Working From Home Becoming Unproductive? Few Tips To Help You Below!

Having challenges working from home? I think you should read this. Whether you’re an employee, freelancer or run your own business, it’s easy to see the attraction in working from home. We often jump at the option because it gets to enable us a few privileges. Example, we don’t worry about commuting, we get to enjoy more flexible hours and the ability to be around our loved ones, children, partner, siblings, and so on.

However, working from home has its downsides too. With no manager gaping over your shoulder to ensure productivity, the temptation from TV programs, children seeking one thing or the other or even housework, it’s easy to get distracted and watch your productivity fall.

With these three tips, you should be able to develop a strategy that will allow you to get more work done, while still having time to improve your quality of life. Here are they:

1. Prioritise

Prioritising the right tasks makes a huge difference to your work output every day. What needs to be done this moment, today, tomorrow, this week, this month and so on matter a lot? Don’t look at how urgent tasks are; assess how important completing them is at what moment. That said; put your schedules in place. Know what time you are at your best for productivity and factor every other chore around that.

2. Invest in the right tools for the job

If you’re working from home, it’s essential that you ensure you have all the tools and equipment you need to be successful. Depending on your nature of work, this could mean getting a new phone line for work, calls, or others, buying a printing machine, subscribing for internet services that work best at your locality etc. Nothing breaks productivity level than realising your network provider is out of service or can’t satisfy your needs at a given interval. So do a research on the tools and condition of service that work best for you and leverage on that.

3. Find your community

Working from home doesn’t mean you have to be stuck alone in your room. In fact, I encourage you to get out. There’s a rapidly growing community of service providers e.g. internet service providers, eatery centres, lounges and so on. I know these services come with a certain fee and you might not be disposed to run routines like this often, but hey; ones in a while take the time and work from somewhere serene while taking care of your other needs.

4. Minimize Distraction

Music: Don’t spend hours creating the perfect mix; remember nothing flies so fast than time.

Children: Having your kids around you while you’re at home is awesome. But having a child sit next to your keyboard can seriously impede your productivity. So if children will share your space during a work period, talk with them about the importance of your quiet, focused time and clarify your activity by offering them opportunities to “work” with you for short time frames and have then allow you to focus. If possible, try to make arrangements for appropriate child care or alternative entertainment during work hours.

Visitors: Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you are available for every visitor. Don’t be afraid to turn down knocks at your door with a quick “I’m sorry, but can we chat another time? I have a deadline to meet today!” That said; other key distractors could also be your phone (s). If it takes putting your phones on silence or totally off to increase your productivity level, do it. Calls, emails and above all; the social media, have a way of eating largely from our work time.

5. Set up at-home-work-space

If you are working at home, try to set up an office-type work environment to help set boundaries for you and your family – and let them know that it’s not good to interrupt you when you are working (unless it’s an emergency). Having a designated office space inspires you to treat it more like an actual office. When you sit down at your work-from-home desk, your business mind-set kicks in and you can focus better.

Hope these few tips have been able to inspire you, till I come your way next time, have fun working from home!!!