Have you seen those comedic TikToks where someone working from home heads to their computer, “slips,” and then “accidentally” ends up with their Xbox in their hands?
Relatable?
Maybe too relatable.
Once you’ve finally decided to get down to business, you’ll want to maintain that flow state. But how do you avoid all the distractions at home?
Read on to find out how to increase productivity working from home.
Get Sufficient Sleep and Nutrients
In our culture, this is one we often take for granted.
Depending on your age, you need a certain amount of sleep. If you are over the age of 25, try to aim for at least 7 hours of sleep every night.
For optimum productivity, you should also try maintaining your sleep hygiene. This means waking and sleeping at roughly the same times each day, and eliminating distractions in your bedroom so you can sleep soundly at night.
This may also involve cutting screentime from your nighttime routine.
Your brain on no sleep will find it difficult to stay focused, be creative, and feel alert. Getting enough sleep goes without saying if you want to boost your productivity.
Thankfully, work-from-home setups are great for this in terms of saving you time in the morning to snooze.
The same principles go for eating enough nourishing food.
In 2015, the UN found that inadequate nourishment in the workplace was leading to at least a 20% loss in productivity. Do not skimp on your meals; you’ll need them for long days, steady energy, and maximal productivity.
A soylent diet can tide you over for the short term, but your body will feel the ramifications in time.
Structure Your Day
If you’re like the rest of us, some days you just don’t feel like working. However, for the days when it’s not your choice whether you feel like it or not, having a routine in place can be a game-changer.
As per the previous tip, the routine will help you prioritize sleep and nutrition as well.
If you consistently designate blocks of time for certain activities, you’ll be more likely to form positive habits.
For example, you could use breakfast time to catch up with the news and social media and stop browsing once you put your dishes away. This limits your social media usage to a timeframe and builds the habit of eating breakfast.
You could use lunch to go on a small walk around the neighborhood, chat with friends, and have a meditative moment with yourself.
Then, between the structured breakfast and lunchtimes, you have a discrete amount of time to be intentionally productive.
Our brains love these small routines. Here are some other ideas to structure your day:
- If you can’t work without a clean desk, block out a time to clean your work area first before getting down to business
- Shut down your computer and move away from the work area at a consistent time
- Do your makeup and hair before working if it helps you feel more “put together” and signal to your brain that it’s time to get down to business
Optimize Your Workstation
This depends on the work you do and your working style. Think about what you need in an environment to be productive, and try to create that for yourself.
Do you need quiet to work? Have an assertive discussion with your roommates if they are being loud, close your windows, or try to find the quietest area possible to set up your workstation.
Are backaches interfering with your productivity? Invest in ergonomic office furniture (like standing desks, ergonomic chairs, or ergonomic mice). You could also consider setting timers to remind yourself to do intermittent stretches.
Make sure to adjust your monitor so that it’s at eye level, clean off your desk, and remove distractions from the place you intend to work.
If your internet connection is poor, consider switching providers or checking on your router.
Another tip is to pick a nice spot for yourself where you want to spend time. Are you finding one spot near the window that gets beautiful morning light? Set up there for an instant mood and productivity boost.
Your workspace should be somewhere you want to spend extended hours, so it’s up to you to determine how to make that happen. More plants? A nice sound system?
Develop Boundaries With Yourself
Boundaries can take many forms.
Even though it feels good to slack off now and then, you should check in with yourself about whether that’s what you want to be doing.
Do you have career goals? Think deeply about what habits you need to build to meet them, and hold yourself to those standards.
If you are spending all the time you are supposed to be working on TikTok, take a breath. Be intentional with how you spend your time. Maybe your boundary is that you want to be productive, so uphold that!
Boundaries are important for work-life balance, too.
Set boundaries with your job; perhaps log in and log off with no exceptions at the same time every day. Let your coworkers know that you cannot be reached after certain hours, and to seek you out when you are next available.
Efficient Systems
There are tons of productivity apps out there, but you need to find the ones that work with your brain.
Some people like Pomodoro. Some people need to work out. Others love to multitask.
Maximizing work productivity is not about how much time you spend working. It’s about how effective you are at the work you do in the time you spend working.
If you’re bogged by work emails, for example, you may benefit from learning some email-sorting tips or implementing an email triaging system for yourself. Filter emails, or group emails by sender. It’s a small thing but could be a big productivity boost for someone that uses email extensively every day.
Boost Productivity Working From Home
A remote job is a dream for some, but an unstructured nightmare for others.
Regardless of what your working situation is, you should try to create an environment that’s customized for your productivity working from home. This requires some introspection on your part about what you need to be productive.
You can read more about increasing productivity in our business and finance section.
