Six ways to boost work-from-home productivity

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of work places have opted for a new normal — working from home. As convenient as this may seem, there are problems of distractions and less accountability compared to when you’re working in an office. These issues could consequently make you become less productive.

Here are six ways you can improve your level of productivity while working from home.

Create a to-do list for each day

Creating a to-do list basically helps you stay organised. There’s every possibility that you’ll not get much done if you start your day without a plan. So before the start of each working day, be sure to make a list of all you need to achieve and set a time limit to get everything done. While working, tick each task off your list as you complete them. The satisfaction from ticking tasks off your list can also give you more motivation to work.

Dress up for work

Thinking of working in loungewear as usual? Think again. Have you ever noticed that you feel more energetic when you’re all dressed up? Well that’s because the mind has a way of conditioning our mood to how we’re dressed. Wearing lounge wear and pajamas may be more comfortable, but they might make you feel sluggish and unmotivated.

Dressing up doesn’t necessarily mean wearing a suit and tie, you simply need to look ready enough to take an impromptu video call with your boss. News flash — taking a bath and brushing your teeth also counts as dressing up. No one is probably going to see how you look but it’s going to help put you in work mode. So get up, dress up, and get to work!

Keep contact with your team members

Keeping in touch with your colleagues can positively affect your productivity as you’ll be constantly reminded of work. Sharing your work progress and difficulties with your colleagues for feedback will help keep you in the work spirit throughout your working hours. Video calls may not always be comfortable to have with your colleagues but you can always keep in touch via email, texting and messaging apps.

Take small breaks in between work

Researchers have found that workers who take regular breaks in between work are more productive than those who don’t. It might seem like a good idea to work without a break because you’ll get more work done, right? Wrong! When you exert your brain without resting, you tend to get burnt out after a while. Consequently, the quality of your work reduces. The whole point of being productive is to get a lot of ‘quality’ work done after all.

If you have trouble sticking to time limits for your break, here’s a tip: set an alarm for yourself.

Create the perfect home office set up

Again, this is just to help you get into work mode. It might seem like a great idea to work from your bed or couch, but this could easily affect your productivity as your brain associates these places with sleep and relaxation.

In order to be productive while working from home, try to create a space in your home that you’ll use strictly for work. That way, each time you go to your workspace, your brain knows it’s time for work.

Get rid of distractions 

Since you’re home, there are bound to be a ton of distractions. You know the things that easily get you distracted and one popular culprit is social media. Except your work involves using social media, put away your phone for the period of time you’ll be working. If you get easily distracted by the scenery outside, choose your workspace away from windows.