If you work from home or work in a hybrid work environment, you know that it’s different from working in the office. While there are lots of benefits, there are also drawbacks, and you might find it tricky to maintain productivity and structure.
Our top 10 work from home productivity tips will help you improve your focus, and reveal ways to be successful and work from home effectively. No matter if this is your first work from home experience or you are a seasoned pro, let’s focus and get our home office set up to perfection.
Our top 10 work from home productivity tips:
1. Manage your time each day by creating a schedule
One of the best ways to be successful with time management is by creating a schedule with tasks that you will need to complete each day. This benefits your work as well as positively impacts your mental health and wellbeing. When creating your daily schedule include break times so that you have time to focus on both your wellbeing and your work schedule.
To get you into the right headspace for work, why not try:
- Scheduling your breaks for the day first – so you have things to look forward to!
- Planning a home workout session or a walk – to get your body and mind in the right place
- Taking 10 minutes to be mindful – apps such as Calm and Headspace can really help
2. Work from home effectively using daily tasks
When you have lots on, whether you’re at home or in the office, it can feel overwhelming and difficult to start on tasks. At home without your team around you to check-in, the effects can be even more dramatic on your productivity, and make you feel like you’ll never finish that to-do list.
There are lots of tools that can help and one of the key ways to be successful with time management is to break up big projects into manageable, daily tasks. You can then schedule these tasks throughout your day to keep you on track and motivated.
Be kind to yourself – no one can be on for 8 hours straight and it can be easy to skip breaks when you’re home without your colleagues to take a break with!
3. Try to minimise home life distractions to increase productivity levels
For many people, working from home has been proven to result in increased productivity levels. There are however a few home life distractions that could impact your level of concentration and cause you to lose focus on your tasks ahead.
A few simple ways to minimise home life distractions include:
- Clearly communicating with other members of your household when taking a work call or meeting
- Sticking to your daily schedule and planned tasks to protect dedicated moments of focus
- Setting alarms or reminders to alert you of important deadlines
4. Catch up with colleagues about things outside of work
While there are many positives to working from home, one of the cons is that people often miss having regular communication with other members of a team. While we tend to be good at checking up on projects and progress virtually, it can be easy to lose the personal elements of conversations in the office and checking in with your team members about their lives and how they’re feeling.
You may find that you feel slightly detached working alone at home and miss that social interaction with others in an office environment. It’s important to maintain regular online meetings and schedule work calls during the day in order to have that interaction. Another great way is to schedule meetings in person with clients so you can enjoy seeing a friendly face which will make an enormous difference.
5. Create a dedicated home workspace
Having a dedicated workspace set up at your home is not only good for your mental health and wellbeing but has been proven to help improve working from home productivity.
A key factor to keep in mind is to not create a workspace too close to your bed or sofa as this may make you feel unmotivated or even sluggish. By creating a home workspace that’s solely dedicated to your work it will result in improved efficiency, concentration and motivation when completing daily tasks.
6. Work from home productively using scheduled breaks
One of the best ways of ensuring you stay motivated and productive while working from home is by giving yourself regular breaks. It’s crucial to give your mind and body the freedom to relax, stretch and move around for a bit.
Some ideas for breaks that we find increase our working from home productivity are:
- Taking that ‘coffee break’ away from the desk
- Taking the time to catch up with people outside of work
- Scheduling an afternoon mindfulness session which can help calm your mind
7. Build movement in your day
One of the best ways of ensuring you look after your mental health is by allocating time for exercise or making sure you are not stuck in one position all day. Exercise has been known to help reduce levels of stress and uplift your mood, and stimulate your brain function. if working out daily might not be your cup of tea, take a walk, consider yoga or simply do some stretches away from your dedicated workspace can really help you take a needed break.
8. It’s important to keep your mind active
Don’t forget about learning development during working from home. If appropriate for your work, set time aside for learnning to challenge your mind. It’s a great way to maintain mental sharpness and boost your working from home productivity levels.
You could also try out a course on LinkedIn Learning or platforms like Coursera and Udemy . You could also use the time to build your skillset and get new ideas for your role.
9. Stay connected with friends and family
Social interaction is key for your overall health and wellbeing and has been known to improve your mood and productivity levels. We recommend seeking out social interaction with friends, family members and colleagues throughout the day when working from home.
Apps such as Microsoft Teams, Slack and even Google Hangouts are great ways to connect with others for both work and non-work-related conversations. Try planning chats for times you’ve decided you’ll take a break throughout the working day – or even to keep you company on a walk!
10. Balance your work life and personal life by creating routine
Working from work requires focus and dedication in order to remain productive. A great way to ensure your productivity levels remain high is through establishing a routine that works well for you. This might be different to the ones we outline here – and that’s OK! Take some time to think about when and how you work best, and try not to overload your schedule with too many work tasks. No one can be on 8 hours a day every day, and you may find yourself struggling for motivation and even burning out if you try to take on too much. By having a daily routine in place, you are able to balance your work life and your personal life and ensure you’re happy and healthy as a result.
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