How to Maximize Productivity When You Work From Home
Working from home is a wonderful opportunity that helps professionals strike a nice work/life balance. Whether this is your full-time job or you're looking for work from home weekend jobs to earn some extra cash, remote work can be extremely convenient for workers.
Although people often have a love/hate relationship with technology, this is one of the perks of a digital age.
Since few things in life are ever entirely perfect (or imperfect), it’s important to find a way to strike the perfect balance when working from home.
Here are a few suggestions that may help you figure out how to maximize productivity when you work from home and live your best life yet.
Shower and Dress Each Morning
One of the benefits of working from home is wearing cozy slippers and a hoodie. That’s great! But, still, treat it like a normal office day where you get up, shower or wash your face, brush your hair, and pull yourself together.
You can still enjoy the pleasures of a comfy outfit, but don’t make it a habit to just roll out of bed and plop down to work T-5 minutes before it’s time to log on for the day. It leaves you without a sense of control over your time as you tumble from one task to the next.
Schedule Your Day
Schedule your day, to the hour. This includes the hours before, during, and after your shift. If you hit the ground running with a productive morning even before you start working, the momentum will carry you through most of your day.
If you like to workout, walk, or journal before work, add that to your schedule as you seek to define every waking hour – with room for flexibility, of course. You’ll quickly find that this is one of the best strategies for improving business productivity.
Also, if you have one of those make your own schedule work from home jobs, this can be extremely helpful with keeping yourself on task without getting distracted. Check out this work from home scheduler app to help you stay organized.
Time Block Your Tasks
Time blocking takes scheduling one step further. Examine your task list and prioritize the things you need to do first.
Then, break them up into blocks. Again, you can’t be too rigid here, as it will only frustrate you. But, you can strategize which tasks you’d like to tackle first and how long each one should take.
Another smart way to approach time blocking is to tackle the most difficult task first. If there’s something you’ve been putting off or will find slightly difficult, tackle that first in the day and then move onto more smooth-sailing tasks to close out the day with a nice feeling of accomplishment. Day by day, you will be able to increase productivity exponentially.
You can block your time on your yearly planner if you're old-fashioned, or you can do it on your computer calendar. Check out how to block time on outlook calendar if you need help.
You can also check out some time blocking templates if you need some inspiration.
Practice the Pomodoro Method
To stick to time blocking, you can encourage yourself with dedicated alarm clocks. The pomodoro method is a great way to increase productivity. You work for 25 mins, break for 5 mins, work for 25 mins, and so forth.
It brings about a natural sense of accomplishment as you clock your time and chip away at the day in digestible bites.
You can set little alarms on your phone or even download a pomodoro app. For an even greater experience, you can pull up any number of “Study With Me” channels on YouTube.
Many of those creators create gorgeous and inspiring videos that play quietly in the background as you chip away at your day. The Sherry Formula, for example, is a popular channel that can keep you on task, invigorated, and motivated.
Work In a Dedicated Space
It’s okay to change your scenery from time to time and work from a local coffee shop when you’d like a change of scenery.
By and large, stick to a dedicated workspace. It can be as luxurious or as simple as you’d like, but this should help you maximize productivity and learning.
The goal here is to sit in a space that signals “work time” and encourages you to engage in the tasks for the day, free from distractions.
Invest In Ergonomics
A dedicated workspace is a great way to signal to the brain that it’s time to get down to business. But, it also has another major benefit – good posture and fewer aches and pains.
Sit/stand desks are popular, in order to avoid the trap of sitting all day long. Some people even invest in little bicycle pedals under their desk to keep the blood pumping while they’re typing.
Those are both costly purchases. At minimum, you should invest in an ergonomic chair and wrist rest. We start slumping and remain that way without even noticing. We’ve all done it: we’re focused on a task and, by the time we look up, we realize our neck and back are stiff.
In addition to an ergonomic chair, you can also consider a tailbone cushion or foot rest. The goal is to keep most of our joints – our elbows and our knees – at 90 degree angles.
If possible, it’s nice to have an external monitor, possibly even two, to avoid eye strain. Blue light glasses may also protect our eyes. And the positioning of the screen matters, too. The top of the screen should be about eye level, thus keeping our necks in proper, upright positions.
Paying attention to details like this should help you boost your productivity at work because you won’t have as many aches and pains to deter you.
