Do you have difficulty completing chores and housekeeping tasks at home?

Are you looking for ways to increase your productivity while you study or work?

When it comes to getting things done at home, you can’t go wrong setting some boundaries and making simple modifications to your environment.

In this post, I offer five simple tips to help you increase your productivity at home.

Whether you’re taking care of weekly chores, taking care of home administration, or studying for school, these practical tips will help you better focus on the task at hand.

Create a short to-do list.

Do you work on a housekeeping task at home, such as vacuuming the stairs, only to be distracted by checking on the laundry, decluttering the refrigerator, and rounding up the recycling?

Even if it’s something as simple as attending to some housekeeping, it pays to keep your mind focused!

Before beginning a round of housekeeping or tidying up, write down exactly which tasks you want to accomplish. Try keeping your list on the short side: 3 to 5 brief tasks will suffice. When you’ve finished completing a task, simply cross it off before moving to the next.

Completely switch off your phone.

Are you easily distracted by incoming text messages? Can’t wait to see which new social media updates come through on your tablet or computer? If so, you may want to consider temporarily switching off your cell phone and/or taking your landline phone off of the hook while you work.

Remember, this isn’t a permanent action; it is just a simple step to reduce the amount of distractions or disturbances around you while you get things done. Think about it for a moment: which chores or tasks could you accomplish ASAP if you weren’t interrupted every five minutes or so? Would that stack of laundry be folded and stored, would that kitchen floor be mopped, and would that stack of magazines be tied up and prepped for recycling?

Get dressed for the occasion.

Do you find it difficult to get things done around the home when you’re in your sweatpants or pajamas? Well, you may want to consider modifying your wardrobe. If comfort is preventing you from taking care of your chores, consider dressing in a way that motivates you or energizes you to get things done.

If you’re doing chores or basic housekeeping, this might mean the difference between opting for a pair of jeans versus a pair of sweatpants, or lacing up pair of sneakers versus sliding on a pair of fluffy slippers. If you’re trying to finish up some administrative or client work in your home office, putting on a dress shirt, a pair of dress slacks, and a pair of dress shoes might be what you need to focus and get the job done.

Now, this might all sound a bit silly, but hey, you’ll never know what effect this may have on your productivity levels unless you try.

Corral people and pets.

If you live with others at home, you may need to take some action to create some time and space for yourself. It can be a whole lot easier to complete chores and get your work done when there are fewer people and pets in the house or apartment.

If you live with other family members, kindly ask them not to disturb you while you work, or ask them to temporarily relocate to another area of the home, or step outside for a few hours. If you have children, ask a family member or friend to take the kids out for a while, or hire a babysitter to watch your kids in your home.

Have pets? Round up your dog, cat, or other pet, and either put them outside, or move them to a part of the house where they won’t be able to disturb you.

Energize yourself with music.

Switch on the radio or fire up your smart phone! Consider playing your favorite music to help you pass the time while you work. If you’re in the competitive spirit, you could set up a motivational playlist to keep you energized or listen to the radio for a certain number of songs while you work. Make it a game: how much can you get done during the course of one playlist, one album, or even one commercial break?

Likewise, if you feel your productivity waning, put your favorite song(s) on repeat for an added boost of energy. Not into listen to music while you work? No problem! How about listening to a favorite podcast or audio book to pass the time?

How about you? What do you find is the most difficult thing about getting things done at home? Join in the conversation and leave a comment below!

A version of this post appeared on the blog in 2014.