Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people have left the office and started working from home. Because of this, personal productivity has been found to be a struggle. Unfortunately, working from home is not always as effective. It’s no secret that when you work remotely, personal productivity can suffer. How can you make yourself work well from home? Whether you have been working from home for years or just getting started, you are expected to complete tasks well. These are the top five tips for improving personal productivity while working from home.
Manage Time
Managing time can be difficult, especially during the time of working from home because of COVD-19. Starting your day early will give a wide range of time to finish what is on your to-do list. Creating a schedule like you are in the office will help you be more productive when working from home. When creating your schedule, slot out times for short breaks and at least a 30-minute lunch break. By planning your day with breaks, you allow yourself time to make sure your mind and body rest. Some people create an award system so they feel more accomplished when they complete things on their to-do list. Set goals for the day. This year of working during COVID-19 can be stressful. It is important to focus on what is important. Continuing reading for more tips on how to improve your workday from home.
Use Apps
While people work from home, there are a number of social media apps available to help with personal productivity. Forest is a perfect app for everyone who gets easily distracted by their phone. Serene is a tool that cuts out distractions, helps you stay focused and complete tasks faster. Slack is a convenient tool for communication within a team because it allows you to create both group and individual chats. Time Doctor is a time tracking app that lets you track the tasks you are doing and also reminds you to stay focused in case you get distracted by things like Facebook, YouTube, or such. Zoom: Video and voice call for groups and one-to-one. Toggl helps you to keep track of how long it’s really taking you to complete tasks. Google Drive allows for document creation, cloud storage, file sharing, track changes, work from anywhere, and collaboration. Google Calendar is one of the simplest and most reliable planners, synchronizing with all the applications reviewed. If earlier in the calendar it was possible only to sort tasks by day and time, now there are more functions. Spark is a smart email client that stops your inbox from getting in the way of productivity and turns it into an asset. Chrome Remote Desktop allows you to access your computer securely from any device and screen share with teammates for stronger collaboration. Zapier will save time on repetitive tasks and switching between apps by automating processes (eg: automatically saving Gmail attachments to Google Drive). Daywise boosts your focus, it will help you to be in control of your tasks and be more relaxed. The app will schedule notifications to stop work interrupting your free time.
Get Rid of Distractions
Working from home can be tricky! There are so many things that can draw your attention away from the actual job you are trying to complete. These things could include children, pets, cleaning, laundry, and anything in between. It is important to set aside specific time away from the distractions roaming around you throughout the day. This process begins with setting up a weekly schedule setting aside time to complete work and then housework. The key to setting up this work schedule is sticking to it. Sometimes unexpected things come up, but for the majority of the time, you should be consistent with the schedule. Another tip that helps with removing distractions, if you have children, is to set up activities for them to complete while you work. If everyone in the household stays accountable to the schedule, it becomes less stressful and easy to eliminate distractions.
Pretend You’re in the Office
It’s hard to get up in the morning and separate regular life from work life, especially when working from home. A great way to trick your body is to pretend you’re going into the office. Wake up in the morning, wear some nice clothes, get a cup of coffee, and do your normal morning routine before heading to work. Walk out of your kitchen and pretend you’re heading to the office to get the mindset of going to work. This will help your mental association you make between work and the office thus making you more productive.
Batch Tasks
A Lot of times, we can find ourselves working the whole day only to feel like nothing actually got done. One reason this could be is that we are not separating the urgent from the important. An urgent task that can take over the day is answering and dealing with emails. This isn’t a bad thing to deal with while working from home, but is it really important? Batching tasks can help boost personal productivity because you are focusing your time on specific things at a time. By setting a specific time slot to check and respond to your emails, you remove the urge to check throughout the day. This tip can be applied to any tasks you might be faced with. Because of this, you ensure a boost in your personal productivity.
Overall, there are many ways to manage your time while working from home. These are the top five ways to manage your time better and increase personal productivity while working from home. Click out more blogs from Sophisticated Professional.
