How to create a distraction-free sanctuary at home

Working from home sounds ideal (pajamas! No commute! Couches on demand!) but in reality, our home environment often proves distracting, overwhelming, and far from motivating.

There are just so many potential interruptions that can not only put your productivity at risk, but even your mood. Everything from lighting to office setup—even smell!—could affect your work. Not to mention, the emotional and psychological stress of working through a pandemic. While it's by no means effortless, there are tools to help master remote work and we know just the experts to guide you through it.

First, get your feng shui in check. 

Esther M. Sternberg, author of Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being, has extensively researched how our surroundings impact emotions, mental wellness, and health. (She found, for example, that hospital patients with a view of nature healed faster than those without.)

In this Calm interview, Sternberg shares all the ways you can easily organize your home into a sanctuary—without breaking the bank. 

Cut back on distractions.

Harnessing your attention during, well, a global pandemic is no easy feat. It’s just so tempting to get sucked into scrolling the news, getting a head start on dishes, or even just taking a Netflix break. More than ever, this is the time to practice good attention hygiene, or as bestselling author Nir Eyal likes to call it—becoming “indistractable.” As a habit expert, Nir knows all about the sneaky ways we lose our focus.

Listen to his simple, practical and surprising techniques to take back control of our attention.

Get something done.

Now that your home is prepared and the distractions in check, you want to make some progress on whatever goal you have in mind—be it a personal project, work assignment, or perfecting that sourdough bread. The trick, however, is to be effectively productive without burning out.

Jason Fried, the CEO of Basecamp and the author of It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work, explains how to master productivity in a balanced way.

Do check out our free resources page, which includes everything from meditations to music and sleep stories. Want even more from Calm? We’re now offering 40% off a year of Calm Premium.