Stay Productive Whilst Working From Home
So here are five ways to ensure that you don’t get distracted, stay motivated and stay productive:
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1) Set yourself targets
If you broke down how much you achieve every day in the office, into individual tasks then you would see just how hard you work and how much you accomplish. This is even more important when working from home, as it’s harder to stick to a more rigid routine, so remember to set yourself small targets and recognise each task you’ve completed. This is key to keeping yourself motivated and rewarding yourself for how much you’ve achieved. Without this, it’s easy to lose track of your productivity and feel like you haven’t achieved much after working for hours. But working hard and completing the smallest of tasks is worth recognising so set yourself a series of small tasks, tick them off as you go and by the end of the day you’ll see how much you’ve achieved.
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2) Maintain a set workspace
Working from home can be especially hard because you might not have a set workspace, not everyone has room for desk space and it’s hard to get a lot done while working from your bed. So set yourself up at the kitchen table, living room sofa or wherever suits you best and define this as your set workspace where you’ll work from all day. This may seem to limit you but it’s actually very important psychologically, so that when you leave that space at the end of the day, you know you’re finished and you can take a break from thinking about work and relax.
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3) Give yourself regular breaks and stay active
It’s important to not let yourself lose focus or get stuck in a rut and this can be easy to do when working from home so make sure to keep yourself active and take regular breaks. This can involve going for a walk to get some fresh air, getting some exercise or making yourself a snack, in which case make sure you’re staying hydrated and eating healthy foods that will keep your energy up and aren’t too sugary. Also just leaving your workspace for a few minutes and stretching your legs can make such a difference to your mindset, especially if you're stuck on a difficult task and it feels like you’re getting nowhere with it.
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4) Stay connected
Since you’re no longer working in a strict working environment and you’re no longer in a team of co-workers, you can easily feel isolated and lacking in direction. Therefore it’s important to keep in contact with other people and communicate regularly with co-workers and friends. This can be during conference calls or just over messenger, but it will help you greatly if you are updating someone about your progress or just talking nonsense with a friend. Communicating is very important, especially when you’re working from home by yourself, so keep in contact with everyone, it’ll make a world of difference.
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5. Stick to a routine
TGet up, shower, get dressed, act as if you are getting ready for your commute to work. Don't slob around in your pyjamas for four hours before starting any work. Stay on
