How to Stay Focused When the Weather Is Nice
Full disclosure: Here we sit at our respective desks. Outside, the sun shines on the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain town of Asheville, North Carolina. After a snowy March, lots of rain and below average April temperatures — we’d much rather be outside!
The grass needs mowing and the garden craves some plantings. There are a hundred good reasons to get out, from soaking up a solid dose of vitamin D to “networking” with everyone else who’s out and about. But we have work to do. Deadlines loom. Website developers around the world are waiting for us to deliver their content. And although we work at home, Ray Access is a professional business.
What’s a Writer to Do?
To work at home, you must possess a good deal of personal discipline. There isn’t anyone counting keystrokes when you’re the owner of the company. There’s no time clock. And no one is counting your breaks.
When you don’t have an office to go to, you don’t have a boss leaning over your shoulder. You must rely on your inner boss to tell you when it’s time to go to lunch, how long you can take and still get your work done, when to call it quits for the day and when to work overtime. It doesn’t matter whether you:
- Are a freelance writer
- Design graphics for websites
- Build websites for other businesses
- Own a writing and editing firm like Ray Access
- Create apps
- Operate a concierge service
Work at Home Blues
When it’s raining or the heat is sweltering, it’s easier to stay at your desk and work. But when the weather breaks and you want to enjoy the sun shining down on your face, you do have the option of taking your laptop outdoors. But that doesn’t work for everyone.
Instead, try these four well-worn tips and tricks to keep your BIC (butt in chair), get work done and still get a good dose of the great outdoors:
- Get started earlier in the day during the summer. Start your first cup of coffee before daybreak and you may actually get more done when you work at home. The distractions of family, friends and outside fun are fewer in the wee hours.
- Work later in the evening. If you’re more of a night owl, develop the habit of hitting the keyboard after everyone else has hit the sheets or is deeply entrenched in the latest television programs.
- Plan longer breaks. When you satisfy your need to socialize outdoors (especially on the weekends), get some fresh air, play a little of your favorite sport or dig in the dirt, it’s easier to return to your desk. Remember that there’s no one to tell you that you can’t take a two- or three-hour lunch!
- Count your blessings. And count your income! You get to work at home. You don’t want to blow it by not keeping your BIC. You’re not an undisciplined child. You are an entrepreneur, a free agent, your own boss! Act like it.
Work at Home Rocks!
So instead of the blues, when you count your blessings and work with an attitude of gratitude, you tend to see the bright side of every situation. If you’re stuck inside on a sunny day, turn it into a day to make some money that will enable you to go on vacation next month. Saying no to that rafting trip on Saturday means you’ll have the resources to retire early and go rafting every day if you choose.
Self-employment and work at home jobs definitely have trade-offs. And most workers who get to go to work in their sweats and PJs understand those sacrifices. It’s much easier to make that gratitude list when you finally hit the payday and all that discipline to work at home pays off in more ways than you can even begin to count.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.