Thinking about productivity tips for working from home, there are some salient points that may not cross your mind. Interestingly, spending a few minutes on this post will reveal to you, some of the proven productivity boosting strategies for remote workers. However, it is important to note that you can only experience the full benefits if you commit to put them to work.
Working from home is now a common working alternative in the corporate world. Many remote workers and business owners are more efficient, thanks to the flexibility of working from home.
The benefits of working from home are tempting, but some downsides can affect your productivity. It’s easy to mix home life with work, causing you to become distracted often.
Working from home can also be challenging if you are used to working in a team or with other employees. This may lead to a loss of motivation and affect your work performance.
In this post, we give you eleven helpful tips to boost productivity while working from home.
Helpful Productivity Tips For Working From Home
#1: Set Up A Home Office
Working from home makes it easy to work from anywhere in the house, whether the kitchen counter or bedroom. But this can make you mix home life and work, leading to distractions and loss of focus.
Having a dedicated workspace, such as a home office, is a great way to boost your productivity and maintain a work-life balance. It trains your mind to recognize it as a place to work, putting you in a working mood when the time comes.
You can use a spare room or get a garden pod if you have space in your yard. If you have a small home, you carve a small space for work.
#2: Create A Work Schedule
A work schedule can help you manage your time and stay efficient. It gives you a headstart on when to get working, how to use your time efficiently, and eliminate distractions.
A work schedule should contain all your projects and the allocated time, date, and place you need to do them. It should also contain a time range for working, indicating when you should start and when to stop. This helps you to focus during work and also make time for other activities.
You can also include morning and night routines to structure your day. A morning routine can boost your morale for working. At the same time, a night routine can help you relax and reduce stress.
Read: Why You Need A Separate Home Office For Remote Work
#3: Minimize Distractions
Distractions are arguably the biggest downside of working from home. It makes you lose focus and reduces your work performance. Many things can take your attention from work, whether internally or externally.
Internal distractions can be your thoughts, leading to a lack of awareness and loss of focus. While external distractions can be social media, TV, kids, pets, friends, chores, and more. The list can go on and on. It’s better to eliminate all distractions to stay productive.
To be realistic, however, eliminating every distraction can be challenging. The best thing to do is reduce distractions to the barest minimum by:
- Shutting out social media while working.
- Silence or turn off notifications from work-unrelated apps.
- Let other people living in the same house know you are working.
- Invest in noise-canceling headphones.
- If you have yard space, get a garden office so that you can get out of the house.
#4: Make Time for Breaks
Most times, we strive to work hard so we can meet up to a deadline, hit a goal, or boost our work performance. While working hard is great, it is important to take breaks seriously. This is because it can affect overall productivity.
Working without taking breaks can lead to burnout and stress. As a result, you become less creative and less motivated, reducing work efficiency.
You can start by taking 5-minute breaks every 25 minutes. Try to move around, meditate or even do a light exercise. This can help to keep your mind and body energized while you work.
#5: Don’t Forget to Exercise
Generally, exercising is essential to keep you healthy, active, and fit. It has many health benefits and can aid in boosting your productivity.
Exercise can help to reduce stress and improve your mood, helping you stay active for work. It improves your physical and mental well-being, helping you concentrate and increase your energy.
You can fit light workouts into your breaks, or develop a full exercise routine. You can also practice yoga poses to exercise both your mind and body. Don’t forget to include workouts that target your back and improve posture so as to reduce back pain.
#6: Create Boundaries to Separate Work from Home Life
One good thing about working from home is that you get more time to attend to other affairs outside work. But without the proper discipline, you can muddle up work and life.
Creating boundaries or setting rules can help you maintain a work-life balance. And so, allowing you to focus on work and life affairs at the required time.
Set up work rules that prevent you from entertaining distractions. You can also set boundaries by isolating or separating your workspace from your home.
#7: Set And Stick to Your Work Goals
Setting work goals guides you in defining and doing the most important work within the available time. It also helps you manage your time and focus better.
Set realistic goals by first prioritizing your work projects. Categorize them from the most urgent to the least urgent. You can also do the same for the most difficult and least difficult tasks. Specify the place and time that is convenient for you to do them. When the time comes, get working. Setting goals is easy, but the real deal is sticking to them. With the right amount of discipline, you can work to achieve your goals for the day and improve your productivity.
Read: Home Office Design Ideas For Full Time Remote Workers
#8: Get All The Essential Home Office Gadgets You Need
Without essential work gadgets, your productivity will most likely reduce, no matter how hard you try. They are vital tools that make work easier, faster, and better. They constitute your working area and help to put you in a working mood.
Without many of these gadgets, working from home becomes challenging.
Work gadgets can vary depending on your work type. But some of the basic ones every person working from home should have are:
- A working desk,
- Ergonomic chair,
- Desktop/Laptop computer,
- Fast internet access,
- VPN,
- Keyboard/ mouse,
- Anti-blue glasses,
- Noise-canceling headphones, et cetera.
#9: Have Fun While Working
Let’s face it; working can be tedious sometimes. Some days you just want to take the day off and do fun activities. While it’s okay to have fun outside work, keeping a positive mood while working is essential. Else, you may lose motivation often.
Introducing something fun and satisfying can help to keep you in the right spirits and, as a result, boost your productivity. Working from home allows you to do what you like while on the job. To have some fun, try to enjoy your work by looking at the benefit you get from doing tasks.
Decorate your space by putting up your favorite flowers, a nice portrait, artwork, or potted plants. You can also enjoy nice music to uplift your mood and reduce boredom.
#10: In vest In Productivity Tools
Integrating productivity tools into your work life is a good way to boost your overall work performance. These tools can be apps or physical devices that help you manage, organize, optimize, and track your tasks. They also help you manage time, reduce distractions, and improve focus.
There are numerous productivity apps that are great for working. Some popular ones are Slack, Trello, Microsoft Teams, Pumble, Pomodoro, and more.
#11: Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Being productive results from using your strengths and talents to achieve tasks in a given time. Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses helps you set goals, schedules, and work rules. You also know how to allocate time to every task and prioritize them according to difficulty levels.
For instance, if you work better in the morning but not evenings, you can set your work schedules to fit morning hours.
Why Working From Home Doesn’t Work For Everyone
While working from home is beneficial and can boost productivity, not everyone or business is cut out for it. Many remote workers and freelancers who work independently can work comfortably from anywhere. But workers who work in teams may find it challenging to keep up.
Many people work best when other colleagues are present. They can stay motivated and creative while working. Team collaborations can boost the productivity of a business. Face-to-face conversations and meetings can aid communication among team members.
Working from home may not be great for all workers as it may weaken teamwork.
This is why it is important to assess the downsides before you decide to work from home to know if you can deal with them.
Read: What Are The Best Home Office Microphone Brands?
Conclusion
Working from home gives you flexibility, freedom to work at convenient times, customize your workspace, and more. But it is easy to get distracted and lose focus and motivation. This can reduce your work performance over time.
To get more productive, set up a dedicated workspace, get your work gadgets in place, and set boundaries to keep distractions at bay. Don’t forget to set goals and a work schedule to keep you focused. You can also implement productivity tools to boost efficiency and manage your tasks and time.
