5 Hacks To Improve Your Home Office Productivity
To be successful, your home office requires being both efficient and functional. Since you will be spending much of your time in your office, it is ideal that you make it very comfortable. In this article, Elizabeth Plumb looks at 5 simple ways you can supercharge your home offcie productivity.
To be successful, your home office requires being both efficient and functional. Since you will be spending much of your time in your office, it is ideal that you make it very comfortable. It is important that your office is in a place whereby the temperature will be conducive for you all day. If possible, ensure that your home office space has a door so that you can shut yourself off from rest of your house.
If you normally work from your house, there are tricks that when utilized properly can assist you in improving performance and productivity. It is important you know how to prepare for work every day, stay organized, focused, and professional. Here are the 5 hacks to improve your home office productivity
Tip#1: Keeping a Distraction Around
Always have something to do that distracts you from work and helps you relax your brain so that your mind can be fresh when you return to your home office. However, you must ensure that whatever you do is out of reach when you are at work since it can make you spend more time playing rather than working.
If you realize that you normally spend a lot of your time in home office but not much of it working, it may be simply because of your distractions being in a place whereby they easily tempt you to play with them. Ensure that if you are not able to develop serious self- discipline, you hide them.
Tip#2: Having a specific working area
The couch should be your first enemy when you’re working from home. Generally, the couch should be the place that you use to relax when snoozing, reading watching television or when cuddling with your loved ones. Even if what you have is a laptop desk and a dining room chair, it is ideal that you create a space that will serve as your home office.
Tip#3: Having a Regular Routine
You can come up with rituals which replace morning commute e.g. taking morning shower or rewarding yourself with visiting your kitchen when you have accomplished your goal for the day. The beauty of working from convenience of your own house is that you can schedule your time the way you want. For instance, you can work from 12 noon to nine p.m. and lounge around each and every morning.
Try to handle projects that are hectic or those that require immediate attention first and then finish with less demanding projects.
Tip#4: Setting Deadlines and Working in 90-minute Intervals
With open- ended projects or tasks, setting a reliable and achievable self- imposed deadline will offer the motivation to work harder. It will even be appropriate that you inform several people about your self- imposed deadline. This will make you accountable to adhere to it.
Working in ninety minutes intervals can also be very helpful. According to research, after one and half an hours productivity usually starts to decline. To effectively maximize productivity, it is essential you work in three to five ninety-minute sessions.
Tip#5: Regularly Taking Breaks
According to studies, taking regular short breaks will enable you be in a position of not only maintaining focus but also prevent you from encountering a decline in performance. Note that switching attention to another activity for several minutes can assist you maintain focus in the long run. An ideal way of utilizing the time you break is conducting exercises.
Even if it means trips down and up the stairs or taking a brisk walk; this will in the long- term boost productivity more.
Tips and Warnings
- Adhering to a good dietary routine and exercising more often will make you fit and be in a position to tackle your tasks efficiently.
- Keep a reliable planner at your home office desk whereby you’ll mark the hours which you will be working every day, along with planned meetings, scheduled breaks, and even lunches.
The Bottom line
These are not hard- and- fast rules; they are simply hacks for productivity which have worked for many people. They can also work for you. All in all, the most essential thing is that you are motivated, relaxed and happy as you go about your daily activities.
Never stop trying to find ways that will make your home office experience better.