It’s certainly no easy task working at home! I have plenty of experience trying everything that I can to keep myself pumped up to continue working on the things that needed to get done.

Over the years, I have found out many things that work well. And also, many things that simply don’t get the job done.

Now, I realize that some things that work for me might not necessarily work for you. Also, some of the things that work for you probably wouldn’t work for me. Nevertheless, I have come up with seven things, just seven things, that will very likely help you to keep your focus and work harder in a work at home environment.

Put to work these seven things, and I know you will be getting more done then you ever thought possible…

1. Drink Plenty Of Water

In my opinion, water is better at prevention then it is at benefiting. People claim that water gives you more energy. But in my opinion, I think it’s real use is more of preventing fatigue. I have worked day after day at home, and I can tell you this…

I have gotten much more work done, and been able to focus much better, when I drank plenty of water.

I think of it as lubrication for the brain. Without it, the parts have a hard time churning. But with it, everything runs smoothly and it sets yourself up for better work. Get a water bottle. Then drink three or four bottles worth through the course of the day. It will greatly help your day go a lot smoother.

2. Increase Focus With A CD?

One thing that isn’t nearly as well-known as it should be is brainwave entrainment.

Study after study from the top college universities and researches have shown that listening to binaural beats can improve focus and sharpen your thinking. This research has been done for several decades!

I swear by the use of this amazing discovery. You can learn more about brainwave entrainment by clicking here.

As someone who has trouble paying attention, I used the Focus CD to get me through most of college.

This CD will allow you to work harder and longer than you ever have before. And it’s much safer and healthier than drugging yourself to death with the many things that are out there today!

I cannot encourage you enough to give it a try. I rarely work without it.

3. Dress For The Occasion

If you take your work at home seriously, why not dress like you are at any other job? You can dramatically increase your productivity if you wear business clothes.

Also, what I like about dressing up is it gives yourself a way of separating work from play. When you have the suit on, you’re all business. When you are in your PJ’s, you’re there to relax and have fun.

If you haven’t yet, I would seriously suggest giving this one a try. Dress in business attire for two weeks and observe the results. If it works, stick with it. If not, go back to walking around in your underwear.

Another thing you should do is set up some sort of an office. The clothes are one thing, but the office is essential!

Have a desk. A comfortable, ergonomic chair. Set up an environment where you can get some real work done. And another thing, when you are in your office, do work! If you want to relax or waste time, do it somewhere else. You can train your mind to work instantly if you have a place where you are always working.

4. Shut Off The Internet

If you are doing any work that doesn’t involve the Internet then turn off this potential distraction.

I do all of my writing in a word processor before I go online and publish it. So when I am getting ready to write, I go to the other room and unplug my router, making it impossible for me to get online. If I wanted to use the Internet, I would then have to walk over to the other side of the house and plug back in the router.

What I found was most of the time you think you need to look up something online, you can do just fine without it.

I would frequently find myself writing an article and fooling myself into thinking I needed to look something up. But what I was really doing is intentionally getting sidetracked so I could take a break from working.

Amazing things happened when I started shutting off the Internet and relieving myself from any distractions. It’s worth giving a try!

5. Give Yourself A Treat

You’ve probably heard this a million times before, but give yourself a mini-reward when you get done with a task. The bigger the task, the bigger the reward.

If you finish something that you have worked hard on all week, take the family out for dinner.

If it’s something little that only took you an hour, get up and walk around for 10-15 minutes as a reward. Even a little reward like that is good for the brain. It encourages you to push yourself so you can get that reward.

My favorite reward isn’t really a reward. But it works for me.

I tell myself that whenever I finish all of the things I set out to do for the day, I don’t have to do anything the rest of the day!

I know that doesn’t make any sense. But for some reason it works really well for me. Knowing that when I am done, I can have time to completely clear my head and enjoy living is a big motivation for me. Also, I love the satisfaction knowing that I accomplished what I set out to do for the day. It been a good motivator for me for a long time.

Find a reward that works well for you. It will give you that little bit of motivation that you need to get your work done faster and better.

6. Positive Affirmations

The more I read about and use positive affirmations, the more I believe in their effectiveness. First…

What are positive affirmations?

It’s little things that you say to yourself that will trigger a desired result.

I have several positive affirmations that I use for different results that I want. If I want to get in the writing mood, I say “I love to work. I love to write.”

Saying that small phrase to myself almost makes me run to my computer and get typing. Why is that?

Because for a long period of time now, every time I said that phrase, I went to my computer and started typing. The more I used it, the more effective it worked for me.

I was reading a book by a well known hypnotist one time. This hypnotist frequently traveled and had to get very good at sleeping in the tour van. He would use a positive affirmation to put himself to sleep. He got so good at it, just by saying the phrase to himself he would instantly fall asleep!

Try it right now and come up with a couple positive affirmations you could use right now. My only advice to you is to make them very short (3-8 words).

The all-time greatest one is “Do it now!” Every time you need to get something done, say to yourself “Do it now!” And then do it! With practice, you will start turning thought into action and will get more work done at home then you ever imagined!

7. Create Your Own

There are many ways to help yourself stay on task. All you have to do is use your imagination. I don’t know you, but I know you are a lot more creative than you give yourself credit for.

In order to come up with a new way to stay on task, ask yourself this question the next time you are working…

“Would a highly effective person sit and work like this?”

I bet that what you will find is you can easily add a few improvements. Perhaps you aren’t sitting up as straight as you should. Or maybe your feet aren’t firmly on the floor. Remember, if you want to be able to stay on task and work hard at home, start acting like someone who would stay on task and work hard at home!

Do every little thing that you can think of that would make you look and feel more like someone who easily stays on task and works hard.

You’re allowed to pretend at first. Eventually, you will no longer be pretending!

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