Top 5 Problems Plaguing Remote Workers
Affiliate marketers face the same challenges as everyone else: distraction, low motivation, burnout, fatigue, and that terrible inexplicable urge to languidly sit on your chair and stare into space, totally ignoring all the tasks you were just about to do.
Let us elaborate a little and offer you a couple of solutions that may come in handy.
Distractions
Now, that's a tad odd. Just like you train your body in a gym, here you're supposed to train your brain to ignore distractions. A few clues for you below.
If it's the notifs that avert your attention, turn them off. Or create a work account where nothing can intrude on your peaceful working processes.
Everybody's tempted to surf the Internet while working. That's a big no-no. Don't. Don't do it. Do not even think of it unless it's work-related.
Complicate the simple. Delete TikTok, so you're too lazy to re-install it. Put your smartphone on the highest shelf, so you're not willing to get up and grab it. Well, you've got the point.
Set a certain break when you can be reached. Discuss it with your kith and kin, so when a notif pops up, blaring fiercely, you know you can ignore it. Besides, the smartphone's on the shelf somewhere, why would you get up?
Get distracted during the break, not during work.
Believe it or not, but feng shui was right: divide your home into separate areas, so work could be associated with a working space (desk, computer, stationery, office stuff), and rest could be associated with a comfortable bed, sofa, and a glass of hot ginger tea. You get the drift, huh?
Lack of Motivation
Did you know that mental exhaustion leading to the lack of motivation can be avoided? Now you do. Here are the tricks:
Focus on your goals. You should clearly understand what you want, otherwise laziness will devour you in no time.
Draw inspiration from music. Everyone has favorite music tracks, right? Don't be afraid to interweave them into your working processes: listen to music while accomplishing tasks, let the productive flow take you up.
Exercise. Allow us a little bit of science here. Physical exercises normalize hormone levels, brighten the mood, and increase productivity. However, to reach that one should work out regularly. Still, don't try to get your own entry in the Guinness World Record, just warm up for 3-5 minutes every 2-3 hours.
Switch activities. Alas, our brain never sleeps, rest is a forbidden word when it comes to our organism: this poor fellow has to remain awake no matter the situation. However, different parts of the brain are responsible for different types of tasks, so if you allocate the duties correctly throughout the day, you will be literally resting and working simultaneously.
Burnout
Emotional burnout is a plague of the 21st century: this is a very dangerous state that practically switches off the working mode in your brain. However, unlike its unfortunate predecessor, it can be helped. Here are some tips:
Work out. You might think that you've seen this piece of advice somewhere, and you're not wrong, but in this case you need real sports, not just short breaks for a few stretching sessions. Try gymnastics, crossfit, yoga, jogging, swimming, whatever your heart desires, and your hormonal balance will be grateful.
Focus on the results and visualize them. Write down your plans for the day and cross them out as you're done with each. You won't believe how quickly it can boost your motivation: imagine, a whole list of things! Accomplished!
Communicate with people. As Aristotle puts it, 'Man is by nature a social animal', so arm yourself with the concept and talk to your friends. It's not necessarily about support and complaints, just find someone who can distract your attention from problems (yes, here you can use your distraction techniques to forget about impending tasks). Rely on our good friend Aristotle, he knew what he was talking about.
Fatigue
"Oh, well… just… relax! Take it easy!' Wow. Million dollar advice. Mika's playing in the distance.
No, it's not working. Neither the piece of advice, nor Mika singing this wonderful song into your ear. But we know what is.
Stick to a regular sleeping schedule. Easier said than done, but go to bed and get up at the same time and abstain from using electronic devices an hour or two before going to bed. Take a walk in the evening, if you fancy, let the fresh air enter your lungs and brain. Buy blackout curtains not to be awakened by neon lights in the vicinity or by intrusive lanterns working all night long. However, if nothing helps, go see a doctor as your constant fatigue may be a symptom of a serious disease.
Take regular breaks. The 21st century isn't much different from the 20th: people hasn't yet turned into cyborgs, brushing physical needs aside. One of those needs is rest, so don't be shy to take small breaks from work every 40-60 minutes and a long break every 3-4 hours. By the way, my dear workaholic: get yourself at least 1 day off when you can have fun and enjoy life. (No, household chores are not considered fun).
Procrastination
You've read through the whole article and haven't found a perfect fit for you? Let us give it another shot.
Arrange workplace rituals. It can be anything, actually: you can drink a cup of coffee in the morning before turning on the computer. You can write a message to your colleagues at the end of the day. You can clean your desk before you go home. The idea is that you somehow switch your psyche, switch the mode.
Organize your workplace. Scientists say that organization drastically boosts your productivity and reduces your stress level during the week. You know where your things are, you focus on the matter at hand, and you don't need to fish the mouse out of the piles of candy wrappings, papers, documents, and stationery, which speeds up your working processes a great deal.
Put on the clothes you've worn to the office. A theatricals of sorts? Yes. Sounds bizarre? Indeed. Helps your brain believe that you are immensely, seriously, heavily involved in the working process? 100%. The trick is that you're creating the same atmosphere, so the brain accepts that as reality.
Start your day yesterday. If there's a pile of tasks that had to be done the day before, do them first thing in the morning. If you delay something thinking you'd definitely accomplish it next time, you irritate your brain that is craving to finish whatever was assigned. It lowers your motivation, it's that simple.
Start the day with something that interests you. A puzzle you can solve with ease will help you slip into a different frame of mind, fill you with confidence and motivation. You've just finished this particular task! You can do more of those!
Conclusion
All in all, there are a lot of techniques that seem to be more beneficial than others, you just have to find the right set of guidelines, adjust them to yourself and change the patterns whenever necessary. Hopefully these tips are helpful and maintain your working rhythm, regardless of external conditions and life circumstances.
Have a pleasant weekend!
