According to a recent study shared on Forbes, 1 in 5 Americans work from home at least once a week. That number is expected to climb to over 50% in the next few years. Holy moly! That’s a lot of people rockin’ their job without leaving their house. I’ve been working from home for about a year and a half now, and can tell you that I absolutely love it. But although working from home is convenient and comfortable, it can also get a little lonely when you’re by yourself day in and day out. In case you’ve ever felt that pang of loneliness while working from your crib, these tips will help you fall back in love with all the reasons a home office kicks butt.
Add some chatter.
There is nothing lonelier (and honestly, boring-er) than working in complete silence everyday. I recommend playing music or a TV show in the background while you work. I find that when I do this, I also feel more productive. The reason this works for me is because it’s similar to having co-workers chattering in the background at a typical job. I love playing silly, upbeat shows, like Psych or The Office, because they create a fun, positive atmosphere to listen to while I’m pluggin’ away.
Hold weekly meetings with other work-from-home friends.
I started having bi-weekly meetings with a couple other bloggers and it has been totally fun and motivating! These meetings keep me in check (since we often discuss what our upcoming goals are) and help me connect with people who “get it.” It’s important to build relationships with people who understand whatever the heck it is you do, so I highly recommend setting up weekly or bi-weekly meetings with pseudo co-workers.
Be social on social media.
You just saw something totally hilarious online…do you have anyone to share it with? Or maybe you just finished a super fun project..does it go unannounced? Rather than silencing all those thoughts and mini-achievements you have throughout the day, try sharing them on social media outlets, like Twitter or Facebook. While you’re at, start responding to the other people you follow on social media and build stronger relationships with those in your network. (Stuck on how to use Twitter effectively? Read this.)
Work outside the house.
As I write this, I’m actually working away at a Starbucks near my house. I like to get out of the house about once a week, because just being around people — even strangers — profoundly affects my happiness and ability to trudge along by myself every other day. It “recharges” me. Find a few local areas where you can bring your work and visit as often as you need to. Your sanity is well worth paying for a $4 coffee.
Take a break.
Some days, I just need to get away from my “office” and take a break for a few hours. I find that going to a park with my dog is often exactly what I need, but your ideal break could mean any number of things. Find what charges your batteries and makes you feel good and then allow yourself a couple hours to indulge. You might be skipping out on work briefly, but I guarantee you’ll get more done if you’re feeling great than if you’re feeling lonely or sluggish. It’s an investment, really. 😉
Switching things up and working from outside the house is so helpful for me! These are definitely lessons I’ve been learning as I’ve been working from home. 🙂
That’s definitely one of my favorite options! Glad you’re figuring out what works for you, Stacia. 🙂
I totally get it! Sometimes I feel super isolated due to the fact that Derik and I live out in the middle of nowhere and we are only a one car family. I can’t just jump in the car and drive somewhere unless I’ve planned it that way for the day. I tend to turn on Hulu while working on some show I’m only semi interested in. That keeps me from feeling so ‘alone’ I guess! 🙂 I’m also constantly on Instagram and Twitter! Today I actually went out of my way to schedule a day off. NO design work for me today! It’s weird NOT answering emails, but sometimes those full weekday breaks are needed. It’s been a while! One of the many benefits of working from home! Loved this post Melyssa!
Ha! I think being only “semi interested” in the TV show you watch is key! I do the same thing and it helps to keep me from feeling alone, but then I also don’t care enough about the show to get distracted haha. And I love that you took a day off! That is so important!
I always thought I was the only one who liked working with a TV show in the background! Happy to see I’m not alone! I usually put something on I’ve seen already, so I know what’s coming and am not distracted too much from work 🙂 Thanks for sharing the other tips!
You’re so not alone, Sonja! And I do the same thing — if I put on a show or episode I haven’t seen, then I get too wrapped up in it.
I don’t work from home (maybe someday, but for right now I’m finishing up my last semester of college) but I do a lot of my schoolwork from home and having some background noise whether it’s music or a tv show really does help. As I’m writing this I’m currently binge watching Ghost Whisperer and getting a crazy amount of work done at the same time.
Ha, I love that, Melissa! It’s so odd, but true!
