Working From Home? Here Are Some Suggestions for Proving Your Productivity While You Work From Home
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many companies are implementing voluntary or mandatory work-from-home policies. This will mean that lots of individuals are trying to get used to working from home for the first time, full-time.
The good news is that working from home has no hard or fast rules. Well, it is also bad news that working from home has no hard or fast rules. The best way to get through working from home full time and for the first time is to make a plan and keep things simple.
These tips will help you nail working-from-home while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
To Get Work Done and Maintain Your Mental Wellbeing…
Get Dressed: This is simple but yet very crucial. If you are going to get work done from home you are going to have to get up and get dressed. You do not have to dress as formally as you’d do when going to the office. However, do well to take a shower and change out of your pajamas or nightwear. Getting dressed from homework sends a signal to the brain that you are up and ready to get work done. Also, taking care of your appearance while you work from home is going to help you feel like you are taking care of yourself. Plus working from home in the 21st Century comes with loads of video calls.
Create a Work Space/ Home Office: Keeping your work life and personal life separate when you work from home can be challenging. But if you do not want productivity dips and home-related problems it’d be best to keep these aspects of your life separate. Having a designated workspace or home office will help greatly with this.
Keep Clearly Defined Work Hours: Just like you have to create a separate workspace or home office it is important that you are clear about when you are working and when you are not. Also, it helps to make this a routine. Hence if you start work at 9 am, you should start at that time every day and close at the time you say you would close every day.
Avoid Distractions: Working from home comes with loads of distractions. However, just like you take 10-minute breaks at work you can do that while you work from home to do a few things that come to mind. However, work hours should not be the time to do lots of housework that takes so much time and energy and shifts your focus totally from work. Turn off social media sites, pay less attention to the news while you work, and try as much as possible to stay focused while you work.
Communicate: Working from home does not mean you have to face challenges alone or figure things out on your own. Do well to communicate as often as you can and as often as is necessary. Chat with co-workers, use emails, and put calls through. Even video calls will work fine.
To Prove Your Productivity…
Be Reliable and Responsive: In an office, your boss can see that you are working at your desk. However, when you work from home, it is important to be responsive and available online. Make sure that you are attentive to your phone, email, and instant message so that when you receive a request from your boss or a colleague, you can respond right away. While you do not have to go out of your way to attend to the request immediately, respond quickly with a realistic time frame of when the work will be completed and ensure you keep to that time frame.
Engaged In Conversations: When interacting with bosses and co-workers ensure that you are present and not distracted by other things. While it is tempting to multitask while you work from home, it goes to show your productivity when you listen, are engaged, and make useful contributions during interactions.
Keep Updates to a Minimum: Now is not the time to update your boss constantly on what you are doing. While this can be tempting, let your results show that you are working. Constantly updating your boss and asking for what to do will mean you can’t work independently. Hence, update your boss when and where necessary but ensure you keep to deadlines and do your work well.
Don’t Overburden Yourself With Extra Tasks: You may be tempted to prove to your boss just how much stuff you can handle by accepting more work. Usually, this is counterproductive as it leaves you with little time to do excellent work. The next time a task is offered, look at your schedule and accept it only if it won’t hamper any other tasks you have. Remember, doing one thing really well is better than doing ten things in a not so great way.
For a Loose Productivity Schedule for Your Work From Home
7:30 am - Wake Up
7:45 am - Morning Routine (Take a shower, Drink Coffee, Have Breakfast, Meditate, Stretch, Exercise, Pray, etc). Do not forget to change your clothes.
8:30 am - Handle anything urgent from work, give updates to your boss if needed, respond to urgent emails and messages from work colleagues and team members.
8:45 am - Do your most important/creative work
10:00am - Take Coffee/ Tea Break
10:15 am - Do your second most important/creative work or simply continue the first.
12:30pm - Lunch
1:30 pm - Correspondence (Return missed calls, respond to emails and other work-related messages)
2:30 pm - Have virtual meetings, check-in with team members, and other colleagues. Follow up with clients, etc
4:30 pm - Respond to emails, make calls, respond to messages, etc
5:00 pm - Wrap up and Plan for the Next Day
5:30 pm - Close, leave your home office/workspace and reunite with family or do what you want.