, and a snake in a one bedroom house, where the only door is a sliding door to the bathroom I understand Distractions. However, everyone has unique situations that keep us from completing our work.

Noises, our electronics, or hyper pets are all distractions that we have to learn to manage, according to Tech Republic.

Identify the distractions

The first tip I found was to identify what is causing the distractions the day before you plan to work. If this is difficult to pin down, turn on some type of timer. Every time you go to get up or do something else, press pause, and write down the time. This includes moving to a social media page that is for non-work related reasons. Writing or typing out a small description of why you stopped, will help you analyze your actions later. This draws awareness to what you are doing when trying to get work done at home. Or perhaps, you already know what distracts you.

This typing or writing method still applies. Even if you do not stop, the distraction has slowed down your process.This identification process is essential to making a plan later.

Next, find a buffer for your surroundings to help reduce outside sound. That will allow you to become immersed in your work. For me, it is music. However, lately, I have trained myself to one specific song. My day starts out with walking my dogs, so I start then to transition my mind. From walking the dogs to feeding the animals, then my own cup of coffee, until I am at my desk and ready to work, I am preparing my mind. If one song is too boring, create a playlist. I do suggest trying to use a service that does not play ads.

These will cause momentary distractions and could break the flow of productivity.

Animals

As I said before, I have quite a few animals so working at times can be difficult. However, I do have a schedule down to help my work process. This scheduling is key to being the most productive with your time rather than having to push through distractions. I have a hyper one-year-old Shiba Inu, and a reactive barker Aussie/Border Collie mix. So the first thing I do in the morning is take them out which allows them to release some of that energy. If you have an active cat, play with them. If you have other people in your house, request their help. After we come in, I put down their food and make my coffee.

After that, I start to work and have limited my distraction. Put yourself and your animals on a schedule so that the beginning of your work has the least amount of distractions.

Pre-planning

The largest piece of success that takes into consideration the other parts of this article, is to pre-plan your work schedule. Even if it is not minute by minute, analyze your current habits. After analyzing them, you can then look at them, and plan for them. However, it also takes action. Such as having your materials organized the night before. This way, the hours have less room to slip by. The planning can be in an actual planner, a set of alarms on your phone, or even a spreadsheet on the computer. Pre-planning also helps with transitioning between tasks and stages which is where distractions can move in. A growing number of people work remotely, freelancing, or working on homework so it is crucial to guard yourself against distractions.