Wake up and smell the coffee.
One of the perks of working from home is that you don’t have to rush through your morning coffee. You can take the time to savor it and relax while you let the caffeine do its job and wake you up.
When you’re working from home, dealing with the early morning traffic is a thing of the past.
You no longer have to fight for a parking space or patiently line up at the building elevator.
Say goodbye to office politics and the 9- to- 5 grind. For many home-based workers, they are their own boss and they own their time.
It’s easy to get lost with all of the comforts and convenience of working at home. In fact, if you do not get moving soon, you might find yourself crawling back to bed!
10 Tips On How To Be More Productive When Working From Home
There are a few drawbacks when working from home. All of the comforts – the bed, the sofa, the T.V, the kitchen, and even your cat – can be serious distractions from work.
Then, there is “The Great Unknown” – the unforeseen or unexpected occurrences that take place without warning such as:
- Your next-door-neighbor mowing his lawn.
- The incessant ringing of the telephone or the doorbell.
- Your neighbor’s dog barking at your cat.
The truth is, there is no perfect place to work. Your office is what you make of it. Just like your brick-and-mortar office, you have to make sure the conditions are set to guarantee a productive workday.
Here are 10 tips on how to be more productive when working at home:
1. Get the Workday Started the Night Before
Effective time management is a crucial component to achieving productivity on a daily basis. By planning your workday the night before, you eliminate the “guesswork” which wastes precious time.
Plan out the following day’s tasks and activities before ending the night. It only takes a few minutes and this simple tip gives you the following benefits:
- Reduces stress because you already know what you are going to do the next day.
- Improves your focus; knowing the tasks that have to be addressed gives you the opportunity to manage your energy levels and prepare yourself mentally for what needs to get done.
You can write down the tasks on a whiteboard on your home office wall. When you wake up in the morning, you will feel more inspired to hit the ground running because there is no more guesswork.
You will know exactly what you need to do!
2. Set Realistic Targets
Goal-setting is a proven technique to improve productivity. It improves motivation; gives direction and clarity which help you drive your energies toward accomplishing specific tasks.
However, it is important to remain realistic when setting goals. It is easy to get carried away by the idea of accomplishing many tasks. When you have too much on your plate, you will end up not finishing most of the items.
Worse, what if most of the unfinished tasks were the essential ones – the tasks that contribute directly to your business’ bottom-line?
Productivity expert Chris Bailey suggests picking out only 3 goals to accomplish per day. According to Bailey, the “Rule of 3” allows you to focus more energy on accomplishing these goals even when things are not doing so well.
3. Use Focus Blocks
Another proven productivity technique is the use of focus blocks. This is a process where you group your work hours into clusters or “blocks”. Each block consists of 90 minutes of uninterrupted work followed by 30 minutes of rest.
The science exists to back up the effectiveness of the focus block.
A study by sleep research expert, Nathan Kleitman showed that we can maintain maximum mental alertness for only 90 minutes. Some people can extend their mental focus for up to 120 minutes.
There are also studies that show getting in some sleep after work can improve memory, cognition, and overall performance.
The use of the focus block can also support the “Rule of 3”.
- Identify the 3 goals that you want to accomplish.
- Allocate 90 minutes per goal.
- Set aside 30 minutes of rest after each goal.
By integrating focus blocks with the Rule of 3, you may end up accomplishing 3 tasks in only 320 minutes or fewer than 6 hours of work per day.
4. Start the Day with Your Most Dreaded Task
At this point, you may be asking yourself, “Which task should I work on first?”
We will give you 2 ways to approach task-making. The first one is to start with your most dreaded task.
This is the task that lets out all the air when you wake up in the morning. It makes you want to nurse that mug of coffee even longer. However, just like an infected tooth, if you do not see the dentist, it will only get worse.
Get it done right away. The sooner you can accomplish this dreaded task, the better. You will be less stressed. Consequently, you will have a clearer frame of mind and have a more positive disposition to work on the other remaining tasks.
5. Prioritize Tasks Based on ROI
The second approach is to prioritize tasks based on ROI or Return on Investment. Which tasks offer the highest return for your effort?
For example, you can prioritize the tasks that generate the most income for your business. How much do you want to earn per month? Determine your preferred income level then list your tasks based on which ones can help you achieve your targeted financial goal.
Another way is to prioritize the tasks that can contribute the most to advancing your career.
For example, you may have a client who does not pay you the most but has been with you the longest. Therefore, you should prioritize this client because the work is more consistent and sustainable compared to the others.
6. Organize Your Work Area
“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.
