Millions of people have been working from home amid the coronavirus pandemic. By now we are getting quite good at it, but there are still days when people who work from home often find it difficult to prevent distractions and focus on being productive.
Working from home is a great way to save money and avoid the stress of a long commute. But it’s not always easy to stay productive when you’re working in your pajamas. It requires thoughtful planning to maintain productivity while working from home.
Productivity is important in the corporate environment, both at home and in the company. Therefore, companies want their employees to be productive even while they work from home.
Here are a few tips to help you stay focused and get the most out of your work-from-home days.
10 Worth Trying Productivity Tips For Working From Home
1. Dedicated Workspace
A dedicated workspace will not only keep you organized, but it’ll also set the tone for productivity, eliminating distractions at home and boosting your focus.
If you make a workspace at home that looks like your desk at work, you’ll be more productive and focused.
Use what you have. If you have a desk, that’s great. If you don’t, don’t worry. You can use a dining table, a kitchen counter, or something similar. Make sure you use a comfortable but sturdy chair.
Don’t let anything clutter up your workspace. When you have documents, household stuff, and things like that, it’s easy to get confused between work and home. Make sure to clean that up.
You can add some greenery to your workspace. Even a small houseplant can help with air circulation, and studies say plants can boost productivity and creativity as well.
Finally, make sure all your tools are in one place. You’ll be able to stay in your “office” longer and avoid distractions if you have all the materials needed to do your work organized and within reach of your new workspace.
2. Get The Necessary Digital Tools
In addition to the physical materials that you need while working from home, make sure you also have the necessary digital tools. For any remote team, communication is the key. That’s why it’s important to use software tools that can help your team to stay in touch.
For example, you may want to consider using Google Drive to help you with archiving, editing, and tracking documents. For constant interactions, you can use an instant messaging tool, such as Slack. Instant messaging tools do a great job of interacting when teams operate remotely.
Having regular face-to-face interaction and communicating with your team is important. Make sure you use the right software to stay informed and connected. Find a video conferencing tool that is suitable for your needs.
Depending on your requirements, you can choose from a number of tools, including Google Hangouts, Zoom, GoTo Meeting, and others.
3. Set A Planned Routine
It doesn’t matter if you work at the business or at home, the work should be organized in a certain way. It can encourage you to stay focused, creative and productive.
To stay motivated and maintain productivity when moving to “working from home” requires determination. Implementing a planned routine can make the difference between discipline and disorganization. Working from home is a great help to allow some flexibility, but too much flexibility makes it more difficult to stay on track.
Set a detailed schedule for yourself. Start every day of “working from home” as if you were going to the office. Plan your daily, weekly, and long-term tasks and keep track of them on your calendar. It is important that a defined work plan is not only helpful to concentrate, but also to ward off external interruptions by friends, family, and others.
There is a variety of helpful time tracking apps that you can use to monitor your hours. These tools can also remind you to do something that is incredibly important for maintaining focus- “taking breaks”.
4. Take Frequent Breaks
It’s important to give yourself some time off throughout the day, so do not be afraid to take a break here and there.
A good strategy to try is the 5-10-15 rule. As soon as you finish your first hour of work, you should take a five-minute break. Take a 10-minute break at the end of your next hour and a 15-minute break the following hour.
Particularly for those who work remotely and are heavily reliant on digital screens, taking breaks is one of the most effective tools for staying at their best while working.
Take a walk or go outside. You’ll come back stronger, more focused, and ready to conquer your next challenge.
5. Avoid sitting on the couch
Generally, the couch is a place where most of us spend time relaxing, watching our favorite television show, and even on occasion eating some of our favorite takeout food. It may seem tempting at times to consider taking your laptop over to the couch, but you should not do it. Mixing business with pleasure should be avoided at all costs.
Having your own workspace, getting the right tools, setting a schedule, giving yourself a break, and making sure you stay away from the couch will all help to better prime your mind for focus. It’ll be great for your posture too!
There is no doubt that working from home can be as effective as working in an office. But the transition from working from the office to working from home doesn’t go smoothly right away. As you and your team make this transition, be patient with yourself and your team!
