The pandemic forced many companies to continue operations remotely, which introduced many employees to the world of working at home. As business reopens three months later, some companies are maintaining their remote work operations for the time being.
For employees, this means more weeks of the difficult balancing act of working at home with family and other distractions present. If you have struggled with being productive at work the entire lockdown period, the tips below will help you get in line.
Set a time during the day for work, as you would for a normal office workday
If there is one thing all work-at-home employees can agree with is working from home is only effective with proper scheduling. As newbies have seen during the coronavirus lockdown, it is almost impossible at first to avoid mixing work duties with home activities such as chores or bingeing Netflix.
But with good scheduling, good results are possible. Start by setting a specific number of hours during the day as work hours, preferably in sync with the usual workday hours. Next, make sure you maintain these hours and avoid non-work distractions throughout their course.
You can also make your work-at-home scheduling easier and safer with anti-microbial mousepads, cool blue light glasses and other useful tools from Empire Promos. Their website also has good deals on sanitizer, gloves and other essentials for your household in the COVID-19 era, all of them very affordable.
Dedicate a room or space at home as your no-games home office
What if you cannot access your cubicle or desk at work? You can always create a new one at home and be just as effective. To ensure productivity, dedicate a space, desk or room in your house as your workspace and demarcate it as such.
Make sure your family or living partners understand its new role and what it entails, which means that it will be your sacred space that they cannot enter. Remember to keep it clean and clutter-free and use it for its purposes only.
Schedule timed breaks between work hours and keep true to the schedule
Productivity is best achieved when work is done according to time schedules and with goals being set. While working at home, guarantee productivity by scheduling your workday into work and break times at regular intervals.
Insert a rest interval between every few work hours to allow your brain to recoup. Studies have shown that these breaks are good for both your work abilities and general health.
The 80/20 work/rest rule works just as well at home as it does in the office, so you can employ it. Remember to use your rest intervals for proper resting too.
Start the day with some exercises
Unlike office workdays, which start early with a rush to work that might include a stint in traffic or a packed train, at-home workdays can start late and with a lazy, heavy breakfast.
For many workers, this triggers a certain lethargy that sticks around the whole day and dims productivity. Judging from reports by hundreds of employees who’ve continued working from home during the lockdown crisis, one activity saved them from this lethargy: morning exercise.
It will work for you too, and it doesn’t have to be very intense. Basic aerobics work just as well as a morning jog or 100 push-ups, giving you the energy boost you need to start the day right.
Set work deadlines for every day
One other way to become productive while working at home is by setting daily work deadlines or mini-goals that you must achieve by each work day’s end and making sure you meet them.
Whether it is submitting a completed project or making a certain number of Zoom meetings before noon, such mini-goals can get you to do more work than usual. They are also an easy marker for daily productivity.
The pandemic forced many companies to continue operations remotely, which introduced many employees to the world of working at home. As business reopens three months later, some companies are maintaining their remote work operations for the time being.
For employees, this means more weeks of the difficult balancing act of working at home with family and other distractions present. If you have struggled with being productive at work the entire lockdown period, the tips below will help you get in line.
Set a time during the day for work, as you would for a normal office workday
If there is one thing all work-at-home employees can agree with is working from home is only effective with proper scheduling. As newbies have seen during the coronavirus lockdown, it is almost impossible at first to avoid mixing work duties with home activities such as chores or bingeing Netflix.
But with good scheduling, good results are possible. Start by setting a specific number of hours during the day as work hours, preferably in sync with the usual workday hours. Next, make sure you maintain these hours and avoid non-work distractions throughout their course.
You can also make your work-at-home scheduling easier and safer with anti-microbial mousepads, cool blue light glasses and other useful tools from Empire Promos. Their website also has good deals on sanitizer, gloves and other essentials for your household in the COVID-19 era, all of them very affordable.
Dedicate a room or space at home as your no-games home office
What if you cannot access your cubicle or desk at work? You can always create a new one at home and be just as effective. To ensure productivity, dedicate a space, desk or room in your house as your workspace and demarcate it as such.
Make sure your family or living partners understand its new role and what it entails, which means that it will be your sacred space that they cannot enter. Remember to keep it clean and clutter-free and use it for its purposes only.
Schedule timed breaks between work hours and keep true to the schedule
Productivity is best achieved when work is done according to time schedules and with goals being set. While working at home, guarantee productivity by scheduling your workday into work and break times at regular intervals.
Insert a rest interval between every few work hours to allow your brain to recoup. Studies have shown that these breaks are good for both your work abilities and general health.
The 80/20 work/rest rule works just as well at home as it does in the office, so you can employ it. Remember to use your rest intervals for proper resting too.
Start the day with some exercises
Unlike office workdays, which start early with a rush to work that might include a stint in traffic or a packed train, at-home workdays can start late and with a lazy, heavy breakfast.
For many workers, this triggers a certain lethargy that sticks around the whole day and dims productivity. Judging from reports by hundreds of employees who’ve continued working from home during the lockdown crisis, one activity saved them from this lethargy: morning exercise.
It will work for you too, and it doesn’t have to be very intense. Basic aerobics work just as well as a morning jog or 100 push-ups, giving you the energy boost you need to start the day right.
Set work deadlines for every day
One other way to become productive while working at home is by setting daily work deadlines or mini-goals that you must achieve by each work day’s end and making sure you meet them.
Whether it is submitting a completed project or making a certain number of Zoom meetings before noon, such mini-goals can get you to do more work than usual. They are also an easy marker for daily productivity.