How to Ensure Productivity When Working From Home
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Like it or not, it seems the future is work from home.
By 2030, Facebook’s CEO says that he expects at least 50% of their workforce to be working remotely.
And by the end of this year, 2021, Global Workplace Analytics projects an estimated 25-30% of the will work from home a few days each week.
Not only will commuters save money, time, and gasoline (86% of daily commuters use a private vehicle to get to and from work), but employers also benefit from having their employees work from home, saving them a whopping $11,000 per employee on average by saving on office space, absenteeism, and apparently- gaining in productivity!
That’s right— data shows that employees are more productive, or at least just as productive, when they work from home.
But maybe you’re feeling uninspired and unproductive yourself though. You might be wondering how to ensure your productivity when you’re left to work from the comfort of your own home.
As an online business owner of several years, I’m going to offer my personal tips and daily routines to help you out!
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How to be Productive When Working Remotely
keep an analog planner
My planner is my constant daily companion that I look toward for guidance. I write down both work-related and personal life bullet points in it for each day.
In fact, when my husband needs me to do something, I’ve become so reliant on it (and not on my own memory, unfortunately) that I just ask him to jot it down on that specific day.
organize daily tasks into a hierarchy
Not everything that we do in a day holds the same value or importance. Organize your planner to-do’s by order of importance, then when you get online and check your planner for the day, you’ll know what to start on first, how much time to devote to that task, and so on.
make your work space inspiring
Even if it just means clearing the clutter. Let plenty of natural light in, incorporate plants, nice textures, that kind of thing. You know yourself best and what makes you feel good, clear, productive.
get ready each morning as though you were going somewhere to work
Each morning, I wake, fix my coffee, shower, and get ready. By “get ready” I mean makeup, hair, and an outfit. Then I log in and get to work.
When I first started my online business, I would often wake up, throw my robe on, get some coffee, then go to work. By 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon, I might still be in my robe! It started to impact my mental state, making me feel worn down and slobby, so I quickly made getting ready each morning part of my routine.
Nowadays, as I get older, I think it’s important to always be presentable. I’m just not a wear your pajamas out in public kind of gal. I think it’s important to have standards for how we conduct ourselves.
You might be surprised at how freshening up each morning even when working from home will make you more productive in general. It just gives you that “Ok, let’s do this!” feeling.
assign time limits to tasks
To make sure you don’t meander the hours away without really accomplishing much, I find it very helpful to set time limits per task so that I focus. Rather than just sitting down and starting on work for the day, I like to know exactly what my goal is and how much time I’ll be devoting to that specific task. I never work on any one thing for more than two hours without a significant break of some kind, which I find keeps my mind fresh (and therefore more productive).
When you’re working from home, and especially if you have kids at home with you, it’s easy to get distracted by domestic household chores. So rather than be halfway present with work tasks, try to train your brain to segment what you’re working on and just focus on that.
For example:
Now I’m playing with my kids for an hour…
Now I’m going to wash the dishes and put in a load of laundry, and then I’ll return to work…
Now my kids are occupied for the next half hour so I’m going to focus solely on this one task…
or- I have three major goals to reach today, the next two hours are devoted only to this specific task, no social media, no browsing the internet, just that task.
don’t work from the bed or couch
(Unless you’re disabled or ill, of course). When working at the computer, sit upright, hold good posture, and keep the screen as close to eye-level as possible. As someone with an injured neck, I can tell you that the symptoms related to ligaments and alignment in the neck can be far-reaching and chronically life damaging in the years to come if you don’t work now to prevent them.
Not only that, but I really do feel that working from the couch or bed creates a laziness that shows up in your work and productivity, your attitude, and eventually your psychology.
His poor back and neck :(
Set Boundaries
Whether it’s your family or roommates, politely let them know that though it may look like you’re hanging out at home, you’re actually at work and this means respect and quiet time.
When you’re distracted during a concentrated time of working on something, it takes several minutes to get back on that same focused train of thought.
Ask them to please be mindful of loud sounds, talking, etc. until you’ve finished with work for the day.
Not happening? That’s ok- get some noise cancelling headphones and queue up a relaxing YouTube playlist of classical music, wooden flutes, or—my favorite—Skyrim music.
work outside from time to time
If you have a balcony, porch, or some other nice spot you can work from outdoors, go for it!
The outside sounds and Vitamin D from the sun will do you good.
But you might want to invest in a laptop sun shade to help with glare from the sun.
Be your own barista
Another way that I like to keep myself engaged is by preparing lovely hot drinks to sip on while I work!
If you love coffee, toss out your Keurig and get a simple stainless steel French press with a good quality whole coffee bean and grind your own beans for a delicious cup of coffee (I like mine with a little heavy cream).
I also love hot tea, especially herbal teas. If you’re a tea person, like me, you can find all sorts of delicious and interesting tea recipes on Pinterest, like this pumpkin spice rooibos latte!
Really wanting to commit? Invest in an espresso machine—I have this one and love it— and make delicious lattes for yourself. When you consider the cost of a latte plus the tip at a coffee shop, it’ll pay for itself in no time.
Take regular movement breaks
If you sit too long, blood and lymphatic fluid start to stagnate in the body. You need to get up regularly, even if just for a few minutes, and get the juices flowing.
You can: get in the floor and stretch, do some sets of jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk, or—one of my favorites—find one of your favorite songs on YouTube and dance the whole way through it.
Then- get back to work! Your body, and your focus and concentration, will thank you.
And last but certainly not least-
take an actual lunch
Step away from the computer, sit outside or…somewhere else… eat your food, rest your mind, be present, squeeze in a short walk after you eat if you can, and then get back to work.
If you live in an urban area, walk down the street to a café, or meet a friend for lunch, just be sure to limit your time if you have things still to accomplish that day.
Speaking of! Would you look at the time…
Being productive while working from home basically boils down to organization, boundaries (both with people and how you segment your own time), self-motivation, and the ability to stay focused and on task.
As time goes by, you’ll get better at it. You’ll have days where you look back and feel very unproductive, and can begin to hone in on what caused that, then adjust your habits and routines accordingly to prevent this feeling in the future.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or tips to add to the list.
As always, thanks for stopping by and I’ll talk to you again soon!
x
Tiffany
Welcome!
Hey there! I’m Tiffany ~ a Squarespace Web Designer & SEO Expert. I design beautiful & professional websites that rank well on Google, & I teach courses on becoming a Squarespace SEO Expert and Starting Your Own Squarespace Design Business!
Feel free to contact me at: tiffany@tiffany-davidson.com
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