The COVID pandemic has hit everyone hard. It has forced people to work remotely from the comfort of their own home. Although this may seem attractive at first, it means you have to be able to stay focused & avoid distractions.
Working from home can be a blessing if you are able to stay productive. In order to help a lot of people stay productive whilst remotely working, we have created this guide. Here are our 10 best tips to help you stay productive whilst working at home in your office.
1. Have A Designated Office Environment
Your environment shapes who you are. It is for this reason our #1 Tip is to organize a space where you can effectively work & remove all distractions. The ideal workplace should be a room which can inspire & ignite ideas.
However, it should also stop you from wasting time on activities which are not work related. If you need a perfect working environment because you’re getting distracted at home, you may want to consider checking out Heavy Duty Timber Buildings post on 10 Garden Office Ideas. It is full of cost effective ways you can remove distractions at home by having your own working environment.
2. Have Set Work Hours
Elon Musk once said “If you give yourself 30 days to clean your home, it will take you 30 days. But if you give yourself 3 hours, it will take 3 hours. The same applies to your goals, ambitions, and potential.” This outlines why it is so important for people to have set working times.
They allow you to stay focused within short periods of time so that you can increase your focus. This will directly impact your productivity & allow you to get more completed. Set work hours, create structure & help you build consistency in your work ethic. Consistency & discipline will beat motivation when it comes achieving long term results in your area of work.
3. Morning Routine
A morning routine is the most powerful activity you can complete when it comes to getting you ready for work each day. The secret to you becoming the person that you want to be in the next few years is in your morning routine. The best way to start your morning routine is by identifying a habit you already have & starting work after it.
4. Take 20 Minute Breaks
It is essential in staying productive to take regular breaks. Don’t think that just because you’re working from home you can’t work within the company time & take their breaks. It is important to give your mind a rest.
When you’re working on the computer and have been sitting down for long periods of time; you should take a break to help your blood circulate. It also helps to move your eyes off screen regularly even if it’s a micro break of 10-20 seconds
5. Turn Off Your Phone
The average person spends up to 6.4 hours a day on the internet. This is very nearly the same amount of time as an average shift at work. Cell phones & social media are designed to capture your attention. Once you go on your phone & open social media you can easily waste hours messaging & watching videos, completely disrupting your workflow.
Counteracting this problem is putting your phone in a different room, or by making sure it is left on silent. The first step you can take to fight the habit of picking up your phone, is being aware of it. If you can identify when it is happening you are more likely to put your phone back down.
6. Schedule Your Day
By scheduling your days, weeks & months, you can focus on spending the most time on the valuable tasks. 80% of the outputs in your life come from 20% of the inputs. Schedule in the 20% of tasks that bring you results & you will see your productivity sky rocket.
Being productive is not about being efficient, being productive is about being effective. Scheduling your day & utilizing time management allows you to stay effective. Prioritize activities which will directly bring you income, avoid wasting time.
7. Plan Your Meals
Planning your meals is a great way to stay on top of your diet. It also helps reduce the amount of time you spend cooking. If you know exactly what to cook, it removes the element of time wasting involved in deciding what to eat.
If you go one step further & prep your meals you can save immense amounts of time. On average people spend between 30-60 minutes cooking one meal every day. If you batch cook & prepared all of these meals on one day, you can have extra time for smaller tasks. Those smaller tasks could be going to the gym, working, or watching television.
8. Discuss Family Expectations
If you want to maximize your productivity whilst working from your home office, your family should know what is expected from them. This could mean that they know not to disturb you if you are working in your garden office, or home office.
If your family wants you to have a healthy work/life balance you need to make expectations clear. If you get disturbed whilst you are working & aren’t productive, you may have to catch up in your own time. To avoid this, let them know the importance of you not getting disturbed.
9. Short Routine That Ends The Working Day
Make sure you have a set time that you initiate your short routine to end the working day. Organizing your work station is probably one of the best end of work routines you can have. It gets you ready for the next day & allows you to carry on your productive workflow.
A study by Princeton University found that a disorganized environment prevents us from being able to concentrate. As well as this, it reduces the amount of information we can process.
10. Socialize
Humans thrive off of social interaction. It is hard wired into our brains for social interaction to make us feel happy. Although it may seem counterintuitive at first to socialize in order to increase productivity, it is essential as it makes us happier.
The happier you are the more effective you can be at work. It encourages people to be transparent about their mental health & can help them overcome struggles which may be holding them back at work.
