With working from home becoming an increasingly popular set-up, it can be tricky to negotiate the balance between work and home life. Like with all workspaces, there are advantages and disadvantages to working from home and staying motivated to be productive can be difficult, especially when there are so many distractions around. Whether it’s a quick trip to the kitchen for another snack or a little scroll on social media, it can be hard to stay on track when there’s no manager looking over your shoulder or work colleague peer pressure to get things done. Ultimately, we all become a bit more lenient with ourselves when we’re in the comfort of our own homes.
Here are a few things we find helpful to keep us productive whilst working from home.
Find a Designated Work Space
Whether it’s a specific seat in your kitchen or you have your own office, find yourself a place in your house that becomes your workplace. Having this space helps you define when work time starts and finishes. Everything work related can happen in this area whilst everywhere else stays as your home.
Get Ready
Even though no one’s going to see you and you probably won’t leave the house on a work-from-home day, it’s still important to get up and get dressed so that you feel ready to work. It can be comfy clothes or work wear; getting out of your pyjamas helps you feel more motivated and like your day has a purpose.
Give Yourself Time to Wake Up
Your usual morning commute is the perfect chance for you to wake up properly and prepare yourself for the day ahead. When you’re working from home, it can be easy to leave getting out of bed until you’re due to start work; this isn’t helpful! Making sure you are up, ready and fed before your start time is the best way to feel prepared to start the day.
Set Some Goals
It could be goals for the day or the week, making it clear what you need to achieve can help you focus. To be effective, you need to set achievable goals and establish an order you should tackle them. It can also be helpful to make a list the day or night before.
Stick to Your Schedule
If you have planned to take a 15-minute break, only take a 15-minute break! Although you may feel like taking a bit of extra time, try to look at it from the perspective that the quicker you get back to work, the quicker the work gets done.
Communicate with People Also Working from Home
When there are others at home whilst you’re working, it’s best to set out some expectations. Just because you are working from home, it doesn’t mean you are ‘at home’. Some people find it best to signal they are working by having their earphones in or by sitting at their desk. Having a way for others to realise you are working might reduce the chance of them distracting you. If you share the space with someone also working from home, communicate in advance about meetings and calls that might be distracting.
Save Calls for the Afternoon
Get the important and straightforward tasks done first. Let’s be honest, we all spend longer on a call than planned. Getting caught up in small talk or discussing another topic means a 20minute call turns into an hour and doing this in the morning can leave no time left for the other tasks.
Get Out
Whether it’s a trip to a local coffee shop to get some lunch or a quick walk around the block, a change of environment can help if you are struggling to concentrate.
These simple but effective techniques can make all the difference when it comes to being productive when working from home.