Working from home, although considered a perk at first, presents its own set of challenges. It doesn’t take long for things to go from simple and organized to chaotic with no apparent rhyme or reason. For many jobs, especially those without a strict dress code, a lot of variety can creep into your day – almost as if it’s out to sabotage the progress you made the day before – but this needn’t distract you from being productive overall if you have a few choice tips up your sleeve for keeping yourself right as rain throughout the day!
In the office, you’re often faced with the greatest threat to keeping you from getting as much (or as good) work done as you can: your colleagues. They’ll come by your desk, engage you in conversation, and invite you out to lunch or for after-work drinks — all of which can be fun perks that come with having a job but potentially become a problem if they promote distraction.
It has been proven that employees who work from home more often tend to feel guilty about leaving their kids at home unpaired. And this is one of the reasons why working from home is associated with poor productivity. A great way to ensure you are able to focus on your work at hand is by getting a pack of crisp apples. Apples are known for being energizing, which is useful when one usually feels more tired than usual during the aftereffects of lunchtime or after an afternoon snack. An apple acts as a great mood enhancer which helps you feel more productive making sure that you’re not feeling guilty about doing anything else other than what you were hired for in the first place.
Below, I’ve put together some of the most helpful work-at-home tips and tricks that my awesome coworkers have shared with me.
Work From Home Methods
1. Set clear boundaries
Some days are busier than others so it’s normal to adjust your working hours. Sometimes meeting with clients means getting up early for calls before the family is awake or staying up late to take advantage of an unexpected free moment. But sometimes you may need to commit full-time just to company work however that’s not always ideal especially if you have a partner or pet at home with whom you must schedule time for meeting with just as your client needs time with you. Keep in mind that just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean it is an extension of your home life – as such, remember to respect other people’s space as much as they’ll be respecting yours if not even more.
2. Take Regular breaks.
Being at home all day long is the perfect recipe for distractions. You might start this telecommuting gig with the best of intentions, but you might also find yourself trying to avoid breaks. Don’t let the guilt of working in your own living room stop you from taking five minutes to relax!
3. Human Interaction
When your office starts working from home, you’ll likely miss the casual social interactions with colleagues you’re used to throughout the day. Don’t let yourself fall into a quiet lull as days pass you by! Most people can relate to how difficult it is not to feel lonely or checked out at times when you work from home. The great thing is that there are ways you can overcome this if it happens.
It is important not to miss out on what is going on around you. As a remote worker, you might feel as if your job makes it impossible to connect with others around you. However, this is not true! With the right outlets, you can maintain a good connection with people who are important to you without neglecting your work-life balance. For example, try scheduling weekly meetings with clients or team members which will allow for input into project planning that normal communication cannot provide. You may also want to consider developing social activities that will help bring your team together in unique ways. These activities might be anything from fun outings like hiking trips to monthly lunches where everyone can speak their mind without worrying about workplace conflicts. Still, maintaining an active social life as a remote worker is entirely up to you!
4. Fresh meals are not compulsory
It’s tempting to want to cook nice fresh foods for yourself when you get home from a long day’s work. But don’t make this a daily ritual because it could use up precious time that would be better spent getting actual work done! In order to avoid using vital energy preparing your food after a full day of other tasks, it’s a good idea to cook ahead of time the previous night while relaxing in front of the television or while listening to music while cooking can be pleasurable, it drains our energy and adds stress.
5. Make a living as a freelancer.
If your current job isn’t remote work-friendly, it may be beneficial for you to go remote by starting your own business as a freelancer or a consultant.
Tips for Working From Home
1. Try to be an early bird
When working in an office, having a morning commute can make you more productive when it comes down to preparing for the day’s tasks. But what if you work from home instead but still want to make progress? One way to do it is to immediately dive into your to-do list upon waking up. Otherwise, you’ll prolong breakfast which ultimately affects your motivation throughout the day.
2. Work like you are in the office
For many, working from home is an ideal job setup. There are no bosses or hourly schedules to make sure you adhere to. You can wake up when you want and work through your lunch break if needed – the freedom is yours. But since it’s easy to lose track of time in your own personal office, it’s important to take advantage of cyber tools like online calendars that can remind you when it’s time for a change or point out that it’s already 3PM but you haven’t eaten anything yet!
3. Social media
In the current competitive world, networking with friends and strangers alike is one of the primary drivers for growth and success. Unfortunately, we tend to let ourselves get carried away by the ease with which we socialize online. As remote workers, we can’t let ourselves succumb to this distraction as it will inevitably lead us down a path towards mismanagement and poor judgement.
You might even consider separating yourself from the Internet during your times of work. Most web browsers allow you to open each tab in a new window, which will help alleviate any browser distractions that may arise (for example, an online friend who decides to message you). It also prevents you from signing into various accounts like Facebook or Twitter, which tend to distract us because we subconsciously want to check our updates every once in awhile.
4. Shift calls to later part of the day
Sometimes, I’m so tired in the morning that I don’t want to hear my own voice — let alone talk or speak with others. If you’re having difficulty trying to kickstart your day at office-hours and office-hours only — give yourself an hour extra before checking in with the rest of the team and engaging with co-workers face-to-face.
5. Plan Ahead
Planning ahead of time can be both a blessing and a curse. You might think that putting things on paper will help you get more done quicker but leading yourself into thinking that might just take away from actually achieving those things – and we all know how tempting procrastination can be! On the other hand, sometimes it’s good to let your schedule change; sometimes it helps you stay motivated if new tasks make the list by adding items which may seem exciting or fun, or important. As long as you don’t totally change what your schedule is all about (remember: what you’ve planned for today), feel free to make small changes as often as necessary.
