How To Stay Motivated When Working Remotely

Working from home isn’t just for freelancers anymore. Remote work is a growing trend, even among those working full time. When companies adopt remote working policies, they can source the best talent regardless of location and save money on office space. Employees don’t have to commute to the office every day and have more flexibility over where they live. Freelancers are independent professionals who always get to choose when and where they work, being completely virtual unless they have to work on-site to perform their services.

Statista found that in the second quarter of 2024, 27% of all workers in the U.S. were remote, and 53% were hybrid. When working from home, you have to learn time management so you can be productive and stay motivated. Many people find they’re more productive working from home because they get less distracted by co-workers, have fewer unnecessary meetings, and can create their ideal working conditions.

Staying motivated when working remotely can be challenging, especially if you don’t have a set schedule, feel burned out, or have to juggle other responsibilities. This article will help you learn to stay motivated and productive while working from home, with actionable strategies and tips.

Understand your motivation factors

When working remotely, you need to figure out ways to motivate yourself. The first step to doing this is understanding your different motivation factors. Motivation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation is self-motivation that comes from within. Examples of intrinsic motivation in the workplace are enjoying what you do and accomplishing goals you set for yourself.

Extrinsic motivation is reward-based and driven by external factors. Examples of extrinsic motivation are getting a raise or being praised by your boss.

When you’re working from home and have more autonomy over the day-to-day of your job, you have to learn ways to motivate yourself. Think about what motivates you already. You can write down a list as you brainstorm.

These are some questions you can ask yourself to discover your motivating factors:

• What do you like most about your job?
• What are the benefits of working from home?
• When do you feel the most accomplished at work?
• What types of projects make you feel the most excited?
• What does your job allow you to do outside of your career?
• When have you been proud of the work that you’ve accomplished?
• How does your manager or company reward you for hard work?
• What do you most enjoy doing in your free time?

It’s OK if you’re not specifically motivated by your position and the daily tasks of your role. You may want to focus more on what your job allows you to do outside of work. This may be your hobbies, travel, or providing for your family. If you’re more extrinsically motivated, you’ll have to find ways to reward yourself, like working from a coffee shop or taking a midday walk in the park.

Set up a dedicated workspace

When working from home, you’ll likely find that you’re more motivated and productive when you have a dedicated workspace. If you have a spare bedroom, you can create a home office. Your dedicated workspace could also be a multiuse space in your apartment that you set up each morning for work.

Creating a workspace for yourself can help you get into the mindset of productivity. When you sit down at your workspace (as you would at a desk in the office), you know that it’s time to work. This designated area can help your mind switch to work mode. Follow these tips to build both functionality and good ergonomics into your home office.

Remove any distractions that would tempt you. Pretend you’re in the office. Flip your phone face down so you don’t see any social media and text notifications or turn it on “do not disturb” if you need to. Make sure the TV is off and that you have a quiet area or headsets on so you aren’t interrupted by roommates or family and can get into a flow state.

Having a physical space to work in can also help you maintain professionalism when taking phone or video calls at work. Be mindful of how your background looks in a video call; you can blur your background if needed.

Think about your ideal setup. When working from home, many of the organization and productivity tools you use will likely be virtual. A planner, calendar, inspirational art, and knickknacks can also help you feel motivated.

Establish a routine

Depending on your job, work may not have to start at nine and end at five. Freelancers and employees at flexible companies can work the hours that fit their lifestyle best, as long as they meet deadlines. Some people feel more productive in the evening, while others prefer mornings. You may want to take a break midday to go to the gym, walk your dog, or fulfill caretaking duties.

Even if you have flexible hours, having a structured daily routine can help you be more productive and avoid procrastination. Decide when you’ll start working each day and what you will primarily be working on.

When you sit down at your workspace in the morning, you should have an outline of your day, the tasks you’ll focus on, and any meetings you need to attend. You can do this the night before as part of your ending-the-workday routine.

A daily routine gives you discipline and can even improve your work-life balance. Commit to working when you’re at your workspace and give yourself permission to be offline after the workday ends. Outlining your work hours, daily tasks, deadlines, and meetings allows you to visualize your workload. This helps you know if you’re able to take on more projects or are on track to meet your deadlines.

