15 Effective and Actionable Tips to Improve Your Work From Home Productivity
Who doesn’t like to work from home? I love it!
Fortunately, being an entrepreneur, a digital marketing consultant, and a coach, my job permits me to work from anywhere. I work from my home, my office, nearby cafeterias and whatnot. Even I won’t mind working sitting at a white sand beach with a glass of chilled beer in my hand, and I am sure it won’t impede my work.
But it may not be as easy for you, especially if you have never done it earlier.
So how will you switch your work-from-office mode to work-from-home mode? And more importantly, how will you manage everything while maintaining the same efficiency level?
Indeed, every transition needs a bit of preparation. Not necessarily, it needs to be a physical one, but mostly we need to mold and adjust our mind for it. It may sound simple but not always very easy to achieve. Be it, switching from one job to another, or changing your mode of work, preparing yourself for the transition beforehand can offer you multiple benefits and improve your efficiency at the same time.
Working from home and working from office are two very different modes of work. And of course, this change requires a different approach and planning. Adjusting yourself to a new work environment, routine, and culture can be challenging in the beginning.
This is where this post can come to your aid. I will give you 15 effective and actionable tips to improve your work from home productivity, which will help you cope up with this new work mode. So, let’s look at them one by one.
Productivity Always Matters: These Tips Will Change the Picture for You!
Whether you are working from home or sitting in your office, one thing that must remain unchanged is your productivity. Otherwise, you might miss the deadline or even receive the glare of your boss. But fret not as these tips will help you set yourself up perfectly for the task and maintain the required productivity as well.
1. Select Your Own Work-Space as Per Your Needs
The first and perhaps the most important thing is deciding a work-space for you. It’s natural that while you work from home, you won’t feel the office environment. That’s why you need to prepare a work-space that will replicate the office desk or cubicle you had back in your office.
No need to do anything fancy, though! Just have a place where you can sit comfortably, which is well lit and has less amount of distraction. You treat it like your office cubicle or desk, and whenever you work, instead of cozying up on the couch, you should sit here and complete the job. This will create a habit as well, which will be very beneficial for you.
2. Prepare Yourself
Psychologically preparing yourself for work from home is perhaps the next most crucial thing. Approaching this method successfully requires a positive change in mindset, and without that, you will not be able to carry it forward. This will eventually affect your work and your efficiency at the same time.
So to increase your work from home productivity, you need to prepare yourself and acquire the same level of sincerity as you have in your office. Don’t just get up and start working in your pajamas. Prepare yourself and have a morning routine just like you would typically follow. With this, you will be able to make yourself realize that you have serious work to do, and you need to shine in here as well, just like in your office. So, avoiding loungewear while working from home can be a good start!
3. Put Yourself in the Best Position to Work
This is again very much related to the space where you will be working. You should decide on the perfect position to work, which is essential since it will improve your concentration and efficacy.
Choose the place and position in which you are most comfortable. Remember, to work contentedly; you need the best of facilities and the least distraction. When some may work better in the sunlight, for some, it can be a desk. This is something that you need to explore yourself.
Find your place of comfort and the best position where you can sit for hours with your work. No need to spend too much, but you can buy some props to have this perfect state. You should think about your body-alignment as well. So, get certain things that can help you work easily with your computer for long hours.
4. Try to Set Aside Long Periods of Time for Work
Just because you are working from home doesn’t mean that you can busy yourself with all the house-hold chores and still maintain productivity. It’s almost impossible to meet both ends of the bargain.
You have to sort out your priorities if you want to continue and increase your productivity. Although working from home can give you a flexible time slot to complete your required task, however, getting interrupted every now and then will only affect your output. This is why you need to assign a long period of time to complete your work where you will not be disturbed by anything else.
Make this thing a habit, and slowly things will be smoother. Patience is the key here, and you have to get used to this new method with time. You don’t have to rush into the things here, just have to maintain your focus so that laziness doesn’t set in.
5. Try to Leave the House Each Day
This is a vital aspect of successfully working from home. Just because since the last few days you have been working from home doesn’t mean that you should just entrap yourself in your house and work all the time. This will not only slow down your productivity but also invade your personal life.
In your office, you have a fixed schedule during which you work, and afterward, you rest. In this case also, you should divide the time for your professional and personal life. Plan your day, and keep some time for yourself when you can go and hang out with your friends. This will make your mind refreshed and boost your work-from-home-life as well.
Remember, without the sanity of mind; you cannot perform your tasks to the best of your abilities. So, start your work from a certain point of time and fix a time to complete it as well. So that afterward, you can go out or indulge in your hobbies.
6. Minimize Distractions and Set Limits Online
Minimizing distractions is a crucial thing if you want to improve your work from home productivity. The more you get distracted, the more you are pushed away further from achieving your daily targets.
If you keep your social media accounts open in various browser tabs, then the natural tendency would be to flip through them every now and then. To maintain your productivity while working from home, you have to keep these habits in check.
Best is to keep things for your spare time when you can check the social media updates, personal emails, etc. This will help you stay in touch with the world and also complete your work effectively on time. Best of both worlds!
7. Create a Home Office Ambiance
A perfect home office ambiance can help you a lot with your job and stay productive at the same time. This is actually one of the perks of working from home.
You can have a personalized yet cozy ambiance where you can work and relax at the same time. You can also decorate this place to make it more work-friendly and buy some items that can help you feel positive while working.
This is something again very personal. So explore your taste and buy things that you think will suit your workplace and job nature. With time you will be so accustomed to your new work-station that sitting and working from home will be much easier compared to the initial days.
