10 Proven Tips to Work from Home and Still Be Productive
Working from home can be a great way to save money and live a more fulfilling life. But it can also be challenging to stay productive.
COVID-19 has made remote work a need rather than a luxury for many professionals. A number of these remote work agreements were imposed abruptly, leaving employees and managers to navigate a new work reality while dealing with personal worries and public health issues.
Remote work, especially in this stressful, uncertain period, can leave employees feeling distracted, lonely, unmotivated, and stressed if not done intentionally by both workers and management.
When several firms turn to long-term working-from-home choices as their primary precautionary approach, it becomes vital to establish some ground rules to sustain productivity. In this article, we will see 10 important tips to improve productivity while working from home.
- Set Clear Limits with Your Family and Friends
It’s easy for family members, friends, and housemates to forget that you’re working while you’re at home. To maintain strong connections and minimise disruption, talk to your home ahead of time about your working hours and the type of environment that will support your arrangement. If you are unable to follow your typical routine, depending on your unique circumstances, changing your working hours and duties may be a possibility. Discuss this with your line manager first, and if necessary, disclose any changes to your colleagues and professional network.
- Change Out of Your Pyjamas and Dress for the Day
It won’t help if you wake up with your laptop on the couch where you slept the night before while wearing the same pyjamas you do at home. Instead, get out of bed earlier than usual. Change into your job clothes and get to work for the day.
The issue of working from home is not going to work but getting to work with the same attitude. So, dress like you normally do for work and keep the workflow as usual.
- Make an Efficient Workstation
Working from your bed or favourite position on the sofa may sound appealing but dedicating a space to work will boost your productivity. If possible, designate a separate space with plenty of ambient daylight as your dedicated home office. Making a physical distinction between working and unwinding in your home might assist in making the distinction between your personal and professional lives much more apparent.
- Set Priorities and Avoid Procrastination
To increase your productivity while working from home, make a list of everything that needs to be done and make sure it gets done. Also, ensure that you do all the chores assigned to you for the day. Leaving out one of the ten activities you had planned for the day will only result in a mountain of unfinished business at the end of the month.
So, instead of procrastinating, do what needs to be done sincerely. Even if you’ve done the assigned responsibilities for today, you should begin planning what’s left in the pipeline for tomorrow. Just don’t scrimp on the work hours you’ve set aside.
- Take Breaks, Not Holidays
When working from home, we frequently take more than what is considered a break. To maximise productivity, ensure that breaks are not just plentiful but also time-bound.
Taking excessive breaks and rest hours will not help you induce work-from-home productivity; instead, it will make you lazy at everything. So, while organising your work sprints for a 9-hour workday, include three 15-20-minute breaks. Don’t overdo these or go out for breaks more frequently than these.
- Set Boundaries for Your Home Office Hours
Working from home may give you the sense that you have a better work-life balance but be cautious. Allocating work hours is the most difficult aspect of increasing your work-from-home productivity. So, the next step in being productive is to closely adhere to work hours.
Start your work on time and set an alarm for the end of the day to signal the end of your typical workday. You don’t have to stop at that exact hour but knowing that the workday is technically done can help you begin the process of saving your work and calling it a night.
- Make the Most of Meeting Time
The more time spent on formal meetings, the less time there is for other obligations of employees. Since workers have been sent home, businesses have had several one-on-one meetings and companywide Zoom meetings.
If the meeting isn’t important to the success of your company or the well-being of your staff, cancel it. It is recommended to schedule 15-minute micro-meetings to quickly pass information and make decisions.
- Take Care of Yourself
People must be aware of their mental state. Productivity occurs when people can minimise their stress levels. Incorporate self-care into your daily routine, whether it’s a walk in the sun, interaction with loved ones, or virtual social time with colleagues.
After work, enjoy a fantastic movie, read a book, or prepare a tasty supper. Additionally, maintain as active a social life as you can. Get as much fresh air as possible. Spending time in nature relieves stress, allows you to relax, and helps you clear your thoughts.
- Engage in Interpersonal Interaction
When your office starts working from home, you’ll probably miss the informal social encounters with co-workers that you’re used to having throughout the day. Working from home eliminates the small conversations and other activities that distinguish each day in the office.
Avoid boredom and loneliness by communicating frequently with co-workers. When you spend most of your workday alone, it’s a good idea to see another face. So, make use of your breaks to socialise with others.
- Don’t Let Social Media Swallow You
Social media is supposed to be quick and easy to open and browse. However, as remote employees, this comfort might be detrimental to our productivity.
To offset the convenient use of your social networks during work hours, remove them from your browser shortcuts and log out of all accounts on your phone or computer.
This ensures that you will not be tempted to take too many social breaks during the day. Many people have also found it beneficial to turn off social media notifications while working from home.
Conclusion
Working from home has advantages. However, it also introduces undesirable habits that may prevent a person from being productive. It might lead to feelings of loneliness and meaninglessness.
One benefit is that you won’t have to worry about commuting every day, and by spending more time with your loved ones, you can take better care of them.
The work-from-home ideas we’ve offered can assist you in making the most of your new schedule. Try a few, and you will discover that working from home is just as productive as working in the office.
Write a Comment