5 Powerful Productivity Tips While Working From Home

Working from the comfort of your living room has been a luxury for many people, and it seemed to be the best way of getting things done.

Not having to waste time commuting to the office, and probably getting caught in the everyday traffic, working while wearing sweatpants and T-shirts, and having family members around are some of the advantages we have long assumed to accompany this way of working.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has seen the largest number of remote workers than it ever had.

No matter if you have welcomed this change of habits or accepted it by necessity, you may be facing new challenges in working from home.

 

Productivity Tips While Working From Home

Staying productive alongside maintaining a proper balance between work and non-work tasks is the foremost hurdle to overcome for many employees.

If you have been experiencing the same problems, here is the right place. In the next paragraphs, we will be talking about the global shift to working from home and the way you can maintain your productivity at home.

 

Remote Work, the New Game-changer Trend

With the global spread of internet and cloud-based services, remote working has been the subject of debate for many businesses over the past few years.

Although some business owners have made remote job positions available in their organizations, most managers prefer to have their employees in the office. However, things have changed since the COVID-19 emerged and affected businesses all over the world.

Many managers have no other option but to embrace empty office desks and use online tools to keep in touch with their employees working from home.

Many of those who were not very in favor of working from home have now found it a blessing in disguise. COVID-19 hit many businesses fast and hard.

The current unstable situation is attracting more managers towards the availability of remote jobs, and nobody knows when everything gets back to normal. Apparently, this virus has reshaped the future of work, and it seems that new workspace are not too far from happening in the post-COVID-19 world.

The study done by the SHRM and Oxford Economics shows that 64% of employees are now  working from home.

It proves that teleworking is on the way of becoming recognized as a reliable alternative to location-based types of job positions, as big companies such as Twitter are making easier for their employees to work from home.

The general idea that once considered remote working as a luxury feature is now transforming to accept it with the same level of effectiveness and reliability as office-based roles have.

We are on the verge of rising shared workplaces and offices that provide people with the capability of working together while being physically apart.

With all that in mind, how beneficial would it be for employers to have remote employees?

 

Advantages of Working From Home

Many businesses welcomed the idea of remote working, or simply working from home, even before the global conditions caused by Corona virus spread.

Statistics show that the total number of remote workers across Europe has increased from 7.7  percent to 9.8 percent over the last decade.

Many companies have been offering full-time or part-time remote positions from before this global crisis. The following advantages are what this work culture brings to business owners in various industries.

 

Increased Productivity & Engagement

There’s an idea among employers that has existed for so many years: “will my employees be working if I don’t see them every day? And what can we do for maintaining their productivity?” Trusting people to work from anywhere they want is the key to successful remote job results.

Many well-known research institutes, including Harvard University and Global Workplace Analytics, have done in-depth studies regarding working from home, and the results show an average of 35-40% increase in the productivity of employees compared to their office-based counterparts.

Another research done by Stanford University showed similar outcomes. They separated 500 employees into traditional and remote working groups and studied them for two years.

The outcomes not only resulted in boosted productivity compared to the regular full-day works but also a decrease in employee attrition as much as 50%.

 

Better Balance In Life

Not long ago, working remotely could happen once in a blue moon due to the lack of proper infrastructures and technologies. As the digital world flourished, came the rise of new problems, and among them, the inappropriate balance between work and life was the most highlighted one.

Therefore, this balance has been of high importance for so many people, and working from home can give them what they want in this regard.

Without having to spend long hours on commuting, they can benefit from the added hours and spend them on other activities they favor. This way, they feel happier, which in turn increases their effectiveness and productivity in the company and also their eagerness to perform tasks more efficiently.

It likewise gives them more freedom. Consider the regular workers who have to submit requests for some time off work to visit family members in other cities, attend reunions, or celebrations.

An employee who is working from home has no problem since he can check in whenever required, no matter where he is located at that moment.

Employee well-being is another benefit accompanying working from home. With no long hours wasted in traffic, no rushes for lunch, and not being away from the loved ones for so many hours during a day, their health and wellness gets improved.

The less stressed people feel to be, the better job we can expect them to do which can in turn increase productivity.

 

Money-Saving & Competitive Approach For Companies

Apart from the benefits an employee receives by working from home, the organizations can also save money by omitting some regular expenses.

With fewer people in the office, managers can condense their spaces and resume their activities in a smaller area. Doing so can save a considerable amount of money per employee for space rents and also other expenses such as utilities.

Furthermore, when candidates see that an employer cares about personal recognition and allows them to work remotely, their interest in that job position increases.

After all, it’s the people who can drive a company towards success by shaping future products and increasing the overall efficiency and productivity.

The competition in the market is high nowadays, and remote job availability is a key differentiator in attracting and retaining top talents in industries.

So yes, the truth is that remote workers can bring more productivity and engagement to their companies and, consequently, make them more successful.

