The current pandemic coronavirus has locked the entire country inside the home. We are disconnected from the rest of the world, but committed to working for the office to meet the deadlines. Working from home is tough to play when compared to work from the office. The same task at home takes double the time of the office. Is it a case of you as well? Of course, you are not alone, with many distractions and deviations at home, many people are spending more time completing their job at home than that of the office. Here are a few ways listed out to help you stay more productive when you work from home.
The professional working environment is what many people look for in increased productivity. Even raising a number of freelancers to look for professional working space, so they choose to go for coworking spaces over work from home options.
7 ways to stay more productive when you work from home
- Create a professional work environment at home
- Have clearly defined work hours
- Keep away from distractions
- Get Organized
- Incorporate the best technology
- Communicate
- Cracking Productivity
Create a professional work environment at home
Though it sounds vague, it helps you stay more productive. The workplace should be just a room behind closed doors, and it should be free from distractions like the fridge, bed that tempts you for sleep and avoid children roaming around if possible. Also, set up an ergonomic work chair and table rather than a sofa that triggers backache working for long hours.
Have clearly defined work hours
Though you are ought to work from home during these pandemic times, you should clearly define your working hours at home and stick to them. This will get you most of the work done and have time for your family too. It will be easy for you to make a transition when the offices are open again. If you are handling a collaborative role in the office, sticking to the work timings of your coworkers will make the job easy for you. On the whole, you should have control over the work environment and treat yourself as an employee though you work staying at home. Communicate with your family or with the people you live with to cut the boundaries during the working hours so that you can be more productive.
Keep away from distractions
Distractions are the most possible cause of low productivity while you work from home. It is quite a bit tough for the people who are not used to it. You have to bear with the usual after office circumstances while you work now. It is human to get carried by distractions while you work. It is okay to take short breaks from the work as you do in the office but, don’t get it the big household works that make you lose sustained focus on the work. During these pandemic times, news can be the biggest source of distraction. Though it is good to stay informed, scrolling too much into the news can throw you into an anxious mess. Have a scheduled and planned break so that you don’t get immersed in the things forgetting the work completely.
Get Organized
There are certain things at your workstation to enable you to do things right. Have these things like place pens, notepads, laptop charges, and phones in place so that you don’t have to get out of the work all the time to get the needed things. You can also plan to invest in noise cancellation headphones. Figure out who will take care of the children during work hours as they too will stay home if both husband and wife are working from home.
Also Read: Why women should use Coworking Space not Work From Home
Incorporate the best technology
As you need to communicate with peers regularly, ensure you have the best technology in a place like well connected Wi-fi, the best technology to communicate with each other like hangout video calls and voice calls. There are many work organizing tools and project management tools you can take help from to be productive while you work from home.
Communicate
Communication is vital for being productive while you work. If you are in a managerial position, keep motivating the team by giving performance feedback from time to time. If possible, give adequate face time for the team member to clarify and guide them on anything related to the completion of the job task for the day. Even the employees of the organization also should prefer going for voice or video calls with the team members or lead instead of mails to let them know you are taking work from home seriously. The manager should indulge in sharing more information with the team ye than regularly and provide the technology needed.
Cracking Productivity
Cracking productivity while you work from home is the biggest challenge. Don’t expect to achieve this on the very first day. Take time to settle down, especially when you are not used to it. Schedule the tough tasks in the mornings and handle the calls in the afternoon to make things easy for you.
