With plenty of distractions, including the allure of a cozy bed, working from home isn’t always easy. To keep your productivity levels high when working from home, implement the following tips into your routine.
1. Change it up
One of the most impactful steps you can take when working from home is to change your scenery. Working in the same place seems logical – especially if you have a designated workspace. Changing up your environment actually tricks your mind into being more interested in your work, no matter how mundane it may be.
Go to a local coffee shop, restaurant, park or to a common area at your apartment complex to break the monotony of your home office.
2. Set work hours
When you have a traditional office job, you’re expected to be working between a certain set of hours with the exception of a break here-and-there. You should apply the same principles when working from home.
It’s easy to focus on other things throughout the day when you’re at home, so being intentional about getting your work done when you can is important. If traditional daytime hours are best, go with that. Or if working at night is best, then set aside nighttime hours. Just be intentional about whatever you decide.
A tip for working like this is to let others know of your scheduled “work hours,” so they can respect them and also help keep you accountable.
3. Use an app
Photo courtesy of Trello
If you work from home, you aren’t alone in the struggle to find productivity in this environment. So many people go through this same experience, that there are a number of modern solutions you can find right on your smartphone.
If you’re having trouble focusing on work while working at home, consider downloading one of the numerous productivity apps out there. Many of these are free and can help you with time management, project management, time tracking, avoiding distractions and so much more. Some of these are even “gamified” making the whole experience fun.
4. Remove distractions
Photo by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash
Distractions and low productivity go hand-in-hand. The best way to avoid distractions when working from home? Get them out of the house.
Anything that is a tempter to you, simply remove. Things like Netflix, your unmade bed, a dirty kitchen and a yapping dog can all be sirens calling you away from your work. Whatever steps you need to take to remove the distractions (or remove yourself from the distractions) will help your productivity instantly.
5. Silence your notifications
Many of the distractions you’ll experience when working from home are things other than electronics, but you can’t deny the pervasiveness of “notifications” today. Whether on your smartphone or computer, coming from your email, social media, texts or otherwise, you probably get a ton of notifications each day.
To avoid a break in progress, silence these notifications while you’re working. This goes back to our earlier point about having designated work hours – many devices will let you silence notifications during these hours automatically.
6. Clean up frequently
You’ll never get anything accomplished at home if all you can think about is the need to clean up around you. Make tidying a part of your regular work week and don’t forget to do it. You’ll be amazed at how much more you can get done in a tidy workspace.
Header Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash
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