It is harder than it seems to work from home productively especially with it becoming a norm.
With the pandemic here to stay for the long term, many of us have been or will be working from home for the long term.
And itâs a good thing. Working from home can increase flexibility and productivity. Not having to commute also saves much more time and money. But that is â only if you do it the right way.
Working from home can also make us lazier and our homes can have many distractions that stop us from working productively. As much as I try to get things done, sometimes laziness happens to even the best of us.
Here are the 5 best tips to work from home productively!
1. Wake up on time
Yes, you donât have to wake up 3 hours earlier to get ready for work anymore. But that doesnât mean you should wake up 1 minute before your meeting to turn on the computer. Ideally, you would want to wake up with enough time to freshen up.
As long as you are in a mental space where you are ready to work. You can even wake up the same time as you typically do. And try doing some exercises, or wash up that pile of laundry.
Personally, I prefer to exercise in the morning as this helps me to kickstart the day on a good note. It also helps me wake up fast. I also feel less tired throughout the day. Itâs important to start the day by doing something that makes you happy. It could be walking your dog, running some errands, or doing yoga.
Anything that helps set your morning on a good note. And with more tasks completed in the day, you can go to bed feeling more satisfied.
2. Set a designated place for working
Itâs important to set up a designated place for working. This creates less distractions, therefore increasing productivity. It creates an atmosphere for working and gets you into âwork modeâ. This can be a room or a created space in the balcony or living room where there is barely any distractions.
Ideally, you would want your workspace to be somewhere with a good wifi connection, away from food, and a place that is neat and tidy. Ensure that you are also near power points to charge your phone and other electronic gadgets that you need.
You can even make a little cubicle and have it look like your workspace in your original workplace. This is one of the easiest ways to get yourself in a âwork moodâ.
I like decor and this gives me more authority on how I want my workspace to be. It is important to invest in a good workspace especially if you intend to work from home long term. Personally, I would look for a good router, a desk, and a comfortable office chair, some storage to keep paperwork, and maybe even a little space to place your coffee.
3. Know your boundaries
Maintaining your boundaries is good for your own mental health and it is crucial to ensure that you are not overworked. While working from home can increase productivity, it blurs the lines of work and leisure.
It is important to know your boundaries and set them accordingly so you are able to separate your professional and personal life. This can include replying to non-urgent work messages and working only during office hours or coordinating with your colleagues on a set time to do certain things.
It is important to have a set pace of work and this could require a little bit of structuring and coordination from your supervisors. This can reduce work from home burnout and at the same time create a healthy online work culture for yourself.
4. Use a task management app or have a to-do list
Having a task management app or a to-do list helps you to keep track of the different tasks you need to complete throughout the day. It can also be used to track your future plans, your personal list of things to complete, etc.
This allows you to actually focus on the task at hand instead of thinking about things you have to do. On top of that, it keeps everything organised and therefore increases efficiency.
It gives me a sense of satisfaction and pride whenever I physically cross something off the list of things I have on hand for the day. At the same time, as the day goes on and the list of things gets lesser and lesser, it actually tricks my brain into thinking that this day is coming to an end and I have gotten some things done.
Feeling productive motivates me to want to be more productive. It also helps to effectively separate the things I achieved for the day be it during work or simply just things I need to get done for the day.
One of the apps I personally recommend would be Notion. you can read more about it here.
5. Take regular breaks for long term productivity
While this article is mainly on the 5 best tips to work from home productively, over working can do the opposite. Studies have shown, taking short breaks have been proven to decrease stress levels, improve performance and restore energy.
Your brain refreshes and you can even gain another perspective coming back to it again. It also gives you a chance to take in more information after the break. Short breaks allow you to focus for longer periods at a time, therefore making you more productive in the long run.
I recommend taking a short 5-10 minutes break every 2-4 hours of working. You can use the time to get to know your colleagues even more and build rapport with them or simply just closing your eyes and listening to music helps. Of course, itâs important to make sure that your 5-minute chill break does not become a 5 hour binge-watch sesh on Netflix.
Conclusion
Here are my 5 best tips to work from home productively, they have personally helped me get things done especially on a lazy Saturday morning when I donât feel like doing anything at all. I hope these tips have helped you and together we can increase our productivity!
