Distractions and Demands at Home
The thing about being at home is that domestic chores and other tasks will filter in very easily. These could be mundane tasks like doing the laundry or more substantial things like reviewing personal finances. To be fair, things like the latter you could probably still do in the office but it’s much easier to slip into doing it for longer when you know no one will be looking over your shoulder.
Slip them into meetings
Rather than resist at all costs, it may be wise to plan these into your day. How? Well, some tasks that are purely physical in nature and don’t require much thought (folding laundry, washing dishes, feeding the dog) can be done during meetings where the camera is off you aren’t likely to be speaking much. (Now, as an aside, why are you even at these meetings at all, but often that can’t be helped). You are still listening and paying attention, but there’s nothing stopping you from getting up and doing something that doesn’t take up mental space.
Use your break time
See if you can also incorporate some of these domestic tasks into your breaks. There is no better break from doing something mental than doing something physical. It’s a complete change and will refresh you much better than simply staying put at the laptop and browsing social media. This is actually one place where you can break the rule about not being able to multitask. You can do one thing that is mental, and one thing that is physical at the same time (assuming the physical task is something routine, not operating complex machinery...!).
Family demands
There are of course distractions in the office as well. Indeed, depending on where you work, there may be more in the office than at home. Putting headphones on and listening to some soft music can help remove these. But distractions aren’t just about background noise (more on this later on), but random demands on your time. If you have family members or housemates who come in and ask you to do a quick task, then that is a distraction. Don’t ruin your relationship with the people you are living with over these though—there’s a difference between taking 10 seconds to help carry something and taking a ‘quick’ trip to the shops (which may still eat up 15-30 minutes). If you are caregiving, then you will need to try to plan and anticipate the tasks you will be doing in that role as much as possible.
Work time
Of course, there should be the understanding that just because you are at home does not mean you are always available to do other things. The period that you would normally be at the office is still ‘work time’. Yes, there is much more flexibility about what happens at breaks and lunchtimes. For example, you can go out for a walk with your family during the holidays or pop to the shops. During a break, you can go over for a conversation. Or change your child’s nappy! These are small pleasures (or otherwise!) that you won’t get in the office.
Dealing with your devices
As I’ve already talked about before, the other obvious distractions are notifications from your personal smartphone. The answer, again, is simple: turn them off during work hours. Personally, I have WhatsApp and SMS notifications off all the time—I can still see them in my notifications bar when I do open my smartphone, but it doesn’t pop up on my screen right away, causing me to glance away. You can also configure your phone not to send you notifications during work hours but turn them back on when you are finished.
Distracting thoughts
This can be an issue at the office as well, but I think it happens more at home since it’s easier to daydream or just start thinking about other things. If something ‘pops into your head’, whether work or personal in nature, don’t allow yourself to get distracted by it—instead, write it down in your notepad or task list and get back to it later. That way, you don’t forget it (assuming it was something important) but you don’t end up spending half an hour doing something you really don’t have time to do right now.