Haha how smart is it to play The Office in the background of your home office 😛 I like to work outside my dorm/outside campus. A change of scenery puts me in a better mood for everything, including productivity. Also, I always feel like people walking buy are watching me when I’m sitting in public (like a coffee shop or something); I want them to have a good impression of me even though they’ll probably never see me again, so I’m less likely to be on Tumblr or something and more likely to be working 🙂 -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
haha that is a good point! I usually feel a little bit more like a slacker if I’m scrolling through Facebook in public so I tend not too. Interesting point!
I’m so jealous that you can have the TV on in the background while you work! As a writer, I find I can’t have TV or even music that has lyrics on, otherwise I can’t focus on what I’m writing. I completely agree with working outside of the house once in a while – in fact, I recently wrote a post about working at coffee shops that matches everything you listed: http://www.robynpetrik.com/5-reasons-you-should-write-coffee-shop/ 🙂
Ahh I totally know what you mean! Having a TV show on works really well when I’m doing design stuff, but I need silence when writing blog posts. Good point!
I just started working from home in January. Spotify has become a good friend. What works for me is exploring new, fairly mellow playlists. That way I don’t know the songs (and therefore don’t sing along) so I can really concentrate but still have a “joyful noise” going on in the background. Haha.
One thing I want to START doing is working at a coffee shop some days. The only real problem with that is that the wifi at my favorite coffee shop is spotty at best, making working there nearly impossible. There are others I could go to, and I guess that’s what I will have to do.
Kristin // The Peculiar Treasure
athisfeetdaily.blogspot.com
I’m the same way! I tend to go for music where I can’t really tell what they’re saying. And gaaahhh isn’t it annoying when coffee shop internet sucks? I’ve been trying to scope out the places in my area that have the best wi-fi for that reason haha!
I work from home and find that it is a blessing and also a curse. It’s lovely to have a quiet, calming space that is your own to do your work, but it’s also hard to motivate yourself, and get excited about achievements when there is no one to share them with. I am practically waiting at the door for my partner in the evenings so I can tell him all about what I did all day. Great post, thanks xx
coffeewithbrittany.com
Ahh I was the exact same way, Brittany! Do you have any other friends who work from home or do what you do? Maybe you could text them with those important, daily achievements. I have a couple blogger friends and we have a mini group text where we chat about everything from how we’re totally uninspired that day (ha!) to a big blog sharing our work. It’s nice to have a couple other people who “get it” and who will cheer for your achievements. 🙂
Thank you so much for your advice, I will definitely try it 🙂 xx
These are great tips! I’ve always been blessed with wonderful coworkers that I have a good rapport with so I think I’d miss that if I were ever working from home full-time. I really like the second tip. 🙂
That’s wonderful that you’ve found such great coworkers! I never felt very close to most of my coworkers, except for, oddly, when I worked at a gelato store during high school. Some of those people are still my close friends! 🙂
All of these especially social media and changing up the scenery have been huge help to me. Even if I may not be with people in person or know the people I’m around it has made all the difference.
I totally agree Kati! Social media is a blessing if used the right way. 🙂
I totally agree with all of these! It’s so funny because my friends always laugh when I have the TV on while I’m working on the computer, but hearing voices just feels comforting. Sometimes I forget that last tip, thanks for the post!
haha the TV is such a help, isn’t it?
I did love tv too! I miss it now that I have an employee:( I also used to run errands during the day. Stores are less crowded and check out people usually want to chat.
Ahh sounds like your employee needs to jump on the TV-in-the-background bandwagon, too! 😉 And you’re right, I love running errands during the day too!
Chatter is super important for me! I like having TV reruns on or comedy podcasts, so that I can follow along without having to be super engaged. Plus anything that makes me laugh is enjoyable and helps me forget that I’m working alone.
I also like taking a break to email someone, not for work, but a personal hello. It helps to truly feel connected to people by “talking” to them. But, also, once I’ve written it I can send it off and go back to focusing on work (not like a text or online chat conversation or social media that has the potential to go back & forth and on & on).
Awesome point Tiera!! I love that you keep your connections alive by sending emails (and SO smart to do it that way so that you don’t have to worry about a distracting back and forth)!