- Naval Admiral William McRaven, Commander of U.S. Special Operations
That was a quote from the unforgettable commencement speech given by Admiral McRaven at the University of Texas.
A clean and organized bedroom gives you a more relaxed environment to rest and therefore, better quality sleep.
The same can be said about your workplace.
A cluttered workplace is a stressful workplace. You will waste precious minutes looking for things that you need right away. Having stuff cluttered all over your workstation creates distractions.
Take some time to clean up your workplace before retiring for the evening. Organize your workstation. Put key documents in their proper filing category. Throw trash in the appropriate receptacle.
By organizing your workplace the night before, you set the conditions for productivity the following day.
7. Dress Up for Work
Sure it is a nice feeling to work in your pajamas and bunny slippers. However, working in your sleepwear may also entice you to go back to bed.
If you put on sleepwear for bedtime, why not put on office wear for work time?
It may sound strange to wear a tie and slacks at home, but doing so triggers emotional cues that remind you, “Hey! It’s time to work!”
Likewise, wearing office clothes while working at home professionalizes your approach toward a home-based career. You might be surprised that wearing office clothes will help you stay more focused and motivated at work.
8. Go Someplace Else to Work
There are days that you won’t have the energy to be more productive when working from home. For some, the distinction between home and the office has become vague.
The home has become associated with work and they find it increasingly difficult to relax and unwind under their own roof.
If this happens to you, simply go someplace else to work.
“Home-based” means you are not conducting work in a traditional work environment such as a commercial office space. Home-based workers are also called telecommuters and remote employees.
You don’t have to work at home. As a telecommuter or remote employee, you can work wherever you want – the coffee shop, the public park, a hotel lobby, or at the beach fronting the ocean waters.
Some home-based entrepreneurs pack up their bags and travel to another country to resume their work! This is one of the biggest attractions of the home-based lifestyle.
Find a place that gives you motivation and inspiration as sources of energy. Sometimes all it takes is a change in environment to get your engines revving again.
9. Detach Yourself From All Forms of Distraction
When you are working from home, distractions lurk in every corner. You can easily be tempted by the T.V or by the couch. While working, you might think you are hearing the Pastrami sandwich in the refrigerator calling out your name.
In your own computer, you have many downloaded distractions from social media to your favorite entertainment websites. Unmitigated, submitting to these forms of distractions can cost you precious productive hours.
Before commencing on your work for the day, detach yourself from all forms of distraction:
- Use a different computer for work. Make sure the settings will not grant you access to social media platforms and irrelevant websites.
- Keep your mobile phone locked away in another room. You can check your messages during your 30-minute break.
- Put your landline on silent mode and leave a message on the recording machine.
- If you are living with other people, give them strict instructions not to disturb you during work hours. Ask them to attend to anyone who rings the doorbell.
- If you drink coffee while working, have your mug of java hot, ready, and on the table before starting a task.
As for bathroom breaks, if you can hold it, have them during your 30-minute rest period.
If you think this is unreasonable, WaterSaver, a company from Chicago restricted bathroom breaks to only 6 minutes per day. According to WaterSaver’s CEO, the company lost 120 productive hours due to extended bathroom breaks!
10. Outsource Non-Essential Tasks
Does your to-do list include the following tasks?
- Filter email
- Set appointments
- Set calendar
- Finish payroll
- Pay bills
- Do follow-up calls
If so, you are working for your business, not on your business.
These types of tasks are called non-essential tasks because they are administrative in nature and do not directly contribute to your business’ bottom-line. Non-essential tasks are best outsourced to third-party service providers that can handle the job.
For example, if you own a website, outsource web development and management to Mountaintop Web Design.
We can monitor your website to make sure all the plug-ins and security features are updated and running well.
At the same time, if you want to implement a digital marketing campaign for your business, we can do that for you as well.
We have a team of experienced SEO professionals, content writers, and social media managers that can develop a campaign to give your online presence a massive boost on the Internet.
If you want to learn more about outsourcing, read our article “How Outsourcing Tasks Can Save You Tons Of Money – And Build Your Business”.
Conclusion
Working from home is a wonderful, life-changing decision. You have taken more control over your career and have a great opportunity to attain financial independence.
However, working from home only means a change in the environment. You still have to put in the time and the effort to achieve your goals in order to become successful.
Just like your days living the 9-to-5 grind in the concrete jungle, you should find ways to stay productive even when working from home.
The 10 tips we discussed will certainly help you achieve productivity. If you have other tips that you want to share with our readers, please feel free to discuss them in the comments section.
And if you enjoyed this article, go ahead and share them with your friends and family!
