Boost Your Productivity When Remote Working
Remote working is not all getting up when you want and working in your PJs. In fact, for most of us, there is plenty of hard work involved. That is not to say that taking your career out of the office and into the home sphere does not create problems, because it does. Particularly concerning productivity. After all, sitting around watching daytime TV can seem a lot more appealing than getting that boring spreadsheet completed. The good news is that even if you find your productivity isn’t stellar when working at home, there are some actions you can take to improve it. Read on to find out what they are.
Remote working is not all getting up when you want and working in your PJs. In fact, for most of us, there is plenty of hard work involved. That is not to say that taking your career out of the office and into the home sphere does not create problems, because it does. Particularly concerning productivity. After all, sitting around watching daytime TV can seem a lot more appealing than getting that boring spreadsheet completed.
The good news is that even if you find your productivity isn’t stellar when working at home, there are some actions you can take to improve it. Read on to find out what they are.
Plan your day
One of the most important things you can do to boost productivity when working at home is to plan your day. In fact, I would recommend that you don’t just plan it in terms of what you are doing in the morning and afternoon, but down to hour or 30 minutes slots. Then you will be able to see just how much time specific tasks are taking up and adjust things accordingly if it’s too much.
Of course, for you to be able to plan your day successfully, you will need to have a sound graph of priority setting as well. That is what the most urgent and essential task is that you need to complete that day. In fact, using a tool like the Eisenhower Matrix can make this a great deal easier. The reason being it gives you permission to put off or get rid of unimportant tasks altogether.
Have a specific place to work
Next, while it can be tempting to work slumped out on the sofa, this isn’t the best idea. Either for your body or your mind. Instead, to retain productivity when working at home, you need to have a specific place set aside for work.
Such a place should be quiet and removed from the flow of the rest of the house. It should also have an organized set up with a chair, desk, footrest and riser. All things that will help you stay as comfortable and as productive as possible.
Take your work outside the house once in a while
Just because you are working from home, doesn’t mean you actually have to stay home. In fact, spending too much time alone in the house can be detrimental to your productivity because boredom and isolation set in.
With that in mind, you may wish to find a quiet cafe, or library when you can take your laptop to work. Alternatively, a hot-desking space with convenient workspaces and breakout areas could be just what you need to shake things up. Something that can be very refreshing mentally and help you to enhance your productivity.
Imagine you are actually going into the office
Finally, if all else fails. It can be helpful to imagine that you are going into the office. That is you get up early, get ready for work, and arrive at your desk at home, the same time that you would if you were at the office.
In fact, by getting into a routine like this, you can maintain a consistent work routine, which will be vital for reasonable productivity.