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Distractions are all around us, whether we work in an office or at home, whether we find them or they find us. How much you give into them ultimately determines your productivity. What follows are tried-and-true tips from fellow home workers, in their own words, for improving your focus, your efficiency and your effectiveness as you work from home.

1. “My biggest tip is to review my daily plan for the next day at the end of each work day. I note what is the most important thing to do that will make me money and I choose then and there to make that the first thing I do when I sit down at my desk the next day – before emails, phone calls, ANYTHING!”

Ann Ronan, Ph.D.
Authentic Life Institute

2. “Work above ground, close to a window (e.g. no basement office). Natural light is a powerful energizer.”

Steve Prentice, president
Bristall Morgan Inc.

3. “The best productivity improvement I've made is hooking up a monitor to my laptop. Just a few of the time-saving uses: I can find what I need on the Internet on one and drag it to Word on the other. I can view my PowerPoint presentation in slideshow view on one and edit it on the other. I can look at email on one and check my calendar on the other.”

Peggy Duncan
Personal Productivity Expert

4. “Get rid of television completely. I was able to complete four first drafts for manuscripts, all 70,000+ words each this year because I no longer own a television. It's just too tempting to veg out in front of it rather than get any work done.”

Jessie Terwilliger
Author

5. “Categorize each function within the company as either something that produces revenue or doesn't produce revenue. If it doesn't produce revenue, I outsource it. It's that simple.”

Lauren Milligan
ResuMAYDAY.com
mydreambiz.net

6. “Keep a close eye on the time you spend on email and phone calls each day. Even if these are vital to your business, you can cut out time spent on these by scheduling it into your workday. Set aside a chunk of time – or several chunks – to focus on email. During ‘non-email’ work time, focus fully on other things that need to be done. By eliminating the distraction of checking your email, you'll be more productive and efficient.”

Jill Hart, president
Christian Work at Home Moms

7. “Set up your work space efficiently, so that you do not spend your time walking back and forth to the printer. The things you use most – in my case, my laptop, printer, scanner, phone, rolodex, most frequently used office supplies and filing cabinet – are all within arm's reach. If you drink a lot of water throughout the day, fill a liter-size bottle every morning and drink from that, so you don't have to run to the kitchen to get water every hour.”

Pauline Lewis
oovoo

8. “A timer.  A plain old cheap kitchen timer.  I plan my day, and then use the timer to do each task one at a time.  Unless the timer has gone off, I do nothing else – no emails or surfing or ‘let me just take care of...’  Once the timer has gone off, I move onto something else.  But for that bit of time, my focus is squarely on the project at hand.”

Michele Wilcox, owner
Vineyard Virtual Services

9. “I write one task per Post-It. I stick them on the wall above my work space. Every time I look up, I'm reminded of my to-dos (it’s so easy to bury a piece of paper under other work). As I accomplish one of the tasks, I simply remove the Post-It from the wall.”

Joyce Finnegan, CEO
RJT Products, LLC

10. “Get up in the morning, shower, get dressed and PUT ON YOUR SHOES. I find that shoes signify ‘getting serious,’ and I have a much more productive and focused day if I am not barefoot or wearing socks or slippers. Really.”

Deborah Gallant
webpowertools.com
lifeworkcatalyst.com

11. “Stick to your Top 5. At the end of the previous day or first thing in the morning, write down the top five things you want to accomplish that day. Make those your priorities, and focus on getting them done. Avoid doing email for a two-hour period each day and focus on those tasks. You will be amazed at how much more you will accomplish!”

Barry J. Izsak
Arranging It All

12. “Set boundaries with your family. When you are ‘working,’ they need to respect and honor that.”

Kyle Sheldon-Chandler
KSC Virtual Assistant Services

13. “Set up regularly scheduled, short 1-on-1 phone meetings with your key team members. This is the best way to replace the lost opportunities of bumping into them in the hallways and asking them about that issue you needed their input on. Because the meetings are planned in advance, you're not constantly interrupting them with random calls or IMs. Between meetings, put any questions that crop up for them on a list. When you meet, you can quickly slam through the questions and get off the phone, so you can both get back to work.”

Nicole Bachelor
How to Avoid Going to Work Without Quitting your Job

14. “Have a sound track. When I am starting a new project, I create a playlist of songs on the computer to get me through the work I need to do. Usually my playlist is about as long as I want to work in a single session – around 10 songs. I often end my playlist with a ‘get up and dance’ song, and I do a little wake-up activity around my home office. I'm sure my neighbors think I am hysterical.”

Nikki Maxwell
Grant Writer
North Hills, Calif.

15. “Make your surroundings as comfortable and functional as possible. If you like bright things, and they keep your spirits and creativity on ‘high,’ paint your office yellow (mine is dandelion yellow).”

Gail Sideman
PUBLISiDE Personal Publicity

16. “[Add] a giant ‘goals for the week’ board. It's amazing what a big difference this small investment will make in your productivity. Do it seasonally for an inspiring pick me up.”

Jennifer Bourgoyne, founder
Czela Bellies CesareanWear

17. “Create a lounge area in your office room… Add a couch, radio and small coffee table away from your desk. One of the hardest things I faced when working from home is not having a place away from my desk. I always ended up in my living room to actually get some air and then of course got distracted by the TV. After I added a small area to catch up on my reading and brain storm, it really helped me stay focused and not leave my work space.”

