Giant companies such as Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and others have implemented work from a home policy at the start of the pandemic. These big companies were surprised at how smooth the shift to remote work was. Seeing the productivity and performance of employees, some of these companies even vowed to make hybrid work a permanent option for their employees.
As we know, employers regularly monitor employee computer to check their efficiency, and it becomes essential for employees to deliver the best results. For employees who have remote work arrangements, you enjoy enough flexibility to do your job. At the same time, it can be challenging to stay productive when juggling domestic demand and other concerns while working from home. But to continue the luxury of working from home and working productively, you need to plan accordingly to utilize your day most constructively. Keeping that in mind, here are 7 tips to help you stay on top of your tasks and perform efficiently while working from home.
- Create a Schedule That Suits With You and Your Family: When employees work from home, it becomes impossible for them to ignore domestic matters. You may have elderly members or kids to attend to, for employees who have such responsibility, it can be a struggle for them to stay productive all day long.
If you find yourself in the middle of such a scenario, you must establish a clear schedule that suits your work timing and synchronizes with your entire family. You might consider waking up earlier to start your workday early to have a more productive time to get work done while the house is quiet. Or perhaps you can take help from your spouse or others to take care of your kids for those hours that you need to work. Creating a fixed schedule will help you to stay productive and perform better while you are working.
- Get Ready For Your Workday: Most of the time, it is seen that employees do not bother to dress up while working from home. But that is not how it should be. Of course, it is not required to get ready for on-site work, but you must get out of your sleepwear. Your casual dress is undoubtedly the most comfortable dress for you and gives you a sense of freedom. But a mere act of changing dress signals being formal and helps you stay productive. Dress up in such a way as you get to be in your comfort zone. Dressing up for work, even at home, works like a natural alarm that alerts your mind throughout the day.
- Create An Effective Workspace: Working from your bed or couch may sound comforting, but selecting a dedicated space for work will increase productivity. Creating a space for work separating it from the communal area keeps normal distractions away and helps you to focus better. It does not necessarily mean you need a separate room to convert it into your home office, rather you can choose any corner of your home which is less distracting. There are hundreds of ideas and hacks on converting your regular desk into a productive workspace. Give some thought into the matter and do the best with the space you have got. Try to choose a place with natural lighting and set it up with a comfortable chair. Keep your required material like a pen, notepad, a bottle of water, charger and some healthy snacks near to you.
- Take Frequent Breaks: No one can work for so long, like 8 to 9 hours, without taking any break. One of the most significant advantages of working from home is flexibility, so make sure you take regular inetrvals to keep yourself productive. Break gives your mind and body time to recharge, so try to take a few minutes break after every 1 to 2hours of work. Whether it is grabbing a cup of coffee or a simple warm-up, be sure to leave your desk multiple times. Take your mind off work for a bit to get back to work with a fresh mind and renewed energy. Easy to play and quick games like solitaire, jigsaw puzzles or klondike solitaire are good outlets to have fun and mentally reset so you can be more productive when you start work after your break.
- Eliminate Digital Distraction: Increased use of social media is one of the most popular sources of distractions. If you are too addicted to social media, then it is better to log out or turn off notifications during working hours. It is easy to fall down the rabbit home and lose valuable minute bore you realize with social media. To keep social media or any other digital distraction from hampering your focus, do every possible thing to eliminate them entirely. If you can reduce the temptation to check your mobile device, you can actually perform more efficiently.
- Make a To-Do List: To-do list is a list of tasks that needs to be completed, normally organized in order of priority. When you are working from your home, a to-do list lets you understand how you should work to treat the highest priority task to finish them before the deadline. A to-do list also helps you keep track of your own work progress efficiently. At the end of each workday, create a task list for the next day, mentioning details of what you need to get done. You should also include lists of meetings or calls you need to attend. Whatever you do, make sure it helps you to focus on your task better, after all the goal is to pull up the list every morning to help you off to a productive start.
- Maintain a work-life balance: Your mental and physical health should be your top priority. Adopting healthy habits, getting a comfy mattress, and watching what you eat is beneficial for both your personal and professional life. Working from home can sometimes blur the line between personal and professional life, which leads to burnout. Remote employees tend to work even if they feel sick. To maintain good health you must unplug from your work device once you are done with your work. Setting clear boundaries for work and personal time will not only improve your health but also sharpen your mind for improved work. Use timesheets that can help you see the hours you spend at work and stick to your boundaries.
Working from home obviously comes with certain challenges. And there are several techniques to increase productivity when you are working from home. Here we have discussed the key point but you can of course more ways to keep yourself productive. Keeping your productivity up is not one-way action; businesses are also coming with several ways to help their remote employees be productive. With the use of advanced technology, remote employee monitoring software, expense reporting software, communication, and collaboration tools businesses are trying to make sure employees can work productively from home.