Working From Home: 10 Tips for Assessors to Stay Motivated

One of the many perks of working as an assessor is that you get a lot of flexibility. If you're self-employed and work on a freelance basis, you're more likely to be working from home. And some employers also allow their assessors to work from home too.

There are a lot of perks to working from home, I know because I work from home as a freelancer myself.

But despite these benefits, you'd be surprised at how easy it is to pick up some unproductive habits, like constant checking of social media feeds or watching an episode of your series on Netflix. There are just so many distractions and creature comforts when you work from home.

In this post, I share my top 10 tips that have helped me stay motivated and productive when working from home.

1. Get Up Early

While your office might be only a short stroll away from your bed, it is essential that you do get into the habit of waking up early and getting to work “on time”.

Make a conscious effort to be on time with yourself. If you're constantly having late starts, then it will quickly become a habit, and you won't be able to take either yourself and your work seriously.

In a study by the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, it found that morning people are typically more proactive. I always start my working day at 8am, and I try (I repeat, try) to go to bed at a reasonable time.

2. Wear Appropriate Clothing, and Look the Part

When I first started working home, I literally wore a hoodie and a pair of jogging bottoms. I also had scruffy hair and didn't really bother to shave. At that time, I naively thought there wasn't much of a point in making an effort in my appearance since I wasn't going to “impress” anyone.

However, as a result of my own laziness, it actually made me very unproductive. And there's actually a scientific reason for that.

In a study by The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, researchers asked participants to wear a white lab coat and complete a series of tasks. Some of the participants were told that the coat was a painter's cloak, others were told it was a doctor's coat.

So what was the result? The participants who were told that the article of clothing was a doctor's coat completed the tasks with greater care and attention.

Researchers called this phenomenon “enclothed cognition”. You have heard the phrase “dress for success”, well this study has proven that is undoubtedly the case for when working from home.

Today, I actually take the time to look decent and smart before I start my work, and I have noticed an increase in my own productivity.

3. Have a Schedule, And Stick to It

Your schedule should map your objectives for the day, week and month. Scheduling can help you to allocate your time for certain tasks better, and enable you to have a framework in place for your entire work output.

When I started freelancing, I used to just rely on a to-do list. Not only was this counter-productive, but it made me feel really overwhelmed. Now, I make use of time management tools, such as a Bullet Journal, to help manage my time a bit better so I can stay motivated.

4. Go to a Coffee Shop

If working from home every day is not your thing, or you feel as if you would like to work in a different environment, then my suggestion to you is to try working in a coffee shop. Working in a coffee shop brings a sense of novelty to your brain. And according to a paper by psychologist Dr Marvin Zuckerman, humans crave novelty.

I occasionally work in coffee shops, sometimes once or twice a week, and I have to say, there's always a certain buzz in the atmosphere. Maybe it is the caffeine.

5. Remember to Socialise

Working as an assessor requires you to work on your own for most of the time. And even though you will be travelling to different locations and meeting new people, you can't help but feel isolated. This is why it is crucial for you to schedule in time to socialise. Try organising a lunch with a friend, or phone a friend in the evening or during your lunch break.

Having that social interaction during the day can provide a bit of stimulation. I remember initially feeling quite isolated at the beginning of my freelancing career. It was only when I started to make an effort to contact friends and family that I began to feel like my usual self.

6. Take Regular Breaks

Remember that old cliche where “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Same goes for working from home. When you're relying on yourself to attain a steady income, it is very easy to become too focused that you can forget about life in general.

So do take regular breaks away from your work. Go outside for a walk, or spend half an hour at your local gym.

7. Stay Away From Distractions

When working from home, you need to maintain your focus so you can actually get your work done. But since we're living in the digital age, we're bombarded with loads of distractions. One major source of distraction comes from our smartphones.

There's no need to check your phone whenever you receive a notification from Facebook or Twitter. And there's no need to find out who has posted what on Instagram; there's a time and place for that. Only check your phone if you have received a notification from your client or employer.

8. Have an Office Setting

Choosing where you work from home is a very important decision. Your workspace at home should be dedicated to work, and nothing else.

I avoid working in my own bedroom since I only want to use that space to relax and sleep. For me, not having to work in my bedroom allows me to put a mental barrier away from work so that I can properly unwind.

Currently, my office space is situated in the corner of my living room.

9. Track How You Spend Your Time

The beauty of working from home is that you do not have anyone watching over your back. The downside to this is that you're not held accountable to anyone, and this can have a negative impact on your motivation and productivity.

Try and track how much time you spend on certain tasks. You can use a tool like RescueTime, which is a software that runs in the background of your laptop or phone. It monitors how much time you spend on a variety of tasks.

You can review the time you spend on your tasks, and see how you can speed it up.

10. Look After Your Posture

Usually, when you work from home, you tend to do a majority of your work on a laptop. While laptops are convenient in terms of portability, from personal experience, prolonged periods of working on a laptop can really damage your posture.

I've noticed when you work on a laptop, you're hunching forwards. Recently, I actually hyperextended my lower back, and this really hampered my productivity. Plus, since I was leaning forwards, I encountered a lot of eye-strain.

The solution that I found was investing in a laptop stand, which raised my laptop to eye-level, reducing my eye-strain in the process, and prevented me from putting pressure on my lower back, shoulders and neck when hunching forwards.

Thanks for reading! Do you work from home and know of any other suggestions? Please let us know in the comments section below.

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