Although not technically in the ergonomic category, having a good laptop is essential when you're working from home. If your job doesn't provide you with one, check out this best laptop for working from home article.
Set Boundaries With Family or Roommates
It’s only natural to see someone you live with and launch into conversation. But, there needs to be clear-cut boundaries in place that, when you’re working, it’s not social hour. During the pandemic, some parents went so far as to post signs on their office doors when it was time to get down to brass tacks.
You may not need to go to such extremes to boost your productivity at work, especially if you have a dedicated workspace in a separate room. But, if you ever want to change the scenery and set up a lap desk on the couch, there still needs to be an understanding that you’re in the zone and need to remain focused on your tasks.
Don’t Try to Multitask
Using something like the pomodoro method or, at minimum, time blocking, should prevent you from becoming easily distracted. Don’t try to multitask. This is the king of productivity tips.
Rather, maximize the pomodoro method to be in the zone for 25-minute sections of time and then step away for five-minute sections of time. You can do your laundry, for example, but only switch over the loads if it’s during one of your pomodoro breaks or after you’ve completed that first hefty task of the day.
It’s also a bad idea to watch your favorite TV shows in the background if you really have a lot on your plate. Sometimes, we have rote, mindless tasks to complete. In those moments, you might provide yourself a little bit of wiggle room.
But, by and large, when you’re working, make sure you’re working.
Minimize Distractions
This leads us into further discussion on the importance of single-tasking. When you’re knocking out your tasks for the day, keep your Facebook and Instagram notifications off in order to become more productive at work.
You might even consider setting your phone to focus mode, while listing out a few exceptions of people who can still contact you like immediate family members.
There’s a setting in our iPhones and on our MacBooks that allows us to make certain exceptions when the do not disturb option is on.
Take Sunshine Breaks
Whether it’s your lunch break or a separate afternoon coffee break, see if you can get out there and take in some fresh air throughout the day. The simple act of getting your blood circulating can do your entire system wonders.
Even though you’re taking a break, you’re still teaching yourself how to be more productive.
When you return to your desk, continue to hydrate yourself with a nice Stanley cup filled with water or a refreshing cup of green or peppermint tea.
For more on the benefits of tea, here are a few flavor varieties to infuse into your every day.
Meal Prep
It may seem strange to see this on a list of tips to increase productivity. But, if possible, try to meal prep on your off days. This allows you to make the most of your meal breaks because all you have to do is heat up something you know you’ll enjoy.
You can step away from your workspace, do a few stretches while your food heats up, and enjoy a delicious lunch you worked hard to create.
This creates a certain sense of structure and routine, and allows you to not only maximize your time, but stick to a certain diet plan, if that’s high on your list of priorities.
Meal prepping also saves people money because it lessens the likelihood of an impulse order on DoorDash or Uber Eats.
Reward Yourself
Working from home has a tremendous number of benefits. At times, however, it can be challenging. You have to stay self-motivated and driven. It can also be slightly isolating if you end up spending the entire day, from sun up to sun down, in the same space.
Isn’t this a fun way to challenge yourself to be more productive? Find unique ways to treat yourself for a hard days’ work. Go out for an evening walk. Join a local book club. Schedule drinks with your friends once a week or every other week.
You can also consider smaller tokens of congratulations. Reward yourself with a homemade caramel latte at three pm or a fresh slice of cake. Invest in a nicely scented candle that you can burn throughout the day to create a calming effect.
Consider Aromatherapy
It’s important to set the stage with a dedicated workspace and ergonomics. But, there’s also room for more discreet touches like an essential oil diffuser, humidifier, or Dyson fan.
Certain essential oils are known to be invigorating like peppermint and citrus. See if you find something you might like to envelop your workspace in and help you maximize productivity.
Add a few touches of greenery to your space, as well, to keep the air clean. Many plants don’t require a lot of attention and care, just enough to keep them healthy and green.
Learn How to Maximize Productivity With Remote Work
While this is a healthy list of ways to learn how to maximize productivity with remote work, it’s important to learn how to do this so that it works for you.
Maybe you don’t need an entire room as a dedicated workspace. Maybe you only need a cozy corner of the bedroom. Maybe you don’t need any greenery because it’s just another responsibility. Take these tips and mold them into a routine that works for you.
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