If you think about how many hours a week we spend on the road to and from work, it becomes scary. What an inefficient waste of time! In this regard, working from home has a great advantage - you have time to do more, because you don’t have to go anywhere.
True, at home it is more difficult to concentrate on tasks and be productive. Here the neighbors are drilling, there the child is screaming, the bed or sofa is beckoning - in a word, the atmosphere does not set you up for work.
Dress like you're in the office
The first thought of those who start working from home: “I will work in pajamas!”. But that’s not the way to do it—according to a Northwestern University study, clothing associations affect productivity.
Our brain divides clothes into business and leisure. When you put on clothes, the brain reacts to this with the appropriate association: pajamas - you can relax, a business suit - focus on work, a Batman suit - save the city from crime. Some even advise wearing shoes at home - they say that you won’t relax much in shoes.
Get up early
If you think that it will be possible to get up at home 5 minutes before the start of the working day, I have bad news for you - the brain needs time to tune in to a productive way. So imagine that you are going to the office - get up early, take a shower, do your morning chores, have breakfast, etc.
Get rid of distractions
A lawnmower outside the window, a blender in the kitchen, loud neighbors - they all have a bad effect on your ability to concentrate. Work behind a closed door, periodically close the window (or periodically open it - as you like) and be sure to talk with your neighbors (both in the apartment and in the house) about personal space and silence. It is more difficult when the neighbors are your little children, but there is a way out for this case too.
Do exercises
When you work from home, most of your physical activity is traveling to the kitchen or to the bathroom. Meanwhile, scientists at the University of California have proven that sport keeps the body in good shape, increases attention, improves memory and slows down the aging of the body. So you have to do something else besides walking around the house. If there is no time for going to the gym, evening or morning runs, limit yourself to twenty minutes of exercise in the morning. Well, no one canceled small breaks during the day to warm up.
Watch your sleep pattern
Your sleep directly affects productivity - if you sleep little, concentration decreases, lethargy, anxiety and stress levels increase. When you sleep 7–8 hours, go to bed and wake up at the same time, your mood and well-being improve, stress resistance increases, etc.
Make a schedule
Schedule all activities on a calendar. In Google Calendar, Apple calendar or Outlook, in paper - it doesn't matter. If you work from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with an hour break for lunch, if you train or have children and want to spend time with them, select appropriate blocks in the calendar for all this. If you let the calendar determine what you will do at any given time, you will have less burden on your brain with various decisions.
Don't eat at work
Allocating time on the calendar for lunch is not enough - you also need to eat in a specially designated place - in the kitchen. In short, everything, no pasta at the computer. In order for the brain to also rest while you eat, it is advisable not to watch TV shows and videos on YouTube. But this is already an increased level of complexity.
Participate in meetings
Make it a habit with your team to have regular meetings at the beginning of the work week. You will track successes and failures, as well as set goals for the next one, which motivates you to work. In addition, phone calls help to keep in touch with the team - this is generally bad at a distance.
Fix the time
When you are immersed in a task, you do not notice how time passes. And then there is a feeling that you spent it in the wrong place - if you worked faster, you would have done more.
To spend time efficiently (or at least not worry about it), write down the time you spend on each task. You can use time trackers or a watch and notepad if you are an Old Believer.
Set up a social media blocker
Social networks are a black hole that indifferently eats up your time. Here you look at Instagram and scroll through funny pictures, here on Twitter you read the latest news, here on TikTok you watch one video after another like a zombie. Bang! There was no time for your time.
To avoid a fleeting urge to take your mind off social media work, install a program that restricts access to social media and other entertainment sites during work hours. Memes will wait until the evening.
Work in a separate browser
The boundaries between work and personal life should also be drawn at the browser level. For work, it is better to choose a separate one so that personal tabs, such as “watch a movie online for free without registration and SMS”, do not distract you.
Make a checklist for the day
A daily to-do list will help you focus on the essentials and not be distracted by unnecessary tasks. Set yourself a goal at the beginning of the day, make a list of tasks and move forward step by step, task by task. Having a goal and a checklist will increase the likelihood of success because you will be motivated to work productively to tick more boxes.
Surround yourself with nature
You are a living being and you need nature. Flowers and greenery have a beneficial effect on the human body, reducing stress levels, improving mood and increasing productivity. Open the curtains more often, air out the room, buy more flowers, and go outside regularly, even if only for 15 minutes, all this will help you feel better.
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