50 percent? Really? Wow! Talk about a game changer as far as pollution is concerned! That would be amazing. I totally agree about the silence. No bueno. And I’m a big Starbucks fan even though I don’t drink coffee! My Starbucks carries Evolution Juice so it’s kind of like a coffee shop/juice bar… mmm… plus I always get a cake pop too. ‘Cause it’s not good to be too healthy. =)
Yeah, isn’t that statistic nuts?! Technically, it’s saying that 50-60% of people will work from home at least one day a week, but still pretty cool to see!
Haha love that last line of your comment! Too true! 😉
These are all really great tips and what staggering statistics. 50 percent?! Wow.
I think that it’s great that you have organized weekly meeting with other work-from-home-ers. I think that something else that can be really cool is to even invest in a co-working space with other bloggers so that you actually sort of do have an office to go to and “colleagues” but that each are independent workers sort of doing their thing but living through the same experience. We do this in the start up scene – a lot of diff. start ups in one office – and it’s really lovely. Then you always have the option from working from the comfort of your couch some days and working in an office space others.
Rae | love from berlin
Yess!! So glad you mentioned co-working. I was going to add that but for some reason I didn’t haha. I’m hoping to start working at a co-working spot in LA next month. Really looking forward to trying it out and I’m glad to hear you enjoy it, Rae!
I’m not sure if you consider working on my blog during the weekend working from home. I’ve never really felt lonely while working at home. But I do get lazy and forget to clean up and sometimes I’m too lazy to leave my laptop that I end up not eating. You’re right that it’s more comfortable and convenient. These tips may be helpful for me once I get to that level, too.
http://heidepadilla.blogspot.com/
These are great ideas! How do you handle working from home while you have a dog? I feel like mine would go crazy every minute I wasn’t paying attention to him.
xo, Caitlin
And Possibly Dinosaurs
Thanks Caitlin! When I first started, my dog was pretty young (around 1 year) and he was pretty needy for attention. I just took mini breaks to take him outside often, but it wasn’t ideal. Now, about a year later, he has calmed down a TON. He honestly sleeps most of the day and is really calm and quiet. I’m not sure if that’s with age or the fact that he’s gotten used to things. How old is your dog?
That would do it! My puppy is only 3 1/2 months old. The other night I stopped playing with him to check my email (15 seconds tops) and he had already peed on the carpet. Womp womp. Hoping he calms down soon, though. 🙂
Except for the 2nd option, I do all of those. They truly are a big help! Chatter is probably my favorite… I don’t know how I would be able to work every day in dead silence! 🙂
Ha, seriously! I love chatter, too. 🙂 And you should try #2 — it’s so fun and motivating!
Man oh man, thanks for these helpful reminders! I so needed this today.
Glad to help, Christy! 🙂
The “loneliness” bug has really been hitting me this winter. I try to go out a couple of times a week but the freezing temperatures and mountains of snow have kept me cooped up. I totally need to start meeting with others at least once a month. Thanks for these great tips!
Ahh I feel like winter is the time when the loneliness bug hits the hardest, especially if you live in a colder area. Meeting with others will DEFinitely help though. I highly recommend it! 🙂
This is such a great post- I’ve been “working” at home more often as I’ve been working much more on building my blog and I can pass the entire day and realize I haven’t seen a soul! Taking the dogs for a long walk or taking a break in the middle of the day to hit the gym has really helped 🙂
Love those suggestions, Kelsey! I do the same things. 🙂
Wonderful, wonderful ideas. I’m aiming to work from home ASAP and definitely need to keep these pointers in mind. With technology these days, it’s so easy to ball yourself up into a little ball and hibernate forever! Thanks 🙂
Circus & Bloom
♥♥♥
Gah, ain’t it the truth, Natalie!
Hi Mel ♥!
Loved this blog post 😀
I tend to listen music and sing along with it or I use also the TV technique hehe 😛
I love the idea of singing along — how fun! 🙂
Amazing tips! Totally agree with you.
Hannie | CHAPTERS LIKE THIS
Thank you Hannie! 🙂
I don’t get lonely working from home. Into my third year now and just love the peace and quiet. I have phone calls, so not entirely silent all day. One challenge for me is when I have a bad day, my poor husband hears all about it when he gets home. I need to learn to vent some other way.
