Millions of people across the globe had to adjust to working from home in the last several months. Although it may sound great to be able to do your job without leaving your home, there is a unique set of challenges that comes with it.
One of the main problems you’ll encounter while working remotely is the inability to stay productive. At home, there are too many things that can distract you from your work. Thankfully, there are ways to increase your productivity in a remote-work environment.
Prioritise Important Tasks
At the beginning of the day, take a few minutes to write down a few of the most important tasks you have to do. Start by doing the important assignments and then move on to the easier tasks. This is an excellent approach to working from home, as it is guaranteed to decrease procrastination.
Most people with little experience of working remotely tend to start with the easy assignments. However, this can give you a false sense of accomplishment. That’s why you should always stick to a clearly defined schedule. It’s also important to let your managers know how much work you can do on a daily basis. If you ask for more than you can handle, it will ultimately take its toll on your productivity.
Keep Regular Work Hours
When you start working from the comfort of your home, you’ll be very tempted to take things easy. Nevertheless, you’ll be doing yourself a great disservice if you don’t add structure to your routine. Although you might have total flexibility, you’ll become less productive without defining what a work day will look like at home.
Your boss may give you the option to get started at any time of the day, but it’s best to simply keep regular work hours. If you do this, it’ll be easier for you to communicate with managers, colleagues, and customers. It’s worth noting that you’re used to working during regular work hours, so this is likely the time period when your productivity peaks.
Upgrade Your Equipment
One of the most common things that leads to a decrease in productivity is a lack of good equipment. For instance, it can be impossible to maintain good focus throughout work hours if your laptop is slow. That’s why you should consider upgrading your equipment.
In case you don’t have money for new equipment, talk to your employers and let them know about how your computer negatively impacts your performance. They should be able to buy or at least rent a laptop for remote working that you’ll use until you start going to the office again.
Take Regular Breaks
When you’re working in an office, you likely take breaks regularly without even noticing. That’s because you’re constantly close to other people, so it’s easy to start a conversation whenever you’re tired or bored. This is something that won’t happen while you’re working from home. Make sure that you take small breaks whenever you feel your focus becoming weaker. It’s recommended you take an hour-long lunch break as well.
Get Your Family on Board
Your family is most likely used to the idea of you working outside of the home, so it’ll be difficult for them to adjust to the current situation. Your wife and your kids may think that it’s okay for them to interrupt you at any time simply because you’re home.
In order to maintain your productivity, it’s essential that you talk with your family and establish some rules. Make sure they understand that they have to respect your schedule and that you can’t mix your personal and professional life. The same goes if you have roommates.
It’s also recommended that you carefully choose where you want to work. It’s generally a bad idea to choose the living room as your home office. Instead, find a room with low traffic flow where you can place physical boundaries so that your housemates don’t disturb you.
Dress Professionally
The idea of working in pyjamas may sound awesome, but it can actually have a negative effect on your productivity. If you’re still in your pyjamas by the time you start your computer, you won’t be able to properly go into work mode. On a psychological basis, something as simple as clothing can blur the line between your personal and professional life.
One of the best and easiest ways to increase your productivity in a remote-work environment is to dress professionally. In other words, wear something that you’d wear if you were going to the office. When you change to something more work-appropriate, you’ll feel more mentally prepared to do your job from home.
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