For some people, working remotely is already a usual routine that grants a luxury to work from almost everywhere. However, during this work from home period, a lot of office inhabitants are forced to adjust into working from home as well. For some people who are not used to working in a home environment, they might face some difficulties in adjusting their new work habits. Some concerns might be regarding distractions and time constraints. Therefore, on this week's journal, we will be explaining a few things that can be done to keep your focus on the task at hand, as well as improving your productivity while working from home. Read on!
1. Arrange your schedule and set priorities
It's very easy to get distracted if you're not planning well while working from home. You are free to arrange which time frame you are most productive and efficient with work and which times you prefer to rest. It's convenient as you'll going to have more freedom with your time, however you also need to manage it well.
Therefore, try to create a daily schedule, as you normally do in office, in order to organize your workflow and bring forth efficiency in your work so you can still meet necessary deadlines. By making daily checklists or to-do lists, you can also avoid overworking and know when you should stop and put the work for another day.
2. Set up a dedicated workspace
While this point might sound a little cumbersome, you can actually boost productivity by dedicating a space only for work. For example, if you have an extra room or space in the house, try not to work on the bed or couch as they may hinder you from working effectively. The mind is conditioned that your room is your place to rest, therefore make sure to have a space to do your daily tasks, separating your personal life from your professional life..
A simple but comfortable set up set-up might do you a big favor, for example a clean desk, a comfortable chair, a working laptop, stable internet connection, and external hard drive to store your backup. If you need to do frequent conference calls with your team members, you may also want to invest in working, good quality camera and mic. Your work station always needs to be clean and efficient. By not storing more than what’s necessary, you'll avoid visual clutter and enables you to have a clear mind.
3. Avoid distractions
Working from home gives you all the endless flexibility and time that you want to dedicate for work. However, you still need to stick to your schedule, as previously mentioned on the first pointer, in order to get things done in the most effective manner. One of the steps you can do to make it happen is by avoiding distractions. While in the office, your co-workers might be a major distraction, however, that doesn't mean you won't face it during your time working remotely. Television, games and social media are major contributors to wasted time at home.
Therefore, learn to recognize the moment when you find yourself getting bored and sidetracked, then come up with ways to handle it. For example, if you need to run some errands, like grocery shopping or picking something up, allot the times for those around your schedule, either before or after you're done with work.
4. Get physically ready, just like when you're heading to actual office
This can be a handy tip for those who are still struggling to differentiate home and office life. Pretend that you're heading to the office, by getting ready in the morning, showering before starting work, and even wear work-appropriate attire. Of course, you can always cut some slack by wearing slightly more casual outfits. This trick will serve you much better, rather than doing work in your lounge attire and not showering before work, as this may condition your mind that it's an off day and not active working day.
Structuring your day like a normal office day will help keep you focused and productive. Don't give in to temptation of waking up later and procrastinate work until the end of the day, but start your day on time and go through the day just as you would in the actual office.
5. Manage your time wisely
Working from home sometimes may blur the lines between professional and personal life. For some people, this is not exactly well-managed, they ended up taking most portions of their time to work.
Always keep in mind that your personal life also matters a lot, especially when you already have a family. Utilize the flexible time that you have during this work from home period to get together with family and spend quality time with them. If you're living alone, you can also captitalize on this opportunity to set aside some time to enrich yourself through online learning or watching informational videos.