Music to my ears. I agree with every point you made. I love working from home and having my own schedule but sometimes I just wish for some human company!
But I can only play music without words (classical music or movie sountracks) when I’m working because I’m a translator and can’t handle another source of words at the time when I’m already dealing with a text in two languages 🙂
I like to take walks or go to the farmers’ market for my breaks.
I totally feel you, Kaja! When I’m writing blog posts, I can’t have any words in the background either. Usually I need total silence. Going to a farmers market on your break is a GREAT idea. I’m definitely going to see if there are any in my area. 🙂
Yep to all of this! I appreciate that there is focus on getting together to focus on others to do work, something purposeful. I learned this the hard way – time is precious even though working from home – all of the minutes need to be used for what accomplishing what is most important.
I HAVE to have the random show on the TV in the background. I even “watch” Netflix in the corner of my screen while at my desk day job while working. I love the weekly meeting idea. All very good tips, thanks!
I am so with you, Beth! I am actually Netflixing as we speak. 😉
I’ve just started working from home full-time and this is one of the things I’m worried about so thanks for your tips Melyssa 🙂 I’m definitely going to be meeting up with a friend for a ‘work day’ every now and again which hopefully should help break the cabin fever!x
That should definitely help, Beth! Those days are the best. 🙂
I worked from home ALONE for several years. It was very lonely at times. Getting out of the house helped a lot. Sunshine and fresh air do wonders for your mood! Sometimes your topics hit so close to home. Thank you!
Global Girl Travels
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Travel like a lady. Budget like a boss.
Yes. And this is why I watch so many different shows and why I sometimes get super chatty on facebook. lol
haha whatever it takes! 🙂
I absolutely agree with these tips, and now that I’m not working at a corporate job from home, but instead am momming (yes, I’m sure that’s a verb…. right?!) from home, I think they still apply!
I can totally see how this would still apply while momming. 🙂 Glad you agree with these tips, Lisa! 🙂
These are all great suggestions and I’m literally listening to The Office while working now. 🙂
haha I’ve been listening to The Office in the background all day! Glad I’m not alone. 🙂
Also, I removed the sharing buttons, so you’d need to copy and paste the link into whichever platform you wanted to share it…but maybe I should bring ’em back! 🙂
PS. how do I share your posts? I don’t see any share buttons.
You can always enjoy https://coffitivity.com/ as well. LOL! The sounds of a coffee shop without having to leave your house. 🙂
Ha! Wow that is pretty cool. May just need to use that. Thanks for sharing, Janet!
I wish I had some skills or talent to actually be able to work at home and make the same amount, if not more, as my last job, working the same amount of hours. I have no special knowledge about anything to make blogging a real money earner.
I’m unemployed right now and though I’m depressed about being unemployed, I’m also depressed that the “best” job I can manage to get with the “highest” pay isn’t something I like doing at all but I have no other experience. And no, going back to school to learn something new and take out a loan in the process is not a possible option right now.
Really sucks. Wish there were some legitimate work from home jobs that provide some training to do whatever I’d need to do to put in an honest day’s work and actually get paid for it.
Hey Sophie! I totally get that. And honestly, I thought the same EXACT thing for many years. My current job of designing and blogging started as a hobby that I never expected to earn money from, so when I did, it was a surprise!
If you don’t like your current field and aren’t sure what kind of business you have the skills to start, I’d recommend trying some new hobbies or passions — find out what you really love to do. Since you’re unemployed right now, it might be the best time for this, too! 🙂 It’s all definitely a process and everyone figures things out at different times, so just keep chugging along toward things you enjoy and eventually I’m confident you’ll find something that sticks. 🙂
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Hey Melyssa! Something that has REALLY helped me this year is to co-work with friends outside of the house. I call this “biz time” with my friend Asia 🙂 We meet up most weekday mornings at a coffee shop with our laptops and start the day together. It’s so fun! I also find that working out with friends, or making fun plans during the week (getting out of the house) really helps me. I’ve totally had to learn how to navigate this in the past year. Thanks for sharing! Love the “chatter” tip.
That sounds super awesome! I bet is motivating to be able to touch bases with someone who is like-minded every morning. Such a great idea.