Aparna Sharma, owner/marketing consultant
Reason Box - Crafting your business image

18. “Use a task manager program throughout [your] day.  Productivity is very important as a VA, because I'm only paid for the time I'm actually working on a client's project. There are several great free programs that are available online [such as RescueTime] doesn't require me to stop or start any clocks and doesn't require any additional input for me.  At the end of the day, I know exactly where I need to cut time out of my day to be more productive.”

Dawn Martinello, CEO/virtual assistant
Monday Morning VA

19. “Staying connected to my co-workers and boss (not my friends) through instant messenger is very important. It keeps me honest about my hours and keeps me focused, because my coworkers/boss can see when I’m online and/or when I’m idle or away from my desk. Plus, it’s a great way to stay connected and get a bit of a social fix.”

Kristin Callan, director of sales & client services
Swizznet, LLC

20. “ ‘Walk Away.’ Walking Away is a simple concept I developed when a staffer was having a really frustrating day. We’d heard all the advice on plowing through a hard day, but I realized that the person who Walks Away and takes the valuable time to regroup, recover or revise is much more productive when they get back to their work. The people who tend to Walk Away when they need to are turning out to be the most productive in our company.”

Cynthia Schultz, owner
Foothold Services

21. “I meet on a quarterly basis with my goal buddy, Susan Aldrich, who also has a home office. In January, we lay out our goals for the year, and then we meet at the end of each quarter to look back, look ahead and keep each other on track. I find that I accomplish more, knowing that I am accountable to someone other than just myself.”

Christine Zust, president
Zust & Co.

22. “Many people who work at home work on desktop computers. A revolutionary step for me was buying a laptop. I wasn't tied to the desk in my office area. My productivity tripled, because I could take the laptop into the kitchen, into the bedroom, in the backyard. Just having it available at all times made it so much easier to jot down ideas, write a quick paragraph while I was cooking, etc. Many people may already have laptops and think this is a no brainer, but I never realized that a desktop just didn't fit my lifestyle and work habits, even though I am a stay-at-home mom.”

Christine Cavalier
purplecar.net

23. “The Daily 6. Make a list of 6 things you must accomplish for work in order of priority, 1 to 6, before you go to sleep. The next day, complete #1 before moving to #2, and so on. Anything left at the end of the day will appear at the top of the list tomorrow. This has overhauled my productivity level, and there is no stopping in the middle of a task to unload the dishwasher or take a personal call!”

Susie Shina
susieshina.com

24. “Concentrate on one client/project at a time, and turn off all social media tools/email/and phones.”

Taryn Merrick, principal
Merrick Management And Media Services

25. “Make taking care of yourself your absolute, no-nonsense, Number One priority. Then when you sit down to focus on work, you will be available for it 100 percent.”

Gael Chiarella Alba, president
Yokibics Productions Company Inc.

26. “Just because you have enough client and administrative work to fill 14 hours a day, seven days a week, doesn't mean you should.”

Shel Horowitz, author
frugalmarketing.com
frugalfun.com

27. “Don't forget to go home. Take a walk, or go to the gym at quitting time. Physically move away from the space in which you work… Being ‘ever present,’ doesn't necessarily make you more productive.”

Virginia Backaitis, senior partner
BrilliantLeap, a division of Selective Search

28. “The night before, decide on the most important task of the next day. Get up one hour before other people in the house, and go straight to the computer to complete that task. One hour of focused activity a day in one year amounts to nine 40-hour weeks!”

Masha Malka, strategist/author
The One Minute Coach
mashamalka.com

29. “Utilize the quiet of the night – when the phone is not ringing and no one is awake – to get more done in less amount of time.”

Toma Haines, CEO/founder
The Antiques Diva Tours

30. “Schedule in-person or phone meetings outside of – or barely inside of – standard business hours, if that suits the client or vendor. This allows me to take best advantage of the work day, saving the majority of the day for working and/or being available to clients.”

Mona Zemsky
M.Source

31. “Relax and be flexible. When I first started working from home, I wouldn't even throw in a load of laundry during ‘work hours.’ My husband thought I was nuts. So now not only do I run the wash while at work, but I'll occasionally put my head on my desk and close my eyes for 10 minutes. Because I can!”

Robin Bernstein
Write Time Communications

32. “I have an alarm on my computer, Alarm++ from 12noon, that pops up a message once every hour to ask, ‘Am I following my planned priorities?’ If I have wandered off or even if I am simply spending more time on a task than is justified, this gets my focus back on track.”

Randy Park, principal
Thinking for Results

33. “Eat a frog for breakfast. The adage says if you have to eat a frog, don’t spend time looking at it. Identify the task(s) you need to complete to feel good about your day. Do that work before anything else…including checking email. Eating your largest, ugliest frog for breakfast will give you a boost to help the rest of the day seem lighter.”

Jan Wencel, president
Life Contained

34. “Start your day with a short walk around the block to serve as your ‘commute.’ This gets you out of your pajamas and helps get your mind focused for starting the day.”

Benjamin R. Thompson, owner/principal designer
Studiofluid, Inc.

35. “Determine an alternate workspace outside of your home, such as a library, community center or coffee shop. When your concentration or motivation wanes on a project, take it to this secondary workspace and see just how much you can get done in 30 or 90 minutes.”

Mindy Jeppesen, productivity consultant
Rejuvenation Organization