How to be more productive when working from home

Working from home has its benefits for sure – I do that all the time, but since many of us now have no choice but to ‘stay at home’ due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic – I wanted to share my top tips to make the most of your day working from home while remaining productive.

Never work from your bedroom

I don’t always keep to this rule, to be honest. My ‘office’ space is in the corner of the bedroom (with two little ones running about the house – it’s my quiet space to get work done). If you have another space in your house you can use, you definitely should.

Don’t try to work while distracted

Successfully working from home is to pretend like you’re in an office. If you were working on a clock, there is no way you’d have time for cleaning or doing the dishes. Don’t work when you’re distracted or tempted—that means don’t work with a TV, so if the dirty dishes are calling your name, don’t listen! Have your chores completed before you start working and save time for Netflix binging after the day is over.

Set boundaries at home

It can be challenging to work from home with friends, colleagues, or families. When a visitor sees you on your computer, they may not notice you’re working. This is particularly true if the person has never worked from home before.

You must set boundaries with people around you. Tell them that you’ll be working during certain hours and you’ll not like to be interrupted, except it is an emergency. If you have to put a sign on your door, do so. You need little or no interruptions to staying productive while working from home.

Breaks Help you Relieve Stress

You have to take about 15 minutes to break every 75 to 90 minutes. Ideally, your break will be free of screens, and you should get some fresh air. Go out, talk to a friend, or play with a pet. If you go away from your desk and screen all day, you will find that you are much more productive.

Social Isolate but not Totally

You may feel more productive when you’re alone—while working at home. It means you work best without many people around you. But that is not to say you don’t love coworkers and interacting with others every day in your real life. A lack of socialization is one of the most frustrating issues about working from home.

Some office environments can be very distracting. But there’s nothing like having coworkers around that you love to work with. Create time to connect with other people. It could be FaceTiming your wife or putting in place a dinner plan with a friend. It works perfectly for your sanity.

---

Nobody knows your home environment more than you do. Create a seamless work environment in your home and take your productivity to an unprecedented height.