Virginia Woolf once said, “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” But I think this rule applies to all writers (and all genders, for that matter).

The fact is, when you work from home, there are a million distractions facing you. There are probably dishes you could be doing, laundry that should be sorted, or counters that need to be wiped down.

In a situation like this, your workspace is your number one weapon. It’s why I took over approximately half of our guest bedroom, turning it into my office space. I figured that, away from the rest of the house, I would have a much easier time focusing on the work that needed to be done.

And it worked! For awhile.

But recently, I ran into a problem: I could not, for the life of me, stay on-track. I’d sit down at my desk every morning, fully intending to have a productive day … and before I knew it, 5 PM would come around, and I would have maybe half of my to-do list finished. And all of my usual motivation tactics simply weren’t working.

The conclusion I came to was this: I was having trouble focusing because I wasn’t treating my office like my office.

I did work at my desk. But I also eased into the day at my desk, drinking my morning coffee and scrolling through my twitter feed. I ate lunch at my desk, often breaking from work to read interesting articles and blogs. And when the workday was over, I’d often stay at my desk, browsing YouTube or reddit instead of going elsewhere.

So, starting this week, I’ve turned over a new leaf. My desk is for work and only work. I drink my morning coffee and take my lunch breaks at the kitchen table, and when work is over, I move to the couch.

I’m curious as to what other people who work from home think of this method. Did you come to a similar conclusion? And I’d like to ask another question — if you do have a workspace, what do you do to optimize your focus and productivity? Do you keep clutter to a minimum? Do you have your desk arranged in a certain way? Is it facing a door or a window? I’d love to hear your tips on keeping focused, as I (hopefully) continue to grow my client base and workload.