The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many people to transition from working in an office to working from home. While this change has advantages, such as increased flexibility and reduced commuting time, it can also pose challenges to productivity. Without the structure and accountability of a physical office, it can be difficult to stay focused and motivated. In this context, learning to stay productive while working from home has become more important than ever. This topic covers various strategies and tips to help individuals maintain their productivity and achieve their work goals while working remotely.
1. Work Out a Schedule With Your Family
Sometimes, your school-aged children are home during the work week. Caring for kids can make the struggle to stay productive even more difficult for parents who need to work while home.
If you find yourself in this scenario, it’s important to establish a clear schedule for the entire family. Consider how you might coordinate your schedules to accommodate the need for child care – perhaps one spouse works in the mornings while the other works a later day shift. Or, you might consider waking up an hour earlier to have more time to get work done while the house is quiet. This could help alleviate some of your workloads later on.
2. Designate Your Workspace
Though it certainly can be tempting to work from your bed or couch, try to set up something more official. Maybe it’s a makeshift workspace in the dining room, or perhaps you have an actual desk or office space in your home. Ideally, your workspace should have a door, so you can shut out any distractions, and it should be stocked with all the supplies and equipment you may need close at hand, such as a computer, printer, paper, headphones, etc. You’ll want to avoid getting up repeatedly to retrieve things you might need, as this will only reduce your productivity.
3. Get Up Early – and Dive Right In
It can be tempting to want to sleep in when you know you don’t have to rush out the door to get to the office. But, if you’re having difficulty staying productive, sometimes getting up early is a good strategy. Set the alarm for an hour before your spouse or kids wake up. Make yourself a cup of your favorite morning beverage and dig into your emails or one of your heavier assignments. You’ll be surprised at how much you can get done when the house is quiet.
4. Take Breaks
You can only work for so long. If you really want to be productive, consider taking regular breaks and giving your mind (and body) time to recharge. Take at least a few minutes to stand, refill your water, or pet your dog every hour or so.
A few times a day, take longer breaks to interact with others, too. Spend 20 minutes playing with the kids, take a walk with your partner or pet, or talk to your parents to see how they’re doing. Take your mind off work for a bit to help yourself recharge.
5. Eliminate the Digital Distractions
You probably don’t check social media very much at work, but it is often fair game at home. Unfortunately, it’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole. One peek at a post’s comments and, before you know it, you’ve lost an hour of work time.
To keep these digital distractions from getting the best of you, do what you can to eliminate them entirely. Remove social platforms from your bookmarks and log out of all your accounts. Disable alerts and notifications and put your phone in the bedroom when you’re trying to work. Save social media apps for the evening once you’ve logged out of work for the day.
6. Set Times for Checking Email
Unless your work requires you to be on email 24/7, designate times when you’ll check it. Any new message can be a distraction if your inbox is constantly up and in view. It can take you away from your task, disrupt your focus and extend the time it takes to accomplish your to-do’s. Tending to email may be more efficient when done in chunks.
7. Make a To-Do List Every Day
Keep yourself accountable with a daily to-do list. At the end of each workday, jot down a task list for the next day, detailing what you need to get done and by what time. You should also include any meetings or calls you’re participating in. The goal is to pull up that list as soon as you log on the next morning to help you get off to a good start.
8. Multitask While You Can
You’ll have other tasks to tend to throughout the day when working from home. You might have to feed and walk the dog, do dishes, run laundry, etc. To keep on top of these, find opportunities to multitask.
Need to get up and refill your coffee? Turn on the automatic vacuum cleaner on your way. Heading to the kitchen? Run a load of laundry before you settle back in. Work on those smaller tasks where you can.
9. Try Meal Prepping
There are no more vending machines around the corner, and you can’t just walk down the street for a quick lunch with co-workers. When working from home, mealtime responsibilities may fall on your shoulders (and maybe those of your kids and spouse, too).
Meal prepping is a great way to keep all that cooking from bogging you down. On Sundays, make a few meals in bulk and portion them into food storage containers. This can help you from having to stop working and make on-demand meals throughout the week. This works well when you have a lot of people living in the house because not everyone is hungry at the same time. This provides options for people to eat when they’re ready.
10. Have Office Hours, if Possible
If your employer will let you, set specific hours for when you’ll be available ‒ by phone, email or online and working. Getting your professional work done is important, but having time to wind down, enjoy your loved ones and just relax is critical. Make sure you’re setting reasonable boundaries on both a professional front and a personal one.
Summary
This article provides ten tips for being productive while working from home, especially when caring for school-aged children. The tips include setting a schedule, designating a workspace, getting up early, taking breaks, eliminating digital distractions, putting times for checking email, making a to-do list every day, multitasking where possible, trying meal prepping, and having office hours if possible. By implementing these tips, individuals working from home can improve their productivity and balance their professional and personal lives effectively.