While you don’t have to work traditional hours, mimicking the structure of a typical office day can be a helpful starting point. A full-time job typically lasts around 40 hours a week, broken down into five eight-hour days. Decide how many hours you need to work each week and create a daily schedule with a lunch break, snacks, and other short breaks in between.

The biggest challenge when working from home is often getting your workday started. Create a morning routine just like you would if you had to go to the office. Decide when you want to be ready to work each morning so you don’t get distracted and fall behind in the morning.

Many people find time blocking helpful for time management. Time blocking involves dividing your day into set time blocks and assigning these segments to tasks. Estimate how long a task will take you and commit to working at it undistracted for the entire block.

Set clear goals and objectives

Goal setting can help you stay motivated by always giving yourself something to work toward. These goals can extend beyond task deadlines and benchmarks determined by your manager. Setting clear goals and objectives around career development makes your tasks and assignments part of the bigger picture.

When setting goals, you want to focus on making them SMART— specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. These types of goals are achievable. As you set SMART goals, you also map out the steps you need to take to make them happen and measure your progress throughout the journey.

Setting goals the wrong way can feel like a trap and be discouraging. You need to include the how so you have direction. Otherwise, your goals may feel impossible and too far out of reach. You also need to know what your measurements of success are so you can monitor your progress and know whether or not you’re getting closer.

When working on big projects, try to break them down into smaller steps and tasks that you can more easily check off your to-do list. This can help you feel accomplished and less overwhelmed so you can maintain motivation. Reward yourself as you make progress, whether that’s treating yourself to a fancy coffee at the local cafe or going for a short walk.

Take regular breaks

When you work on-site, a co-worker could come and talk with you or announce that someone brought in doughnuts. At home, you may not have this type of unplanned break and reasons to leave your desk that you would in an office. Additionally, many companies have fewer meetings when switching to a remote environment. Quick Slack messages can replace in-person conversations that are more easily side-tracked into longer sessions.

While condensing communications may be helpful for productivity, you may need to prioritize self-care and personal well-being by taking regular breaks,  fitting them into your schedule to help avoid burnout. Working in a concentrated flow state for a full eight hours a day would be nearly impossible for most people; work quality would start to slip and more mistakes would be made. Taking breaks can improve your focus and creativity, reduce stress levels, and be beneficial for your mental health.

The Pomodoro technique can be a helpful way to structure your work at home, especially when you’re feeling a lack of motivation. These types of timers break work into 25-minute intervals with five-minute breaks in between. After four or five of these intervals, allow yourself a longer break anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.

When taking a break, try to give yourself personal time to completely unplug and remove yourself from work. Physically walk away from your workspace and put your phone down. Take time to be screen-free to help reduce eye strain. Working from home may mean that you’re sitting for long periods of time. Taking walks and stretching on your breaks can be supportive of both mental and physical well-being.

Stay connected with your team

When part of a remote workforce, you have to learn how to effectively collaborate and stay connected with your team. As remote working has become a mainstream business practice, companies rely on communication tools like Zoom and Slack and project management platforms like Asana and Clickup. Making the most of these tools can help prevent the potential loneliness and disconnect that remote workers can feel.

While a quick Slack or Teams message can replace walking over to someone’s desk or setting up a meeting and save time, creating opportunities to meet up virtually is still important. Scheduling regular virtual meetings to check in with teammates and have social interactions can be incredibly beneficial.

These meetings don’t have to be all business. Managers can schedule monthly, weekly, or quarterly short meetings to catch up and see how everyone is doing outside of one-on-ones. Getting to know co-workers can be more challenging when working remotely. Companies and teams can create these opportunities with virtual team-building events. If you haven’t been assigned an onboarding mentor, seek out a “work buddy,” whom you can bounce ideas off of or have personal discussions with.

Track and celebrate achievements

Working remotely can mean less oversight by your manager and other team members. Once you finish one project or milestone, you may immediately start working on another. Tracking and celebrating achievements, especially when freelancing, is an important aspect of motivation. Taking a moment to pause and recognize milestones for you and your teammates creates a sense of accomplishment.

