Whether by choice or necessity, working from home without a boss breathing down your neck sounds like a luxury. Working from home gives you more flexibility, time for the kids, and other perks. With all these benefits, it increases the risk of procrastination, poor work/life balance, distractions, lack of focus, boundary issues, etc.
One of the common challenges for remote workers is switching from unstructured, home mode to industrious, work mode. It can be quite challenging. Flipping that switch and setting yourself up for work needs discipline and deliberate approach.
To have a productive working day, it is essential to create working conditions that improve your productivity and mentally health after each day or task. Here are five great tips that show you how.
Set up a workspace
Location is just not everything in real estate. It is also vital for your productivity when working from home.
Pick a location away from distractions to set up your workspace. You can create a unique work environment different from the rest of the home and associate you with work.
Tips for creating a working space
- Add office touch with calendar, whiteboard, pen holder, etc.
- Give your workspace touches of life with great art and indoor plants.
- Sit near the window for natural lighting and ventilation.
- Set up in a place with little or no traffic flows.
- A noise-canceling headphone comes handy.
Create a routine
Set the tone for a productive day with a good morning routine. One of the perks of working from home is flexibility, which is a double-edged sword. It can lead to a lack of routine, causing poor productivity. A perfect work-from-home system starts from waking up at the right time and setting goals to be accomplished by the end of the day.
An unorganized work-from-home setting often lacks structure compared to standard 9-5 jobs. Strictly following a standard office routine will take out some of the benefits of working from home, but it is essential to have a system. Fix your work-time to when you are most efficient during the day. Set up a routine, though flexible, to accommodate some non-work related activities. It sets you up properly for a fruitful and stress-free day.
Conquer time wasters
One major obstacle to achieving optimal productivity for remote workers is distractions. The freedom of working from home and avoiding commuting should naturally translate to more working hours. Right?
But it’s not always so, your home is likely full of types of distractions. Some of these distractions can be deliberate or not. With you accountable to yourself, it is much easier to yield the temptation and get sidetracked.
Some of the common distractions to look out for include:
- Family and Friends
- House chores
- Instant Messages and email
- Social media and internet
- Calls and text messaging
While it is unrealistic to expect to eliminate every kind of distraction, setting up a work-from-home ground rule for yourself and loved ones will boost your productivity.
Hold yourself Accountable
Excellent work ethics comes handier than ever for remote workers. It is hard to maintain your discipline with no eyes on you. Holding yourself accountable can be challenging, but these few tips can be the difference between having highly productive work from home day or task or a mediocre one.
- Set Goals: Both short and long term goals will keep you motivated and an excellent way to keep track of your progress.
- Create a daily to-do list: Write down your daily task list and cross them off on completion for a sense of gratification.
- Work with timers: Set a timer for each task to maintain focus.
- Review your work: other than speed, the quality of your work should be a priority.
Unplug and Have fun
It is vital to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Remote working can be exhausting without the right habit. A great practice starts from setting apart fun times or breaks to engage in non-related works.
There are loads of fun to engage in to refresh and be preparing for the task. Depending on your choice of fun, you can engage in a mild workout, good snack time, meditation, watching YouTube videos, conversing with friends, outdoor walking for sunshine or fitness, social media, etc. Or if you feel lucky you could relax in a no registration casino here and who knows maybe get to earn some extra pocket money.
Final Thought
Working from home has several benefits, but with unorganized habits and temptations, it can take a toll on your mental health and productivity.
It is recommended that you be mindful of your mental energy and avoid unnecessary stress. Apply yourself to a productive day, but adequately refresh physically and mentally not to burn out.
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