Working from home offers a lot of benefits and is a movement that is becoming more popular in the modern age.
If you work from home, then you know just how time-saving it is since you don’t have to spend hours of your life stuck in the commute to and from work. Aside from that, you get to spend more time outside of work as long as you get it done early.
Although a lot of people make careers while they work from home, sometimes it comes with the cost of productivity. There can be a lot of distractions, and you might not be able to focus because of these distractions if you’re not careful.
If you want to learn how you can be more productive even if you work from home, then here are several hacks that will help you:
Dedicate an Office Space
A lot of people who are starting out working from home make the mistake of working while they’re lying down on their beds.
This isn’t a good idea because it’s putting you in the mindset of relaxation and going to sleep. On the other hand, you will subconsciously associate your bed with work, making it difficult for you to fall asleep eventually.
Therefore, it’s best that you have a dedicated office space for when you’re in work-mode. This will help your brain shift in the right direction and will let you focus on your work more.
Declutter Ruthlessly
According to Planet Maids – a maid Service in NYC – one of the biggest distractions from your work, is a messy environment.
How many times have you found yourself procrastinating on your work and suddenly finding yourself doing a whole spring cleaning session when you should have been working?
Your mind will want to make sure everything is clean first before it starts to work. So instead of focusing on the more important work-related tasks, you will want to get up and clean the room.
Well, to help avoid this in the first place, you have to make sure that you declutter — more so in your dedicated workspace.
Make sure that you don’t leave any trash lying on your desk and that you don’t put any objects unrelated to your work on it as well.
Schedule Your Work Week
You might think that not having a schedule for your work is one of the biggest perks of working from home. Only people who are starting out have that sort of mindset.
Although you can schedule your work any time, the important part here is that you have a set schedule. If you don’t have a set schedule, you can so easily let time pass by without you lifting a single finger for your work.
Having a set schedule makes you more conscious of the time passing and will let you know what you should be working on at a set time. It can also help make you work faster since you want to stay on schedule.
Get Dressed
If you’re working while wearing sweatpants and a dirty shirt, then this will definitely not get you into the mood to work.
It’s so difficult to get into a professional mindset since you are already working in your home, plus you’re wearing clothes meant for leisure and rest.
To make you more productive, make sure that you get dressed right.
They say the clothes maketh the man, and in this case, it is applicable to you. This shows your commitment to your work.
Treat your work with some dignity by wearing proper clothing items that make you feel like a professional.
Get a Desk Plant
Although it was mentioned before how you shouldn’t have anything unrelated to work on your desk, it doesn’t mean you should not get a desk plant to accompany you.
With plants, you have a chance to improve the air quality of your area. This can help you breathe better and easier, which is helpful for your level of productivity.
Aside from that, it beautifies your desk and your surroundings, which will make you feel even better when working in that environment.
Just make sure that you take care of your plant properly. Otherwise, you might have a dried and dead plant on your desk, which isn’t very motivating, to say the least.
Keep Your Distractions Handy
Since you’re working from home, often people neglect to take breaks in between their work.
Not only is this not good for your mental health, but it can also strain your eyes if you tend to work in front of a computer for hours. Thus, you should make sure that you set a timer for when you should rest your eyes and your brain from work.
You should have a book somewhere close by or even practice a musical instrument for a couple of minutes — anything to get you disconnected from work for a little bit.
Of course, you shouldn’t do this right on your desk because that is a place for working. Also, don’t leave your phone anywhere near your desk if you have games on there because it might serve as a distraction for you instead of a way to take a break in between work.
Take Eye Breaks
The modern workplace does their jobs often around computers, which can be drying and tiring for your eyes. Therefore, you should make sure that you take eye breaks every once in a while.
You need to make sure that you look somewhere near you and then far from you so that you exercise your eyes. Close your eyes every once in a while so that your eyes get to recuperate and so that it isn’t too dry from staring at a screen all day.
During your off-days, try and do something that has nothing to do with staring at a screen close to you.
Get a Proper Seating Support
People who work from home often cite back pain as a part of the issues they encounter when they’re working.
To help you avoid this dilemma, make sure that your seating offers you the right support. You should be comfortable sitting on it, and it should be able to give support to your back when you are sitting.
Get in a Working Mindset
You shouldn’t let anyone just enter your work area because it can get you out of your working mindset very quickly. Also, don’t entertain any casual texts or chat during your working hours.
Imposing these rules ensures that you get your work is done faster, which will allow you to devote more time to do other things outside of work.
Final Thoughts
Working from home is a modern workplace answer to many of its shortcomings. However, it still comes with its own challenges. Although a lot of people who work from home are deemed to have more time in their hands, it doesn’t mean that you couldn’t find a use for these productivity hacks listed above.
