How To Stay Productive While Working From Home

Covid-19 has tossed almost all of us in a situation where we have no option left other than holding our laptops and roaming from living room to bedroom. 

Seeing the current circumstances, it’s so unpredictable to say when we would be able to put a rein on this deadly outbreak. 

Hence, for most of us, remote work has already become the new reality and somehow we all trying to get used to it. 

Although, working from home has its own perks such as- saving the commutation time and working on your sweat pants. But yes it’s up to you how much benefit you can take of it. 

1. Follow A Routine That Triggers Your Brain

When we go to the office, we follow a defined routine from getting ready to commutation which prepares our mind to start working when we reach office. 

Even your sitting place plays an important role here. If you’re a person who can concentrate at any place, then working remotely wouldn’t be much difficult for you. 

Follow these simple tips to trigger your brain into work mode:

1. Try to follow a coherent routine like reading the newspaper or preparing your breakfast. To be comfortable you can dress in your set of comfies like pajamas.
2. Working remotely can be extremely distracting, hence try to note down your things-to-do list. 
3. Grab the place at your home where you can concentrate more. It can be any place, your kitchen table or bed or your study table. Try to make some variation at times. 

2. Make A Sane To-Do List

While working from home, we think that we have a lot of time and end up in between various incomplete tasks. 

To keep your mind motivated, break your big projects into a small set of tasks, this will help you in completing the project step by step keeping you active throughout the work.

Try to note down your tasks rather than just keeping in mind, as most of the time you’ll be scratching your head wondering about the important tasks that you’re might missing out. 

Cross-check the task once it’s done, this will give you a sense of accomplishment and you can also keep a track of your pending work. 

3. Work On A Fixed Schedule

Working at home needs a tight schedule much like a normal office day. While planning your schedule you must allocate time for your other important works like having lunch or your non-work activities like laundry or cleaning. 

You must take a regular break to keep yourself mentally, physically and emotionally fresh. 

If you have kids mark a specific time to spend with them rather than juggling your schedule between your kids and your work. You can also make schedule for your kids to keep them up with their study and fun activities. 

Once you’re done with your schedule, let your colleagues and family know about your availability. It’s very important to draw a boundary and follow your schedule strictly. 

Working from home doesn’t mean you have all the time free for your office work. 

4. Be More Communicative

Most of us think that work from home is mainly a solo job but no, working remotely needs to involve your team more actively than you do in office. 

Whether it’s a brainstorming session or a decision-making process, you should always keep in touch with your team. 

For small communication, you can use tools like Google Hangouts or slack, if you need to announce something you can take the help of emails. 

But for a general stand up meeting, try to make it happen on video conferencing so that you can see each other and can understand the situation better. 

You should also make sure that if you’re not available for work at any time during office hours, you have informed your team about the same. Being more communicative can help you to stay in the pace and know what others are doing. 

5. Find A Chill Buddy

We always have that friend with whom we do gossips or share your views about literally anything from politics to the taste of office coffee. 

While working from home this can be a major missing and sometimes can also make you feel bored. 

So, don’t hesitate in ringing your office chill buddy and talking about some worthless topics, so that you can divert your mind and can feel fresh and not overloaded with work. 

Make sure that you have a fixed time for this chit-chat session or you can also use your non- work time for this mind freshening talks. 

If you don’t have such a buddy in your office, you can always get connected to your teammates and can ask what they are up to. 

6. Work On A Designated Location

As I have already mentioned that selecting a designated place can be a great help in working on a track. You’ll get to see people guiding you to avoid bed for work or try to maintain an office decorum for working. 

But your designated place is something that only you can find. Try experimenting with different places like sitting on bean bags, table-chair or making a small workspace on your bed itself. 

It’s fine if you feel more productive on the bed then table and chair. 

So, keep experimenting with places and find your corner in the house. 

But, make sure to maintain some physical space with your family so that you don’t get distracted. 

7. Take A Real Meal Break

No, scrolling through Instagram or watching TikTok videos are not what we call real breaks. You should take a “Real Break” which means no screens and taking some fresh air at every 60 to 90 minutes.

You don’t need to take long breaks of 1 hr, you can also take a walk or talk to your chill buddy for 10 to 15 mins. This will keep your brain active. 

In terms of showing, we are working sometimes we keep on working, hence make sure you’re taking healthy meal meanwhile.  

8. Schedule Atleast 1 Call/Meeting

Try to schedule at least one call or video meeting with your teammates or boss every day. This will give you the motivation to work ahead. 

Arranging a meeting a day also manages your overall daily schedule and keeps triggering your brain that you are in your office hours. 

9. Things To Avoid

Complete Openness

Maintaining a certain set of boundaries with both your teammates and our family is excessively important as this will help you in maintaining your concentration and will also make your colleagues realize that you’re not available 24X7. 

Avoid Complete Social Isolation

Try to remain yourself charged up with chatting and talking to people as complete isolation can block your brain. 

As I told earlier, keep taking breaks and utilize it in clearing your mind. 

Distractions

While working remotely it is very easy to get distracted with various things. Sometimes we also get distracted from non-work things like doing laundry or cleaning house. 

Define your weekend for such activities and try not to think about these things a lot as we do when we go to the office. 

Take Away

Working remotely has its advantages and disadvantages, hence if you have a chance to stay at home and work altogether, don’t let this opportunity go in vain. 

Try to take out the most of it as in some of the professions working from home is not possible. So, enjoy your profession, and keep working!

Originally published on ThriveGlobal