Ask HN: How to stay focused and motivated working from home?

I'd say try to enjoy this, focus on things other than work for now.

It wouldn't replace being in an office but some of their features definitely helps create a sense of being somewhere else such as having a desk, meeting areas etc.

What I am currently trying to do is to find a office space just for myself close by but that has proven pretty hard since everybody is expecting to write contract for > 6 months.

Let me ask you: How often do you exercise? Do you meditate? When was the last time you lost yourself on a good walk? Have you been taking vitamin D supplements (important for us northerners during the winter)? Lastly, when was the last time you met up with a few friends for coffee (if viable in your location)?

1. Exercising well (45-60 min of strenuous exercise, 4-6 days per week, walks for sun exposure)

2. Eating well (limited junk food, no alcohol, no eating outside of a fixed time window, home cooked, mostly veggies)

3. Sleeping well (8 hours, consistent timing, early to bed, no caffeine after noon)

In the before times, most of us went to offices and we got into "work" mode. Offices are specifically designed for that. An astonishing amount of GDP is spent on offices to "encourage" you to focus.

In these times, I highly recommend a dedicated physical location in your home where you try to only do work (an office if you have a house, a small desk if you have an apartment). Working on the couch does not work for me. In fact, it makes it worse.

If you can manage it, put your phone as far as physically away from possible. The phone is a pandora's box of distraction. I don't care how much self-control you have or if you have turned all notifications. If you can have it within arms-length, you are always within arms reach of losing focus.

We start each day with a video call with the team. Even when there's not much to say. Sometimes I just have a voice channel on discord open with a few colleagues where we can spit our stuff.

Edit: Suggestions for OP. Find purpose; keep your workplace tidy and if possible try to separate work from your free time as much as possible.

Second, a while ago someone reframed the "motivation" concept to me and it's been really beneficial. It's easy to think of "motivation" as an extrinsic concept, but most of what we call "motivation" is actually better termed "discipline". It's a lot easier to fix "discipline" issues than "motivation" issues.

Lastly, if the issue is deeper look into the japanese philosophy of ikigai.

(I also find music can be pretty useful)

Staying focused or motivated is a goal that shouldn't be a goal in the sense that if you take care of your mental health. Motivation and staying focused will naturally occur. Per person it differs what you need to do to stay healthy, maybe see a therapist if things go bad (e.g. if it really affects your daily living).

But in general it boils down to these things:

-Do work you enjoy, i.e. that relates to the values you have

-Take regular breaks and time-off. No lunch break behind a desk. Take holidays. Don't work 80 hours a week.

-Do meditation/yoga and/or sports to stay physically healthy and lower stress

-Do fun things next to your work that activate/stimulate your body. Playing guitar, painting, meeting friends, cooking. Watching TV / doing computer games is more of the same behind a screen work and thus does not re-energize you

-Take care of your social life, meet friends, family etc.

Hope this helps. Otherwise check Happify for exercises and tracks around this topic.

I bought a PS5 and have been doing most of my gaming on that in a separate area and it's helped in both aspects.

  "Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself."

The book has short paragraphs and anecdotes about world famous artists, writers, novelist, musicians, scientist, painters etc, so some people may find it boring. But I keep reading it intermittently.

The work isn't interesting: Depending on your team dynamics you may be able to talk to your boss about this and try to get some more interesting stuff added to your plate. If you work for a toxic org or you're on a very small team this may not be possible. And to add another answer that people typically don't like - just do it. I just saw this tweet yesterday[0] and it was very timely for me as I've been struggling with motivation this week and last.

The pace of the work isn't interesting: I have trouble motivating if I have too little work - "oh I have three days to do this 4 hour task!" I also have trouble motivating if I have way too much - "I'm definitely missing one of these deadlines" and I worry about whichever task I'm not working on at any given moment. Having too little work may be an indication that you're ready for the next level in your career, at your current org or elsewhere. If you have too much, you need to talk to your boss.

You're home so much: Go for a run. Get your own groceries instead of Instacart or drive to get your carry-out instead of using DoorDash. Go for a drive for no reason. There are plenty of ways to get out of the house without being risky about it unless you are high-risk.

[0] https://twitter.com/BStulberg/status/1356330365007355910

If I have any tips, first, try to figure out why you can't focus or you aren't motivated. If you can't focus because of a distraction and it can be removed, remove it. If it can't be removed, can you remove yourself (to another room or even outside for a bit)?

Getting motivated can be tough, because there's probably a million things that can factor into that and your job is only one of them. That takes some self reflection and maybe a friend to talk it over with. One clue you've given is that you seem to lament spending so many hours of your day at home. Prioritize getting outside when you can, if only for a walk. Work outside for a bit if you can.

Speaking of which...

Something I’m currently experimenting with is to practice sport outside and more regularly. I just got a bike with the goal to go outside a bit every day or so, and relieve my anxieties and other sources of tensions.

That worked for me in the past with other types of sports but all sport facilities (swimming pools, squash courts, bouldering areas, etc) are currently closed here. So let’s see if biking helps ¯\_(ツ)_/¯