5 Ways To Increase Productivity When Working From Home

Due to the challenges of the current global pandemic, many people find themselves working from home more often than they have ever done before, which presents its issues. If you’re looking to boost your productivity and contribute to the success of the organization you work with, follow these five tips. 

1. Set daily goals and schedules 

It may sound simple, but working from home can lull anyone into a sense of inertia. In order to keep yourself motivated and achieving every day, set yourself goals to complete during the day. It can be helpful to hang a whiteboard above your desk or table to ensure your goals are always clear. 

2. Block out your day 

Working from home means your usual rhythm may be interrupted, and you could find that affects your day. If you find yourself getting distracted by day-to-day tasks like doing the dishes or vacuuming, it’s time to block out time in your day. It could be as simple as developing relevant business models and processes in the morning and leaving your afternoons to meetings or other relevant engagements. The key thing here is to be strict with your routine. 

3. Invest in your work from home space

Whether that’s undergoing a basement conversion or moving rooms around to create a suitable dedicated workspace, creating a specific workplace in the home is crucial to increasing your productivity when working from home. You may feel efficient when you’re working from your bed, but to be truly alert and ready to act, you need to be in a space that feels like a work environment. You can properly focus on your work by investing in a designated area to work from. 

4. Maintain lines of communication with your organization

To analyze a business domain, its documents, systems, and even processes, you need to maintain open lines of communication, even when you’re away from the office. Consider booking in daily catchups with relevant business members or teams, and you’ll facilitate solving business problems as efficiently as if you were in the office. Utilizing workplace communication software can also help maintain continuous communication.  

5. Take clear breaks

Taking a break may seem counterintuitive, but it can help you work more efficiently and ultimately get more work done in the long run. While it may be tempting to get up, open your laptop, and work until evening, you’re unlikely to be at your most productive that whole time. Lethargy may sneak in, and you may find yourself making mistakes or spending longer on tasks than you would usually—pencil time into your diary to step away from your desk. You may find it helpful to go for a 20-minute walk during lunch or take a tea break every couple of hours. Whatever works best for you.