You can also think about adding elements like fresh flowers, houseplants, task lighting, salt lamps, candles, or beautiful crystals to have a calm and inspiring work-space.
8. Structure Your Day Like You Would in the Office
This is a very significant point that you must follow every day. Perhaps, this is the most critical step for improving your efficiency while working remotely from home.
This is actually the most significant transition with which you need to familiarize yourself. Think of yourself as if you are in your office and plan your day accordingly. This is essential as it will keep the laziness away and let you utilize the hours in the most productive way possible.
Maintain a to-do list, set your goals for the day, and also plan your breaks. The habit of working in this new model should be there, especially if you are to work from your home on a regular basis. With proper hour-structure, you can maintain your productivity and odd jobs at the same time.
9. Work When You’re at Your Most Productive State
Just like a runner cannot make a sprint every moment; similarly, you cannot also slog throughout the day. We all have a time of the day when we are most productive. You just have to perceive that time and try to work as much as you can in those hours. This will help you not just with productivity but also kick out the boredom.
After all, if you don’t enjoy your work, then it will only seem like a burden and nothing else. Figure out your most productive hours and utilize them to the fullest. For some, it can be in the morning, or it can be the night-time. You have to choose the time slot that fits you the best. Another great perk of working from home, you can work according to your convenience, when you feel you are most efficient.
10. Plan Out What You’ll Be Working on Ahead of Time
Planning is vital if you want to maintain productivity throughout the week of working from home. One day you might feel like working for hours, and then the other day, if the consistency is not there, you will miss your targets. So, it’s always better to plan things before time.
If you are comfortable with long term plans, then fine, but if not, you can even make small targets for the week and then work accordingly. This will help you feel much more organized and focused throughout the week and more productive at the same time. Think about the projects in hand and maintain a solid schedule that will allow you to get the job done!
11. Use Technology to Stay Connected
Technology is a great aid, and you should use it to the fullest in order to get the most out of it. Don’t just limit the technology to your work; instead, technology can help you stay connected with the outer world, with your colleagues and other team members working from home. Also, it allows you to stay updated with all the happenings in your office.
Use instant messengers, calling apps, and CRMs to stay centralized and updated. This will not just help you with the work in-hand but will also help you stay connected with the greater happenings in the work-place. Stay updated all the time and never miss a thing even while you are relaxing on your couch. That’s the boon of technology!
12. Match Your Music to the Task at Hand
Believe it or not, but music can play a key role in getting your task done efficiently. It can work as the driving force for your work. This is again based on personal taste, but try to choose genres that can instantly lift your mood and make you feel energized.
If you find it uncomfortable listening to music while working, you can do it during the breaks. The idea is to make yourself relaxed, and a bit refreshed mentally for the other half of the job.
Background scores, classical music, movie themes, video game themes are some of the genres you can try out. But then if Jazz is the thing that gets you going, you should try that. After all, our taste in music reflects a lot about who we are.
13. Take Scheduled Breaks
Just like you will schedule your work and to-do list, you should think about your breaks as well. Breaks are very important for a productive work-hour. There’s no point in continuing when you are fatigued. Instead, it’s better to think about the breaks and maintain your time accordingly.
The key is managing your time. If you have an effective time-management system working, then even playing video games in between will not hamper your productivity. All you need to do is to focus on your productive hours and take a few breaks sometimes.
Also, while you are in a break, you should detach yourself entirely from the work-mode. This will rejuvenate you mentally and compose yourself to finish the task without feeling tired or bored.
14. Select a Definitive Finishing Time Each Day
Just like in your office, while working remotely from home, you should have a definitive time by which you would finish your day’s work. This will allow you to maintain a balance between your work and personal space.
One of the worst things to experience is seeing your professional commitments bruising your personal ones. This will only happen if you fail to manage the time and balance both. To avoid such situations, always plan your day based on your work and your personal commitments. This will decrease the friction between the two and help you live a healthy and productive life.
Try not to stretch this limit or go beyond it all the time. Rather your goal should be to work smartly and finish the job before the time. You can also keep a track of your timings to understand your level of efficiency. This can give you a lot of moral support and confidence.
15. Log off!
Last but certainly not least is to remember that even while working from home, you need to log off. You can’t think of working all the time and take breaks in between. This again implies the importance of having a plan to complete the day’s work.
With a proper structure, you can work efficiently from home, and then after completion, you can just log out and go back to your personal life. This is very important in order to have a healthy lifestyle.
Go for your coffee, run for your errands, or anything you need to do for your life should be the priority at that point of time. In this phase of the day, you will not think of work so that you don’t miss out on the little pleasures of your life.
Over to You
I guess with the above discussion, you now have an idea about how to go about structuring your day while working from home. With these actionable tips, you can be much more efficient, less tired, and much more productive than you could hope to imagine.
As mentioned earlier, it’s all about adapting yourself to this new mode of work and overcoming the obstacles of the transition. These tips will help you prepare yourself mentally to work as sincerely as you were in the office, even while sitting on the couch at your home.
The best part is you can design your day just the way you want. No more strict rules or vigilance all the time. With a bit of focus and time management, you can be as productive working from home as you were sitting in the office desk. If change is the way of nature, then these tips will help you become a better version of yourself professionally!
An advanced All-in-One Digital Marketing Course.
Mentored by Mr. Soumya Roy, the Founder, CEO of PromozSEO Web Marketing Academy.
Being an entrepreneur and digital marketer, he loves to share his knowledge and experience in topics related to internet marketing, SEO, SEM, social media, content marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, and many more.
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