The widely-accepted studies are proving this fact to a growing number of business owners, and it is going to be a new normal for many of them in the near future.

 

How To Avoid Losing Productivity While Working From Home?

Considering the current work condition around the globe, we should all do our best to keep ourselves motivated and increase productivity while doing the tasks from home.

The most significant problem many remote workers experiences that hamper their work is the existence of so many distractions at home. Let it be a one-day remote job or a permanent one; you want to have plans for it.

Here is a list of effective practices to help you maintain your productivity while working from home.

 

Trigger Your Mind For Work

In normal conditions, we get up early and get out of the house to reach our desk and roll up our sleeves for new challenges on that day.

This process in the early morning automatically signals our brain to be ready for work. But, it is not the case for remote working since the working space is just a few steps further from our pillow.

How should we fill this gap? Many teleworking fantasies have always told us that working from home means sleeping longer hours in the morning and even completing tasks from the bed.

That’s not going to work for us at all! Like it or not, we need to create triggers that tell our mind it is the beginning of a new working day.

Take a quick shower, do some exercise, make coffee, read the news, or even change your clothes before embarking on your new tasks. The point is that you start your day with a calm and fresh mind.

Staying home around the clock drives many people up a wall, which in turn lowers their energy and focus. Now that you don’t leave your house for the office, go for a walk in the morning to get fresh air.

Another great asset to maintain your productivity is preparing a to-do list in the early morning. Starting a project in the morning can help you considerably in the prevention of losing motivation and sticking to the plan throughout the day.

Your list should be written with both long-term and short-term goals in mind so that when you check the smaller goals off the list, you feel more motivated to keep going forward.

 

Separate Your Work & Free Times

Working from home with your family members around can make things a bit difficult to put boundaries between the working hours and time offs.

Put yourself straight on the time you have to work every day, and don’t let it take up your free time as well. Luckily, choosing these hours is up to you since you are a remote worker.

If you are a morning person, set your working times in that early hours so that you have higher levels of productivity to make things done perfectly.

The flexibility of remote working is a valuable benefit, but it can also make everything more difficult for you if you get easily distracted.

If you need to run errands, do homeschooling for your children, and so on, divide the daily working hours into multiple blocks and do other tasks outside of those time blocks.

Having a checklist can help you with this problem as well. Dedicate a time block for the tasks you have for that day and avoid distractions during those hours.

 

Make a Special Place For Work

Working from home is often pictured by a happy person lying on a sofa or next to a pool, drinking a cup of coffee or orange juice, and making thousands of dollars every hour with that smile on the face!

We all need to come down to earth and know that no remote worker can gain that much of productivity in that way.

You are going to spend long hours every day doing your job, and that is not possible unless you have a proper setup for this purpose.

Try to dedicate a room or at least a corner of a table for spending the blocks of time dedicated to working. Doing the job in front of the TV or like the siting-by-the-pool fantasy makes so many distractions.

In other words, spaces that are in a way associated with leisure time activities are not proper for working from home.

Your small home office should have all you may need during the working hours. Choosing a place with good lighting and spending money on a comfortable chair and table can assist you in maintaining productivity during those hours.

Just try to find out about your standards and adapt your setup based on what suits you the best.

 

Check-In With a Friend

Despite the better experience and productivity, you can have without those chatty coworkers around, not having these interactions alleviates loneliness and sad feeling for you.

The effects of working from home for extended periods should not be ignored. Now that you can’t meet people in person, why don’t you try it online?

Find that colleague with whom you can chat when you feel the need for that social gap. It is best recommended to keep in touch with someone who is experiencing remote working like you, and instead of always just sending texts, try to get online on video calls, too.

You can both share your tasks and reminders and get each other off the distractions around the house.

Try to check in what you have to do early in the morning, repeat it during the day as you progress, and inform each other about the results at the end of each workday.

 

Take Enough Care Of Yourself

Your well-being is your top priority. Finish off the job at a specific time and take advantage of the rest of your day for your health and activities.

Set enough and appropriate times for eating breakfast and lunch so that you won’t start thinking about them just when the hunger kicks in. It’s a no-brainer that eating and drinking fast causes severe problems for your body in the long run.

Now that you don’t have to spend your precious time on time-wasting commutes, you can enjoy the extra hour or two and spend it in a way that increases your energy level and productivity.

You should invest it in an activity that gives you a good feeling or indulge in your hobbies, but not to work longer hours if possible.

 

Summary

If you are among the individuals who have just started working from home and are still a bit wet behind the ears, you will find it a ground-breaking experience in the beginning.

However, after spending a few weeks working this way, you may start facing difficulties maintaining productivity and focus throughout the day.

What we went through in this article can give you a hand in managing your remote working experience more competently and end up embracing the changes much more effortlessly.

Next time you start feeling frustrated, have a quick look at this list and opt for changes in habits where necessary.