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Work is challenging, whether or not you are working remotely.

But if you’re working remotely (and managing a house simultaneously!) for the very first time with zero experience, a steep dip in productivity is not surprising.

But how can you keep up with work and the raging crisis? How do you detach yourself from the volatility and the stress? and fight off the negative effects of stress?

The more stable and elaborated the process of production (the fewer X-factors or varying inputs it involves), the smoother level of productivity is expected from employees operating it.

And for that, you have to avoid a lot of temptations to get your to-do list done.

Does your brain get enough breathing room to think and process your on-going tasks? Or are you lost in the frenzy of getting things done and failing at it?

Table of Contents

Being productive is like running a marathon. It takes constant effort. Something in lines of the company, culture, and people working together to create a productive environment. But that’s not all, individuals can do their own bit, which is the largest contributor to staying productive.

How can you explore new ways to manage your work-life balance? Can we think of making a guide to stay productive in such crises? What are other ways to collaborate for employees with each other? Let’s discuss

Schedule a day

How do you manage to stay productive and encourage yourself as an employee to balance mental and physical wellness together?

It doesn’t matter if you’re a new or experienced remote employee, planning to stay on a proper schedule will always help you to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Schedule your day

It is always important to plan your priorities ahead of time, when you are going to work on them, and where you want to spend your time. Are you looking for one?

Let’s create a list here

  • Take a few minutes before finishing for the day to plan for the next day schedule.
  • Make use of Google Calendar to note down your working and non-working hours setting to visibly mark the times you won’t be on the clock.
  • Make sure you carve out some chunks of time to schedule regular check-ins with your coworkers.

Plan your week/day

  • To avoid hassles and jumping straight into your inbox in the morning it is always better to set a morning routine. It serves as a reminder to switch yourself to work mode.
  • Always keep a track of achieving your goals despite the distractions and hurdles of daily life. This helps you to focus without worrying about dropping the ball on other tasks.
  • Identify your most productive hours so that you can work on tasks that demand more from you.
  • Do not forget to pat yourself on the back when you achieve something. It motivates you and makes you believe in your potential. Your only limitations are those you set upon yourself.
  • Get creative to avoid isolating yourself and making whole work a demotivating experience.

Take breaks

“Remote workers have plenty of ‘me’ time,” is actually one of the common myths running around.Take a break

Organizing your workspace according to your needs is a great perk that pays off in the long run. It is okay to refill your coffee cup and make time for yourself.

Take a walk around the block. Make yourself sandwiches or play with your dogs. Such worthwhile activities lower your stress and anxiety and increase attention and focus.

Taking breaks on a normal basis prevents burnout and boosts creativity. It brings a newer version of you. You’ll find yourself much more productive than you would have been had you skipped the break.

Have work buddy

To stay productive, it is important to stay in touch with people. It is easier to get along with people who share the same tastes and interests.Have work buddy

When you work remotely, there are less outside factors that can help pep you up for the day ahead. To avoid such things, you can invite your colleagues for lunch or plan some gigs or casual outings.

Even if you work primarily from home or change locations, it is important to socialize with people. Usually, virtual hangout sessions with your coworkers on topics other than work help a great deal to beat boredom

Avoid Procrastination

“Stop procrastinating.” A healthy reminder to yourself

Avoid Procastination

A study by Gallup indicates that employees who work remotely three to four days a week feel the most engaged in their jobs.

Working from home might distract you even more than traditional office locations. Lack of focus is a common problem with people who work remotely. At times, the struggle is real to stay on task.

Even if you’re a boss of your own time, procrastination may leave you with unpleasant feelings towards your work. How can you stay productive and avoid procrastination?

Here are some tips to help you

  • Learn to skip the snooze button. Wake up on time and take a corridor walk to feel the fresh air.
  • Make it a point to exercise daily for at least 40 minutes to stay fit and healthy. It has been observed that investing little time and effort in fitness helps you boost your productivity.
  • Taking a cold shower daily works as an alternative to caffeine in the mornings. You get the motivation to complete those challenging tasks you always used to put aside.
  • If you say, “start in 15 minutes”, start after those 15 minutes itself i.e. stick to your timelines. You will see enough progress to get over the initial hump.
  • Either fix a time to take a power nap for 15 minutes or do some physical exertion. This helps you to gear up for some mental exertion as well.

Set a specific end time to your day

As a remote worker, you get the freedom to decide how to structure your day. Make sure you also set a specific end time to your day. Mind needs relaxation every time when you start with something new

To avoid burnouts and exhaustions, pick a set time to end your workday, just as if you were working in an office and had to leave at the end of the day.

Responsible, Reliable, Ownership

You’re not in school anymore and this is not homework.

You’re responsible for your own work, you’re even being paid handsomely for it.

Though remote work brings its own unique challenges, your efforts to organize yourself in terms of location and working hours shouldn’t go all in vain.

Here’s what you can do

Sending a brief report to your manager or supervisor at the end of the day and giving updates on the current on-going projects depicts your reliability and ownership. Since you’re being trusted to manage your time wisely, so be very selective about extra tasks and responsibilities you take.

Even if your manager is not asking for updates, do your due diligence and keep them appraised.

Proactive communication

When working all alone remotely, you hardly know what your coworkers are doing. It is always important to proactively communicate with your team. It means you’re taking initiative and building a strong work culture.

Make video mandatoryTo avoid the feeling of being isolated or disconnected and forgotten, make use of an internal chat system such as “Slack” in place, so team members can easily talk to each other. Hold regular virtual team meetings, make a Zoom call for your daily stand-up or after-lunch check-in.

Communication is crucial. When part of the team is in the office and others are working remotely, there must be consistent communication. Otherwise, there are high chances that you miss important decisions and discussions without even putting inputs from the entire team

Tips to increase productivity

As remote employees, you don’t necessarily feel that same peer pressure or professional obligation to get stuff done. How can we stay productive, creative, inspired, and live up to all of the expectations that we’ve set for ourselves within this new lifestyle of staying at home and working professionally?

Can remote productivity be maximized by having the right tools on your side? To establish this possibility, it is important to have a sustainable work-life balance with the tips and tricks to improve the productivity of the work.

As a remote worker, you’re constantly trying to better yourself and build a balanced remote culture within your team. You can track your employees working from home. But should you?

With the help of these ideas and tricks, we can track productivity. But you should know that if you are part of the 40% of workers who work from home, it’s important to be as transparent as possible about how you spend your working hours and how to track it.

Conclusion

Productivity comes along with the self-productive frame of mind. Morning routines not only allow you to start your day off on the right foot, but they also propound the idea to use your time for self-care, family bondings or take care of any errands or chores that could be a distraction later in the day.

Write to us at team@vwz.nvc.mybluehostin.me or drop a comment so we can discuss it further in person. We’d love to hear from you!

Roobal Gupta

About Roobal Gupta

Roobal Gupta is a budding content writer and is the latest addition to our marketing team. She is an elite writer at Writer's Pocket. She also writes fiction and has a debut novel to her credit. She has also been awarded for "Top 100 Debut Indian Authors 2018-19". Like most other writers, she likes to read books and write blogs in her free time.

View all posts by Roobal Gupta

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