How To Stay Productive When Working From Home
Whether you’re a freelancer who makes their own hours, you work remotely for a company, or you have the option to occasionally take your office job’s work home, you might initially be excited to be able to work from the comfort of your home. That said, you may find that your productivity struggles when you work from home and you aren’t getting as much done as you would like! Fortunately, we have some tips to help you stay focused and meet the goals that you set for yourself.
Set Time Goals
Many people struggle to feel focused when they are working from home. One reason for this is that they don’t feel an appropriate sense of urgency to complete their tasks while they’re at home. It can be very easy to get distracted at home; maybe your mom calls you or your friend sends you a viral video and you end up looking away from your work.
One of the best ways to avoid this is to set time goals for yourself. Just like you would with a traditional job, set aside time for you to “clock in” and “clock out” with designated time for you to give yourself a lunch break. Setting these time goals both gives you a low stress deadline to accomplish tasks and also can help keep you from feeling like you’re spending all of your day at work. Once your designated end time rolls around, you can put your work away, just like if you’d left a traditional office.
Dress For Success
It can be very tempting to not bother getting dressed for the day when you’re working from home. You might figure that if you aren’t going to be seeing anyone, you might as well stay in your pajamas. Avoid this temptation; changing into fresh, clean clothes can help you feel more like you’re at work. That isn’t to say you have to pull out business casual office wear for a day where you won’t see any co-workers or clients, but just putting on jeans and a shirt that you didn’t sleep in can help you feel like you’re working. And bonus: if you need to video call a client or co-worker, you won’t have to scramble to change out of your loungewear!
Use Designated Space
While working from the comfort of your couch or your bed sounds appealing, you are likely to get much more work done if you move to a designated space in your home that you have set aside for work. Sitting down at your home office is the ideal way to make you feel like you’re at work and not just spending the day at home. This will also positively impact your leisure time, as you won’t start to associate your comfortable couch or bed with work. If you don’t have the space for a home office or a desk, the kitchen table can also be an appropriate choice. If you live in a small home and have no place to work that isn’t your couch or bed, try to adjust your posture by sitting up straight to help your focus.
Hold Yourself Accountable
If you’re struggling with your productivity, one of the best things that you can do is to set achievable goals for yourself every day. Having a planner in which you write down every day’s work goals can be a great way to improve focus and you’ll enjoy the satisfaction of being able to cross off your accomplishments!
Oat Productivity has great, attractive options that are designed to keep you focused on your goals and anxiety-free. These planners have space for you to keep track of your professional and personal goals over time in addition to being able to track your habits. Enjoy being able to check off your accomplishments and know that you have given every work day your best work!