6. Minimize Distractions
It’s hard to stay creative if you’re working from home, especially if you’ve got other obligations. We all struggle with staying creative and avoiding distractions while working from home. But once you get into that groove, nothing will stop you.
If you are at home, your family and friends may easily overlook the fact that you are working. It is important that you clearly communicate that you cannot be disturbed.
There can be times when you may feel tempted to simply get out of bed, rub your thoughts over as you walk to the housework, and plop down at your desk while wearing your pajamas. But that is not a good idea for anyone working from home.
Having said that, you may notice that when you do that, you do not appear to be able to turn yourself into a business state. You end up surfing on Twitter or Facebook instead of working.
Dressing appropriately in the morning, as if you were going to work, prepares your mind for study mode. Being in pajamas signals to the mind that it’s time to slow down.
7. Home Alone With Kids?
Although technology has made working from home easier, managing a family and trying to maintain a work-life balance with children can be a tough task for stay-at-home parents. If you’ve got kids at home, you’ll be interrupted a lot and have trouble staying focused.
However, the bright side of this is that working from home in your children’s company can be a wonderful opportunity for you to bond with them. Working from home is a great way to teach your kids a good work ethic and show them what you do every day.
There are times that you might not be participating in a video call or in a project, so let them play with you in the room. Consider putting a few quiet toys in the room and letting your kids stay with them. Explain to your children how they should behave so they can stay in the room while you work.
Work comes with its own set of challenges and stresses and the proper way to handle them is to give them their own space. You need to let your work life be your work life and let your home life be your home life.
Your children are excited to see you, and if you let your work stress take over your life, they won’t even know you are there with them.
8. Video-Proof Your Background
In case you are a person who frequently does video conferencing, then maybe consider turning your desk around so that your back is facing the wall. This way, no matter how messy the room is, your background will look professional when you are speaking to your prospects.
There is no reason why you can’t have something interesting in your background. You can be strategic about what you have visible behind you.
There is now a virtual background available for Zoom. For individuals who do not have an ideal work-from-home setup, this may be an appropriate solution. The best thing you can do is cover up the crazy mess if you cannot clean it up!
9. Be Prepared For Technology Hiccups
Working from home is all about technology. Internet access is crucial to managing your team remotely and using various online tools. But if there is one thing that won’t go away anytime soon, it’s downtime.
Some points to keep in mind for such situations are: –
- You can’t predict when you’ll run into a technology hiccup. Make a list of any outages you might encounter, and prepare an action plan for each of them.
- Make sure you know if you can use a friend’s, neighbor’s, or relative’s internet when the Internet goes out.
- Consider getting a broadband USB stick or getting a tethering-compatible mobile phone service if you can.
- In an area with frequent power outages, you may want to invest in a backup generator to stop the interruption in your work if you don’t have one.
- When your computer goes down and you don’t have a backup, you can use a tablet or your phone. Make sure you have all the tools on those devices as well.
- You can sync and back up files online. You can use Google Drive, it offers up to 15 GB of free storage. However, if your company has a premium storage subscription, you’ll probably get more space.
10. Stay Balanced and Renewed
When you work from home, you may become a hermit or go crazy depending on your personality. However, you must maintain a balance. You must stay positive. You must remain active.
It’s easy to get out of bed and go online, but you’ll start to feel unhealthy and regretful. Take a shower, brush your teeth, and take care of your personal hygiene.
In order to stay balanced and renewed, it is necessary to eat healthy, exercise, go for a walk, get some fresh air and spend some time in nature if possible.
Keep a flexible attitude and have fun along the way!
Conclusion
Working from your home has a number of important benefits, from the elimination of the daily commute to the ability to be there when your family needs you. However, working from home requires complete dedication from employees. This includes isolation from all non-essential components during working hours.
If you follow the tips for working from home listed above, you will avoid the pitfalls of remote work and instead reap the benefits.
Use your time in the best possible way and dedicate your working hours to total productivity. You can stay productive with your work once you are able to follow your work routine.
Hopefully, with the tips for working from home you’ve read in this article, you’re completely ready to handle anything.