While the home office sounds like a dream to some of us, it’s not always easy to set your own schedule and make it flow. If you are self-employed or a former office worker who is working from home, you better avoid getting stucked into doing a load of laundry, taking the dog out for a long walk or falling into a Netflix loop, right? Oh yeah, absolutely right. But the thing is: when there’s no one looking over your shoulder, it’s easy to lose track of the tasks.
The first good news is that you are not alone with the feeling that you can’t concentrate either on work tasks or the household chores while locked down. Working from home brings business and personal aspects of life together under one roof and that’s totally okay if you can’t handle it properly. The second good news is that with just a bit of effort you can regain and maintain focus throughout your workday.
Follow these 8 steps and watch your productivity increasing.
1.Have a dedicated workspace
It’s easy to sit with a laptop on your couch, but your posture and ergonomics won’t be right, and it’s often close to a TV, which is an obvious distraction. That’s why it is so important to have a dedicated workspace! It can be a nook in your kitchen or a table in your room, what really matters is to organize the place around you to look like your office.
Avoid having lunch at this place, for example. Act as if you have been in your real workplace.
2.Create a daily schedule
Your calendar should work the way you do. That means if you’re a Type A and love to have every minute planned, go ahead and fill up your day, even penciling in break times. If you’re more of a to-do list follower, write up a game plan and cross things off as you go.
3.Meditate after lunch
Yes, meditate after lunch! Scientifically speaking it helps you to go back to work more focused and creative.
4.Know when to clock in and clock out
The most common mistake is thinking that by working from home you have more time to work and better work-life balance. When you don’t actually have a physical barrier between professional and personal life, such as a geographical distance between your office and home, it can be easy to work lots of hours and leave less downtime for family and friends. Creating a ritual that separates your workday from your off time can be an important distinction between them both.
5. Stay off social media
Is there any rabbit hole more tempting than social media? A quick scroll on Instagram can turn into a major time suck, but there are ways to avoid temptation. Try to find an app that helps you to monitor the time you spend on social media like Facebook or Twitter, or even block your access to them while working. If it doesn’t work, you can always delete the apps on your phone and do a detox!
6. Dress for success
It’s all a part of having a business mindset and daily ritual. Working on your pyjamas may make you feel lazy and less focused. Of course, you don’t need to wear high heels if you don’t want to! Wear what’s comfortable for you. But having a morning routine like brushing your teeth and changing your pyjamas is crucial.
7.Flatmates, neighbours, friends and family
Let them all know what your working time is and make sure they are conscious that you’re not available. Ignore messages and personal phone calls and tell them you will call them back as soon as you are free to do it.
8.Avoid procrastination
If you think it’s tempting to procrastinate at the office, it’s even worse at home, where there are more distractions. It’s easy to put things off until later in the day or first thing tomorrow morning because you are not bound by office hours, but this causes stress as you can easily push yourself tight against a deadline, and if something unexpected happens. Have a look again at your daily schedule and try to follow it.
Now it’s time to put all the tips into practice and you are the only one responsible for that. Does it make you feel scared or relieved? Do your best and good results will find you.
See you soon,
Gracie Humaita Sydney.
by Fernanda Monteiro