I often hear, “How wonderful it must be to work from home in my PJ’s all day,” and they are always surprised to hear that I don’t. “Why wouldn’t you if you could?” This often comes next and why? Because people working from home aren’t really working. Are they?

So, what makes me such the expert here?

  • Because I’ve done it, I admit it, I’ve spent a day or two working in my PJ’s (not a whole day, but long enough).
  • I’ve sat at my desk and floundered, mindlessly moving from job to job
  • It wasn’t an everyday occurrence, just now and then when I didn’t feel I could take time to prepare

I was unable to concentrate on the foggy haze that was debilitating me. Yes, I was getting my client work done but was it my best work? Possibly not. Using the excuse that I was too busy, had too much to do, that I was time poor was no excuse. I simply wasn’t managing the time that I had. Michael Hyatt says, “You only have 168 hours in a week, the same as everyone else”. It is up to you, what you do with it and this is what I did.

It wasn’t long before I came to realise that if I continued to show up at my desk in my PJ’s I would continue to have that ‘half awake’ mindset. I did at least once a week. What was I thinking? In my corporate life I never went to work looking anything other than complete, dress, hair, make-up from top to toe I looked every bit the corporate EA.

JMJ-EA for a Day was my business so why wasn’t I taking it seriously enough? So the process began and guess what also changed once I started to dress for my home office? My ideas made more sense to me, my head was clearer, my thought process was on fire and I was developing my business the way I wanted it. I sat up straighter in my chair, and I conducted myself in a professional manner as if I were back working in a corporate environment, and the difference it made to my output was incredible.

It doesn’t matter what type of business you’re running, whether it is a VA business, a web development business, graphic design, crafts etc. The outcome is still the same. Dress like you were expecting visitors. You wouldn’t want them seeing you in your PJ’s.

10 Ways to Improve Your Focus Working From Home

  1. Ensure you have a dedicated workspace
  2. Always leave your office at the end of the day with a clean desk
  3. Get dressed and ready to begin your day before you walk into your office as if you were expecting visitors
  4. Book video calls when you meet with clients (this will also ensure you are looking your best)
  5. Work from your favourite coffee shop one morning a week
  6. Don’t get distracted by doing random household chores
  7. Listen to podcasts, and motivational videos or audio books
  8. Have specific office hours
  9. Make sure your clients know your office hours
  10. You make the rules for your business, therefore you need to work within those rules also

Question: What can you do differently to improve how you work from home? Share your answer below.