I totally agree! Although I have been doing my own thing for the last 18 months too, most of the time I was going to freelance at agencies and companies in London which made me feel a lot less lonely. Now I only work at home and it is driving me a little crazy! I am going to get a hot desk in a workspace not far from my house for about 2/3 days a week. I would love to connect with other people from London, it may happen thanks to your mastermind group from the Blog Hive yeyyy! Oh and last, my partner recently got a little parrot for us, she is a great bunch of loveliness and chatterness too! xx
That is a good idea, Lucie! Shared workspace is a wonderful way to be around people but still work for yourself.
And a parrot? How awesome is that!?
Great post Melyssa it is true working from home can be a bit lonely. I get out and walk this works for me. I will try the coffee shop and getting to connect with another work from home person, I think thats a great idea.
http://encountercs.com.au/
I’m so glad you found this post helpful, Fiso 🙂 Going out for a quick walk is a great idea, thanks for sharing!
I wish I could afford a babysitter. I only leave the house to get groceries.
Your baby is very luck to have such a dedicated mother. Have you ever considered starting an online business from home? If you’re able to do this successfully, you should be able to afford a babysitter every once in awhile 🙂
Thank you. I have two online businesses. Maybe one day soon I can!
If you are in the NYC area I can babysit for cheap. I also work from home a day was considering babysitting once a week just to feel more social.
I thought I was the only one who did that! Haha (TV or low music playing in the background) My daughter is only in school 5 hours a day, so I don’t find I get lonely, but I feel like it does keep me focused and a bit more productive! 🙂
Thanks for another lovely post. ♥
http://www.thebeautifiedlife.com
I’m so glad this was helpful for you, Alee! Best of luck and please let me know if you have any questions along the way. 🙂
Working from home may be OK if you’re a telecommuter who works for a company and has a boss that is consistently delegating tasks and keeping you to a schedule.
That’s a good point! Thanks for sharing with us, Nicoli. 🙂
I have been working from home for almost 3 years now and as much as I love it.. It causes me to feel depressed and lonely. I am married but my spouse works out of the house (no children and not planning on it) I think I may want an office job but when my wife comes home from a long work day and she tells me about all the annoying people and hovering bosses I appreciate my gratitude for what I have.
I want to be social just not with Facebook… I would prefer more strangers as my audience than close personal friends and family… they take things too personally so I recently deactivated my Facebook and found myself come across your post. I think getting disconnected for a bit helps me deal with the depression and loneliness I feel at times.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us, Laura. Have you considered a co-working space or even just working at a coffee shop once in awhile? Even finding a social hobby to participate in after work helps a lot! Best of luck finding the right balance with working from home. 🙂
Thank you! I am definitely looking into more social activities for after work! 🙂
Laura, I feel like your experience is very similar to my own. I’ve been working from home, on and off, for about 3 years. While I appreciate the lack of annoying co-workers (of which I was reminded when I recently worked a contract role in an office for a few months) and “team atmosphere,” I also find the loneliness to be somewhat maddening. I also got rid of my Facebook because I felt like it cultivated very superficial friendships and a sense of competitiveness I haven’t seen since high school. Did you take any of Melyssa’s suggestions and, if so, have you found them helpful?
Really glad to hear you like the TV on in the background too. I don’t do it all day but I find it increases my energy & sometimes even gives me topics to cover 😉
That’s great, Kelly! I love how bursts of inspiration can come from anywhere! 😀
These are really great tips! I’m not a huge fan of having noise like music or a TV show but I’ve found that changing up my environment (like going to a coffee shop) every now and then helps!
Nice! I’m glad you found the anti-loneliness method that works for you. 🙂
I do this!!!! I have to have some music going or the TV on, and I try to work somewhere else at least once a week. Social Media is a life saver when it comes to loneliness but not so great when it comes to productivity lol! Great article. Thanks;)
wahadventures.com
Thank you for reading, Faith! 🙂 That’s wonderful that you get out of the house once a week. I try to go to a coffee shop every now and then.
I agree with the walk-your-dog advice! Also the other are great advice, but personally nothing can be compared to a nice walk with my dog! After, I’m more productive than ever! Thanks Melyssa!
That’s awesome! Wishing you and your dog a happy week. 🙂