Work from home tips to increase productivity

WORK FROM HOME TIPS TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY

The coronavirus pandemic is making us go through some difficult times. Having little or no social interactions, facing massive losses of lives, and so much more. Now ironically, the most difficulty we’re facing is working from home. Now I say ironic because working from home was like a dream to most people, but now that is part of our present reality, most of us can agree it’s anything but a dream. Here is a list that is going to make the process of working from home a whole lot easier for you:

 The ‘pretend you’re still at work’ stage;

1. Set up a morning alarm and wake up as you usually do: now one of the hardest things to do once you start working from home is to maintain the schedule that you use to follow.
2. Take a shower before getting started with work: now this step has two advantages. 1) It keeps you up with your normal schedule and 2) it freshens you up.
3. Get dressed like you’re going to the office: now this step is more psychological. In a way you’re tricking your mind to thinking it’s still following the usual routine. If you think completely dressing up is too much effort, you could just dress up your top half, in that way you can look presentable in your as many zoom calls.
4. Don’t start work immediately: now this ties back to all the points I mentioned earlier. Without the routine, it’s possible that over the span of the day, you’ll lose interest in work and end up not being productive at all.
5. Communicate expectations with everyone at home: now most of us have families with us at home. It is really important for them to know that even if you’re at home, you’re working from home.
6. Keep your phone in a different room or on silent: now this one is self-explanatory and I don’t have to explain why this is really important.
7. Follow your work routine like nothing’s changed: this one is probably the most important, so on a normal day if you start up by checking your email, I suggest you do the same from home as well.

Now let’s talk about your workspace;

1. Create a workspace for yourself at home: a place where you can get your work done without any distractions.
2. Keep this workspace for work only: in this workspace, you need to make sure that only work is done nothing else.
3. Avoid having food in this area: by physically going to another place to have food, you’re subconsciously cementing the fact that your workplace is for work only.
4. Make sure this workspace is comfortable: just make sure that you’re not fed up with the place after being there for a long period of time. As you know, all work and no play makes jack a dull boy.

So let’s talk about taking a break;

1. Take at least 10 minutes off for yourself every 2 hours: it is very easy to get lost in work and forget to give yourself some rest. Remind yourself to rest every now and then to ensure you keep yourself refreshed.
2. Spend some time on YouTube: allow yourself to explore things that catches your fancy on YouTube. Be it songs, hilarious videos or classic cartoons.
3. Spend some time on social media: get in touch with friends through video calls, instant messages or anything that works for you.
4. Take some time off for food: make sure you reenergize by eating well and taking regular tea breaks to keep you refreshed.
5. Communicate with some real people at home: it is important that you have some real interaction with people during this period of time. Talk to your family, check in on them and get the conversation going.

And finally, the end of day:

1. Log off and try to stay logged off: Once you’re done try to make sure you switch off from work for the day unless there’s an emergency at hand

I hope you found this informative and helpful. Don’t forget to sanitize and stay safe.