Working from home has been a serious adjustment for a lot of people over the past year and a half. Throughout the course of the pandemic, the majority of office workers were forced to make the switch from commuting into work every day to working in their own private makeshift at-home office.
Some people embraced their new work surroundings with open arms, while others had a much harder time coming to terms with the situation.
Regardless of where you stand on this matter, it’s a universal situation that we all have to manage on our own terms. If you’re one of those people that thrive more working in an office space and are getting too easily distracted as you work from home, here are some great tips for boosting your productivity.
Set Daily Priorities and Goals
Every new day provides new opportunities to improve your work-from-home strategy and ethic. Setting daily goals for yourself or creating a visible to-do list can have so many benefits. Physically seeing a list of all of the tasks you have to do in a specific deadline and importance-based order makes it easier to concentrate on getting your work done and actively improves your productivity. To go a step further, you can even set digital reminders for yourself on your computer or phone, so that you know when each deadline is approaching.
Make a Schedule and Stick to It
Making a weekly or monthly schedule is a great way to stay on task. You can keep track of all of your work assignments and map out how much time you need to complete each one. Mark each task as it’s completed, so that you can keep track of all of your deadlines. It also helps to make detailed notes about task requirements, project partners and co-managers, or client requests.
Use Your Meeting Time Wisely
Time is of the essence when you’re working on an individual or group project for work. Keep in mind that your colleagues might have other projects on the go just like you do. Make sure to always come prepared to scheduled virtual or phone meetings. Make a list of questions to ask and important points to bring up about projects that you’re working on so that your colleagues can respond. Playing an active role in each meeting will ensure that you and your coworkers are all on the same page regarding various work-related issues and subject matter.
Designate an Official Work-at-Home Space
Regardless of the size of your space and who you’re sharing it with, it’s important to designate a space inside your home that allows you to work freely and comfortably with enough space to move around if you need to. Choose a spot where distractions are limited or can be eliminated entirely. A room with big open windows that let in a lot of natural light is ideal. Natural light makes you feel more at ease and has been proven to uplift the spirits of office workers, making it easier for them to concentrate.
If possible, choose a private location inside your home where you won’t be distracted by other members of your household. Having a private space for you to conduct your business and hold virtual meetings can help boost your productivity and even the quality of your work.
Separate Your Work and Personal Time
Setting specific work hours similar to your pre-pandemic schedule is essential for maintaining maximum productivity. Knowing that you only have a certain number of hours in the day to complete work tasks motivates you to get them done faster. Plus, it’s important to stick to some level of normalcy during these incredibly abnormal times. Pre-pandemic life consisted of many people working a certain number of hours every day and then coming home to spend time with their families or enjoy their personal lives.
Separating your work and personal time sets important boundaries, so that you can get the most out of both without having one bleed into the other and lead to premature burnout.
Dress Like You’re at Work
Like most people who have been working from home over the course of the pandemic, you might be tempted or more inclined to stay in your sweatpants all day instead of getting dressed. After all, you’re not going anywhere and unless you happen to have a virtual meeting scheduled, no one is going to see you—at least not all of you. But did you know that how you dress actually impacts your productivity levels?
As the saying goes, “dress for the job you want, not the job you have”. If you want to continue on an upward trajectory at your company, then you need to dress for success. Doing so can have a positive impact on your mental health and work ethic by keeping you motivated to work hard.
Eventually, offices are going to re-open, and you don’t want to get used to any bad habits. Plus, continuing to wear your everyday office ensembles will encourage you to stay in shape, so that there are no surprises down the line.
Save Work Calls for the Afternoon
Working from home doesn’t necessarily exempt you from having to make work calls or schedule meetings. Try to schedule these calls for as late in the day as possible rather than dispersing them at random times. This will help you stay organized and encourage you to get all or most of your work done earlier in the day, so that you can focus on your meetings in the afternoon.
Communicate with Your Staff
Whether you’re a team lead or an employee, it’s important to keep the lines of communication open at all times. There are various platforms you can use including the good old fashioned phone call, texts, emails, and even video calling software. Make sure you choose the appropriate medium based on the urgency of the subject matter and your relationship, comfort level, and preferences with your colleagues.
Stay Off Social Media
Unless it’s your job to be on social media all day, we advise you to stay off of it as much as possible. Social media is one of the biggest distractions and time-wasters people have during their work day. It’s estimated that most adults spend approximately 3.5 hours looking at their phone per day. That’s time spent that you could use to get your work done!
Rent Virtual Office Space in Mississauga
When you’re on the clock, you’re more motivated to work. Innovative Professional Offices provides hourly virtual and physical office rental services in Mississauga and Ottawa. When you rent a virtual office space in Mississauga or Ottawa, you get access to a wide range of amenities and services that are dedicated to helping you manage and grow your business. Contact us today to learn more.
