How to Productively Work from Home | EP 120

How to Productively Work from Home

This episode is based off of an article written by our good friend BJ Keeton over on the Elegant Themes blog. The blog post is called “Remote Work Starter Kit: What You Need to Get Started and Succeed“. We will go through some of BJ’s points and then say whether or not we agree.

In our line of work as entrepreneurs, business owners, and particularly web Developers, most of us work from home. When you work from home, you’re in a nice relaxing place. Your bed is right over there and you could go to sleep anytime you want, so how do you keep yourself from working in bed?

1. Pants 02:38
   • If you are coming from an office environment, you might want to get dressed and ready for the day to prepare yourself for working at home.
   • Really it comes down to your own preference. Some people can work in sweatpants or pjs and others need to shower and dressed before working.
   • Tim says that it depends on the day for him, but getting dressed can have a powerful impact. When you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you sound good. When you sound good, you do good.
2. Primary and secondary work space 05:05
   • Bottom line is… you’ve gotta work somewhere!
   • Having a dedicated work space will separate your work and play.
   • David and Tim both have dedicated work spaces, but also enjoy working outside or at coffee shops.
   • Tim highly recommends having a good desk and an ergonomic chair to avoid neck problems. He and David also both have standing desks.
3. A work-only computer 07:11
   • This can be a tough one… David says that if you can minimize distractions then this might not be necessary. He also says that it is hard to draw the line on “distractions” though. Facebook could be seen as a distraction, but he also uses it to communicate with other developers and manage Facebook groups.
4. Fantastic planning solutions 09:00
   • You really need to have your tools in place when you are self-employed.
   • Find the tools that work for you and get into a rhythm.
   • You can learn more about the project management tools that David and Tim use in episode 15 and episode 71.
5. Discipline 10:15
   • This is the most important thing that you need to have to successfully work from home.
   • If you’re one that gets easily distracted, your self-discipline is low, and you cave to gaming or Facebook, at the end of the day your clients aren’t going to keep you.
   • Discipline is important and it can be learned. If you struggle with it, David recommends having an accountability group, or having peers or colleagues that can help you to be accountable.
   • All the productivity tips in the world aren’t going to help you if you don’t have the right mindset.