By Christopher Holland • The Current Contributing Writer
Across the world, millions of people are moving out of the office and setting up shop in their homes. In America, the cases of COVID-19 are on the rise, and it’s imperative that we all take the necessary steps to curb the virus and eventually get back to our normal, everyday activities.
While not everyone has the ability to work from home, those who do can learn to manage a routine as to retain high levels of productivity and effectively accomplish your work goals and responsibilities.
Here are a few tips that can help.
HAVE A DEDICATED HOME OFFICE
Have a dedicated space if you work from home regularly – and if you live with others, make sure this space is secluded from the rest of the apartment or house. A good desk (that isn’t full of clutter), drawers, folders, a file cabinet, a printer… even creature comforts like artwork, framed pictures, and more, help you get into the right mentality. If you Skype with colleagues, invest in a good setup. The same goes for if you’re using your phone. If using a phone, using an earpiece can enhance the experience.
STICK TO REGULAR WORKING HOURS IF YOU WORK FROM HOME
Expect to answer to regular working hours. When you work from home you often find huge pockets of time to work that are not normal working hours (mornings, nights, weekends), and it’s great to use those times. But you should still think of your “core” hours as being 9-5, M-F. By this I mean that you should think twice before you send an email at 2:00 a.m., and be available to put out fires that crop up during the normal workday, even if it interferes with your “ideal” work from home schedule.
Along these lines, limit domestic duties from 9-5. You have no idea how attractive your dirty dishes look as a procrastination tool! (Plus, you feel like you’ve accomplished something afterwards, which makes it twice as dangerous.) It could be very beneficial to use a timer or stopwatch when taking on domestic duties.
Say for example that you do have a little bit of downtime in your work, set a stopwatch for 20 minutes and use that time to throw in a load of laundry, wash a few dishes or even just take some breathes. Once the buzzer rings, back to the desk. But do not abuse this! It can help with productivity when used sparingly and wisely.
HOW TO TAKE EFFICIENT BREAKS WHEN YOU WORK FROM HOME
Take breaks differently than you did in the office. In the office, it’s easy to take a 10-minute “Internet break” during lunch or after finishing a big task — and far too often you might look up and realize an hour or more had passed.
When working from home, don’t allow yourself to take too many Internet breaks. Instead, if eating a sandwich or whatnot, sit down and watch one segment (from one commercial break to the next) of a TV show. You get a mental break, but it’s much easier to limit it in time, even though it sounds much more decadent.
CHANGE OUT OF YOUR BED CLOTHES, AND WEAR SHOES
I’m not going to say “change out of your pajamas” because one theory of working from home is that you should deliberately wear things you will not wear in the outside world, which may mean you have a set of “working pajamas” or “work yoga pants.” I usually just wear regular clothes, but I have noticed that if I’m wearing sloppy looking attire I’ll change into something a bit more casual before I leave the house, whereas if I’m wearing jeans I just leave the house as-is.
As for shoes, it’s recommended by podiatrists to wear shoes around the house, and getting “dressed to your shoes” really does make a difference in outlook. As far as makeup and jewelry, I think it really depends what you have going on — if there’s a Skype call or you’re meeting clients, you obviously want to look your best.
DISCONNECT FROM TIME-WASTERS
One of the main time-wasters of people who work from home is social media. In fact, social media distracts almost everyone, not only those who work for themselves.
When we are in front of our computer, we tend to want to check updates on Facebook or surf the web or YouTube for interesting stuff. These are fun stuff, but they did not contribute anything toward your success at all.
Hence, have the self-discipline to manage your time spent on social media. I’m not saying that you should stay away from social media all the time, however, you should disconnect yourself from these time-wasters when you are working.
Try to be in the flow and not get distracted. There are plenty of apps that you can use to block yourself from using social media during working hours.
ALLOW NATURAL SUNLIGHT AND AIRFLOW
This is something easy, but yet, it is something most people neglect and never do. It is extremely important to allow some natural sunlight exposure in your workplace.
Studies have shown that working in an environment where there is exposure to natural sunlight tend to improve your productivity.
If you don’t believe this, just try to imagine yourself working in a cubicle and windowless environment that has no natural sunlight at all. How do you feel?
The same goes for natural airflow. Most workplaces are air-conditioned these days. If you are working from your home, you should have no problem switching off the air-conditioner to allow natural airflow from time to time.
Try using these tips to work more effectively from home. You might just be surprised at what you’re able to achieve!
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