When you get told you’re working from home it may come as a joyous decision to begin with. No commute to and from work, no getting up at the crack of dawn and no lunch prep the night before, but as some of you may already know working from home can open up other difficulties that you may not have thought off. Here are some tips to stay productive whilst working from home.
1. Define your space
Working from home can sometimes blur the lines between work and personal life. We suggest having one space that you use every day and don’t just work wherever you fancy at the time. We know your bed looks tempting to set up for the day, but trust us when we say it’s a big mistake. You might not have the luxury of an office but try to find an area with the least distraction. When you’ve defined your space, consciously you will sit down and enter work mode.
2. Set some ground rules with the people you live with
Now the whole family are at home it might become distracting when you have your children, partner and pets running around. Make sure you have a conversation with everyone in the household and let them know how you work. For example, are you someone who needs complete silence or are you someone who needs to be kept company? Everyone’s jobs have different requirements so if you’re all transparent about expectations you should have a healthy work environment.
3. Get up and get dressed
Don’t hit the snooze button and start work 15 minutes after you’ve woken up! Make sure you still have your morning work routine. Don’t be tempted to sit and have breakfast when you start work, allocate time for breakfast before the workday begins.
We are not saying by any means you must get dressed into a full suit but don’t sit and work in your pyjamas. Believe it or not, clothes play a big part in how we feel and if you’re sat in your pyjamas trying to work, then the chances are you’re only going to want to go back to bed or sit on the sofa watching Netflix.
Enjoy the little things that make you feel awake, energised and mentally sharp whether that’s doing a short workout or just having a shower. Either way, start your day as you mean to go on.
4. Make a to-do list
It’s so easy to get carried away with all the emails that come flooding in at 9:00 am but try to make a to-do list of all the tasks you didn’t get complete the previous day and sort them in priority order. Once you’ve sifted through all your emails add any other tasks to your to-do list, this way you won’t lose sight of what still needs to be done. Just remember to cross them off once you’ve finished!
5. Have a schedule
Try to stick to your normal working hours, for example, if you have lunch for an hour at the office have lunch for an hour at home etc. This will help you to keep motivated throughout the day if you know when your breaks are.
6. Keep a tidy workspace
This may be difficult if you haven’t got a desk, but try to organise paperwork into piles and keep all non-work related items clear of your designated workspace. A tidy space means a tidy mind!
7. Have the right equipment
We know everyone’s not going to have all the equipment they need but one thing to make sure of is having somewhere comfortable to sit. You need to keep a good posture if your on a laptop all day, there’s nothing worse than slouching over a laptop for 8 hours and then having backache for the next few days. If you don’t have an office chair at home use pillows to prop yourself up.
Working from home will take a bit of getting used to so don’t expect miracles to happen in the first week. Instead, try to figure out a routine that works for you and hopefully some of these tips will help you on your way to becoming more productive at home.
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