How to Stay Motivated When You Work from Home

There are so many reasons I love working from home. I spend all day with my dogs and can watch reality television over my lunch break. It’s the dream.

But I’ll be honest: it isn’t always the most motivating spot to crank through my to-do list. When there’s no urgent need to change out of my sweatpants and the couch is only a few steps away, it can be tough to buckle down and get my work done.

There are plenty of days when I struggle to muster any motivation—when I stare at a menacing, blinking text cursor for five minutes before I manage to so much as reply to an email.

So, what do I do on those days when I’m feeling totally tapped out of energy and focus? Well, it depends on what I identify as the root cause of my laziness.

Here are some common reasons why you might get lazy working from home, as well as how to deal with them:

Reason #1: You’re still in your pajamas.

The “working in your pajamas” cliché is one you’ll hear a lot when you work remotely. But it’s really not all it’s cracked up to be. While I’m all for being comfortable, I’ve found that my motivation levels typically enter a steady nosedive if I roll out of bed and head straight into my home office—without bothering to do so much as change my clothes or brush my teeth.

If you think about it, it makes sense. How can you possibly generate some enthusiasm for getting work done when you’re wearing exactly what you slept in?

Do This: I’ve made a habit of taking some time to get ready before I ever sit down at my computer, and I recommend you do the same.

Do I make myself look as polished as I would if I were heading into a normal office? Definitely not. But even taking a few minutes to wash my face, brush my teeth, and put on some fresh clothes makes me feel a little more awake and like I’ve officially switched into “work mode.”

Reason #2: You haven’t left the house in days.

Cabin fever is a real thing, and being hit with the brutal realization that you haven’t set foot outside in several days is always sort of jarring.

I know firsthand how easy it is to stay trapped in your home office bubble, especially when you feel like your work is really flowing (and you don’t want to put on real pants). But take my word for it—eventually you’re going to hit a wall. If you’ve been staring at the same surroundings for days on end, it’s only natural that your mind is going to start to wander and your energy is going to lag.

Do This: It’s time to get yourself out of the house. Take your dog for a walk, run an errand, or grab your laptop and head to a local coffee shop to work for a few hours. Even just a brief change of scenery can work wonders for refreshing your perspective and your motivation.

Reason #3: You’re burnt out.

Maybe you’re being too quick to point your finger and call yourself lazy. In fact, maybe you’ve just done too much and now you’re plain ol’ exhausted.

There are plenty of studies that cite how remote workers are far more productive than their in-office counterparts, because they don’t have nearly the same amount of distractions. However, you can only operate at maximum efficiency for so long before your levels run too low. Perhaps the reason the couch is calling your name so strongly is because you’re just tapped out of energy for now.

Do This: You deserve a break. If your schedule offers you this sort of flexibility, step away from your desk for a little bit—even if it’s just for a half hour. You might be surprised by the amount of good that does you.

Reason #4: You’re distracted.

When you’re working from home, you might not have to deal with the standard office distractions. There are no deskmates having phone conversations at ridiculous volumes or colleagues randomly popping by your desk. But that doesn’t mean that your work environment is totally distraction free. Your own home offers plenty of tasks and other shiny objects that can sidetrack you.

It’s hard to focus on your to-do list if you feel like something else—whether it’s emptying the dishwasher, starting a load of laundry, or even changing that lightbulb in the bathroom—is hanging over your head.

Do This: You know that task or chore that’s nagging at you? If it can be accomplished in a reasonably short amount of time (we’ll say less than a half hour), just go ahead and do it right now.

Believe me, that will be a whole lot more productive than trying to push it out of your mind for the next few hours. When you work from home, it’s far too easy for the lines between your professional and personal life to become blurred—and it can be hard to muster up your motivation when you’re working only a few steps from where you sleep.

The first step is to identify exactly why you’re running low on determination, and the above four reasons are incredibly common (been there, done that way too many times). Once you pinpoint the culprit, use this advice to tackle it head on and then return to your to-do list with a newfound sense of energy.

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