Productivity
Working From Home? Transitioning To Working At Home
Transitioning To Working At Home
Have you been forced to work from home due to the global coronavirus crisis? Obviously you are not alone during these strange times!
The initial joy of being able to work from home can be quickly replaced by worry, a lack of motivation and never-ending distractions.
How on earth do you get things done when there are so many distractions in your home? While home working can deliver a lot of benefits, there are a lot of challenges it presents too and many people seriously underestimate these!
In this post, you’ll discover some useful tips you can follow when it comes to transitioning to working from home.
Set Up A Quiet Work Area
With all of the distractions at home, it can be really hard to concentrate on work. This is especially true if you have kids at home.
So, if you want to ensure you can get things done in peace, it’s worth setting up a quiet working space.
Try and use a room that isn’t frequently used during the day. Place a sign on the door when you’re trying to work to let others know not to disturb you.
Make sure the workspace is comfortable too as you won’t get a lot done if you aren’t comfortable.
Start Work At Your Normal Time
One of the main challenges that can come from working from home is delaying the time you usually start.
It’s tempting to have a lie in and take longer to relax in the morning before starting. However, this only zaps your productivity.
If you want to ensure you stay productive, you’ll want to start as early as possible. The positive side to this is that the earlier you start, the earlier you’ll get to finish.
Limit Social Media Screen Time!
You’ll have a lot more time to check in on social media when you haven’t got the boss breathing down your neck. However, it’s easy to waste hours using social media accounts if you aren’t careful.
Many home workers find it useful to set limits on their social media use during working hours. It could be simply committing to using it during a specific time for example. Having limits in place makes you more aware of how much you’re using it.
Maintain Your Usual Work Routine
It’s really important to try and maintain your usual routine. This is linked to starting work at your normal time as mentioned above.
This means, getting ready for work in the same way you usually do.
So, wake up at the same time, have your usual cup of coffee and get dressed into your work clothes. It’s amazing how much of a difference this can make to your productivity.
These are just a few tips you can follow when transitioning to working from home. It can be a big adjustment, but there are lots of tools and tips out there to help.
Trying to maintain your usual routine is one of the best things you can do during these changing times and will allow you to be just as productive as you were in your work place.
Here are a few more tips to help you with productivity when working from home.
How To Be Productive Working At Home
As convenient and beneficial as working from home can be, it can also prove to be damaging to productivity.
The trouble is, up until now, you’ve associated your home as a space for relaxing. So, it can be difficult switching to a more productive mindset when you’re in the comfort of your home.
The good news is, there are ways to boost your productivity when remote working. Here, you’ll discover some of the best ways to stay productive when working at home.
Keep Your Workspace Tidy And Just For Work
You’re going to find it hard to stay productive if your workspace is cluttered.
So, before you start, take time to clean up the area you’re planning on working in.
Get rid of any clutter and organize the space.
The cleaner and tidier the space is, the easier you’ll find it to focus on your work.
Take Regular Breaks And Get Outside For Air
Suddenly being cooped up in the house all day can be detrimental to productivity.
It can cause issues with low mood and leave you feeling less motivated to get through your workload.
By taking regular breaks and making time to get out into the yard, it can really boost those productivity levels.
Spend just 10-15 minutes gardening or reading a book outdoors to help refresh productivity levels.
Always Prepare For The Day Ahead
When you go out to work, you know there’s things you need to do to get ready for the day.
You have a routine which prepares you for work. However, when you start working from home you don’t really have that.
Rather than thinking you can now work in your pajamas all day, make the effort to get dressed.
Create a morning routine which sets you up for work. That way, you’ll find it much easier to stay productive if your mindset is geared towards work.
Harness The Power Of Nature
Did you know that plants and flowers can help you to feel more motivated? Adding them into your workspace can help to brighten up the working environment.
Numerous studies have shown how effective greenery can be within an office environment. So, if you want an easy way to stay productive, add a few houseplants and flowers to your home office.
You can also utilize the power of scent too. In some countries, workplaces spray citrus scents to boost employee productivity. Try experimenting with different scents to see which ones make you work more efficiently.
Staying productive when working at home isn’t easy but it is doable.
The above are some of the best methods you can try to increase those productivity levels. Taking regular breaks away from your computer are important, not just for productivity but for your health too.
OK, I hope these pointers will help you to stay productive in your working from home during these unprecedented times, and stay safe.
Ensure That Your Aim Is True
Whatever you want to achieve in life or business, you need to have a clear vision of where you are heading. Without this, how on earth are you going to know if you are on the right track or straying from your path?
Setting clear, distinct goals is like looking down the barrel of a rifle and can ensure that you are ALWAYS aiming in the right direction and keep you on track.
Having a clearly defined path also give you “stickability” because when you encounter obstacles (and you will) it will help you to remain focused on where you need to go.
Without this level of clarity, you are much more likely to give up when the going gets tough and that is doing you a disservice because you deserve the rewards that your goals will give you.
The power of goals shouldn’t be underestimated and they should be set and re-evaluated often (especially your short term goals). Use goals to give you momentum, and more importantly, to maintain it, especially when you are going through the major challenges you are going to face.
Stay strong, be resilient and you will succeed; you are just being tested to see whether you really want it and you do, dont you?
Now, sit down right now and set some goals, and take some immediate action; let’s go get ’em!
Realistic Dreaming
Often when we set goals, we inadvertently set ourselves up for failure before we even begin! Now, does that make sense to you? Of course it doesn’t but in our haste to have it all, many people set goals that have no basis in reality and are quite simply unattainable. And so you are in trouble before you even get off the ground.
Goal-setting is an incredibly important (and useful) part of the process for anyone who wants to achieve more success and have a richer, more fulfilled life. Realistic dreaming is the precursor to effective goal-setting. Let me explain what I mean by this…
The whole reason behind setting a goal is to accomplish something that is bigger, better, or more advanced in some way than what you have now, or where you are in your life at present. The trouble is that if you set a goal that is simply too big, you will know subconsciously, if not consciously, that you are going to struggle and this creates negativity at the onset, because you will likely be in a state of overwhelm before you even begin! A goal that seems unattainable may very well be that so you need to be aware of this.
Or, it may simply be a case of breaking this big goal into smaller interim goals as guideposts along the way. This is a good practice to get into whatever the size of the goal as it gives you a clear roadmap.
Dreaming realistically sets the tone for the big goals. A bigger home, expensive car, personal bests in any area of your life – those are the big goals, the be-all and end-all. The ultimate prize. But instead of only dreaming of the big stuff, allow yourself to have some goals that come after the initial start, but before the ultimate finish as these are the milestones that will keep you embraced in the journey.
So, if you set a goal to lose 100 pounds, and that’s the big, ultimate accomplishment, set smaller milestone for 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 50…you get the idea. Going from zero to 100 seems like it will take a lifetime and can cause you to doubt that it can be achieved. But going from zero to 10, on your way to 100, seems a much more realistic and attainable scenario.
Realistic dreaming isn’t negatively stating to yourself that you “can’t accomplish a goal that big”, or that “you’ll never be able to do that”. Rather, realistic dreaming is starting from the beginning with logical, realistic smaller goals that will help you to take the action you need to take to achieve the big end goal, while enjoying and learning from the process, as well. This will ensure that you are much more likely to stay the course and reach your eventual big goal.
And don’t forget to reward the small goals you reach along the way. Small successes turn into big achievements, so they shouldn’t be downplayed. In fact, just the opposite – even the small successes should be celebrated big time!
Start your goal-setting from the very beginning with realistic dreaming, and you’ll find that you reach your end goals easier, and you enjoy the process that much more.