If you have never had a job that allows you to work from home, then the thought of working from home likely seems like a dream come true. To some people, it is. However, if you are a remote worker, then you know the title is much more glamorous than the actual lifestyle.
If you work from home, then anything and everything could become a distraction, which could lead to you pushing off your work until the last possible minute — and that’s just the beginning!
For all of those remote entrepreneurs out there, here are two tips you have to follow.
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2 Tips That Every Remote Worker Has To Follow
- Treat Your Remote Job Like An Actual Job
- Learn How To Say No To Distractions
Treat Your Remote Job Like An Actual Job
When you first land a remote job, you tend to not treat it like an actual job. Case in point: You tend to push work off, and not follow a strict schedule in general. The sooner you break this habit, and the sooner you stop pretending like having a remote job is different than having an office job, the sooner you will become the most productive version of yourself.
You have to treat your remote job like an actual job. Therefore, you have to actually make a schedule (a very detailed one, might we add) and then stick to it. If you miss something on this schedule, then the world will end, or that is at least how you have to treat it.
Sure, you can work at a coffee shop if you want to, and you also don’t have to stick to a 9-to-5 schedule, but you still have to stick to some form of schedule every day you plan on doing work.
A remote job might seem like a dream come true on paper, but just wait until the distractions start taking over…
Learn How To Say No To Distractions
When you work from home, everything will become a distraction. The fridge, your dog, the TV — everything. The sooner you learn how to say no to these things, the better.
If you are a 20-something entrepreneur, then the biggest distraction will likely be your friends. When they aren’t working, they tend to think the rest of the world isn’t working either. The 9-to-5 workday has been engraved in their heads over the years, after all, and that especially rings true if your friends work in an office — well, in most cases, because the workday seems to be getting longer and longer by the day.
You are not a 9-to-5 warrior. You are an entrepreneur, which means you hustle like it’s no one’s business. You probably put in extra work at night and on the weekends, because you know your goals and dreams won’t come true unless you put in more than 40-50 hours per week.
This becomes an issue when your friends, roommates or whoever it might be wants to go out for a few drinks on Friday night. While you don’t want to lose your friends by saying no to every offer they put on the table, you also need to learn how to say no to these types of distractions, distractions that aren’t benefiting your goals and dreams in any fashion.
Your time is your time, and you should cherish it. While everyone deserves breaks in the form of getaways and a couple of days off here and there, if you have work to do, then you have to do it, even if said work is calling your name at 9 p.m. on a Friday or Saturday.
Over time, learning how to say no to distractions will become easier and easier. Here’s the question you should be asking yourself when distractions rear their ugly heads: Would you rather spend your free time playing, or would you rather spend it making your dreams come true?
That said, actions speak louder than words, so if you watch TV for a few hours at night instead of gaining knowledge, working or doing something that is getting you closer to your dreams, then you rather watch TV than make your dreams come true.
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