Capacity planning and project management tools that can visually track your progress on tasks using Kanban boards or progress bars and charts are helpful for motivation and productivity. Actually seeing the work that you’re putting in pay off  encourages you to keep at it. Tracking progress and following how close you are to your milestones can be motivating.

In a team environment, these types of tools keep you updated on what everyone else is working on too. You can congratulate your team members as they accomplish significant milestones. When building and managing a remote team, this type of encouragement and recognition helps create a positive workplace culture.

Don’t forget to recognize birthdays and work anniversaries. These types of small celebrations, even if it’s a simple Slack post, can make your co-workers feel appreciated and connected.

Keep learning and upskilling

Whether you’re a freelancer or a full-time employee, upskilling and furthering your career with courses and certifications gives you something to work toward. This can also help with motivation, as you learn new skills and can put them into practice. When you decide to upskill on your own, it’s personal development and intrinsic motivation—no one is forcing you to do it.

While an employer may provide the resources or encourage it, continuous learning and upskilling are often more motivating when it’s your choice. Upskilling can help you feel more in control of your career and build your confidence. If you’re feeling stuck in your career, consider learning a new skill in your free time, especially if you’re considering changing jobs or offering more services as a freelancer.

Going back to school and enrolling in a degree program is one option. You can also choose from a variety of online learning platforms if you want to upskill. Some of these platforms are free, while others have subscription or per-course fees.

Popular upskilling platforms:

• Skillshare
• Coursera
• LinkedIn Learning
• Udacity
• edX

If you’re interested in becoming an independent professional or expanding the freelancing services that you currently offer, you can review the most in-demand skills on Upwork and see which ones you’d be interested in learning.

Even if you’re mainly interested in full-time roles, you can learn a new skill and then gain experience in it by freelancing on Upwork. This can help you be more competitive as you change roles and apply for jobs.

Manage work-life balance

When working from home, you may find that you have a harder time maintaining work-life balance. You have to set boundaries between your work and personal life to avoid being “always on” and burning out.

Make sure that you’re able to “log off” and stop working at a certain point each day. Avoid checking emails or other messages once your workday ends. You may not realize you’re working more hours than you thought you were.

If you’re interacting directly with clients or navigating time zones, let clients and co-workers know the hours you’re available and your preferred communication channels. Set client expectations from the beginning with core hours and expected response times. You may need to be flexible when it comes to meetings if you have clients or teammates in other time zones, but make sure you maintain a reasonable balance.

Creating an end-of-day routine can help you mentally leave the office when working from home. Writing down your schedule for the following day, shutting off your computer, and cleaning up and organizing your workspace can let your brain know that your workday is complete so you can begin to relax. Taking time away from screens and devices to walk and be in nature, read a book, or listen to music can help you decompress and give yourself something to look forward to at the end of the day.

Summary

After many companies removed their work-from-home mandates, many of these workers haven’t wanted to go back to working in the office. Remote working is a better fit for many people who previously had to commute to the office. In addition to being more productive, workers can save on child care costs and don’t have to live in the city where their company is headquartered.

Going from an office environment to working from home can be an adjustment. You may need to try out different time management strategies and productivity hacks to keep yourself motivated.

Understanding what motivates you can help you figure out how to maintain momentum and make the most out of your working hours. Best practices for working from home include setting goals for yourself (which could include upskilling) and giving yourself planned rewards when you hit milestones. Having a dedicated workspace and creating a personal work routine can be helpful for getting into “work mode” and letting yourself mentally leave work at the end of the day. Don’t forget to take breaks and reach out to your co-workers so you can maintain work-life balance and have social interactions.

Find remote work with Upwork

On Upwork, you can find remote jobs that match your skill set, offering your services as a freelancer directly to clients and working the hours that fit your lifestyle. If you want to work full time for one client, you can find full-time work-from-home opportunities. Companies from single-person startups to 50% of the Fortune 500 use Upwork to find the talent they need. Thousands of opportunities are available every day.

Join Upwork today and start building a flexible career that allows you to work from home and create your own schedule.