Working from home can be draining mentally, and physically. I had the same issues, so I took the time to find out how to optimize productivity when working from home.
What do you need to do?
Working from home because of COVID or starting remotely, you came to the right place. I found a whole lot of answers to these questions. Here is a list of things I found to be especially helpful to optimize productivity when working from home.
Wake up with determination:
Don’t roll over and clock into work then go back to sleep. Get your butt out of bed and jump in the shower. This is the first step that I found to optimize productivity when working from home. Get ready for the day put on some clothes. They don’t have to be business clothes that you would wear in the office. Just put on something other than pajamas.
Designated workspace:
The whole idea of working remotely is that you can work from everywhere. Take your computer to a coffee shop and start getting work done. Not a good idea. Having a designated workspace reduces distractions.
More importantly, it allows your brain to realize “this place is for working”. I know too many people that get stuck working more from home. They almost can’t turn it off because they never “leave the office”. When you are always in the office it is hard to stop working.
Plan out the day:
“Good things happen when you set your priorities straight” – Scott Caan
Make sure you have a plan for the day. Make a list of tasks and when those tasks completed. This allows you to stay focused and recognize when you need a break.
I use this planner for my day. It’s simple and easy to use.
Take breaks:
If I weren’t going in order, this would be at the top. It is the most important. You should already be eating throughout the day. To take any effective break you need to disconnect. You need to go outside and get some vitamin D.
You should be taking multiple breaks throughout the day. There are many benefits that are backed by science. Forbes wrote an article about it HERE. Forbes list benefits such as…
- Increased productivity
- Improved mental well-being
- Creativity boost
- More time for healthy habits
These are all benefits when trying to optimize productivity when working from home.
Email time:
Checking emails can be a huge waste of time. You can get caught up by replying to email after email. The best way to stop this is to check your email at certain times of the day. I usually check my email three times per day. Once when I start my day, after lunch, and right before I finish for the day. This leaves much more time for more important tasks.
Know when your day is over:
Make sure to end the day. Don’t let what happened at work come into your home. Take this time to be with your family and work on yourself.
Remember that your work doesn’t define you.
You want to work to live not live to work.
Check out some other articles for more!
