How to Remain Productive While Working from Home

Now that Covid-19 pandemic has forced millions of people to work from home world-wide, many have lost their much cherished freedoms. We all love freedom. Everyone loves freedom. One of the perks of working from home is freedom to do as you please. Working from home gives you the flexibility to work with your own rules and your own time. It saves you the hassles of daily commute and its attendant costs. In addition, it allows you quality time for your family and loved ones. Inspite of all these perks, it is always a struggle to remain organized while working from home. You cannot be effectively productive if you are not sufficiently organized.

Here is what you can do to help you better organized while working from home.

Daily Work Plan

To avoid timing conflicts in your work at home, it is best to always have a daily work plan and to follow it strictly for the day. That is the best way to get more work done within a given time.

Designated Work Space

Your work space should be carefully chosen within your home. It must be a quiet place where you can find some comfort and a bit of privacy. It must be devoid of typical home distractions like noisy and playful kids, TV sounds, Kitchen sounds etc. What matters is to be able to work from the space with all amounts of concentration while at work. The space can be in the bedroom, balcony or near an open widow with a good panoramic view of vegetation or the countryside. That helps your productivity.


 
Designated Work Times

For personal discipline and productivity, it is good to designate specific times of the day or night solely for work and other times for rest and family. If it is time to work, you must stop everything else you are doing then proceed to your work station to work. For the sake of productivity, this should be non-negotiable.

Avoid Dehydration

To enhance good blood circulation and to avoid cramps, you can have a bottle of clean table-water on your work desk where you take regular sips to re-hydrate. As part of your regular breaks, you can also seize the opportunity to walk to the kitchen refrigerator to take some water.

Declutter Your Work Space
 
At times, physical clutter tends to translate to mental clutter in a work station. It is therefore important to declutter your work desk at least once a week. Ensure your work desk is always organized and conducive for productive work. So, you must avoid piling up files/papers and working tools in a disorganized manner. Work desk clutter can lead to confusion and other problems which distract you and slow down your work. If you are able to keep a neat desk in your work station, it somehow reflects some power and tranquillity. A neat and tranquil workspace helps the mind to focus better and that helps productivity.

Mind Your Mental Health

Confinement, isolation and privacy if excessive can affect our immune system and mental wellbeing. The reason you must always maintain your mental well-being and immune system. If you fail to do so, you may end up with mental challenges making you susceptible to covid-19 and various flu and even other inflammations. When your body’s immune system reacts abnormally, it somehow helps to diminish the capability of the body to function normally and that affects your productivity.

Take Regular Breaks

Everyone needs a very calm mind to be able to focus properly on any constructive engagement. While working at home, you can avoid being stressed up by regularly taking short hourly breaks. That helps productivity. You can use these beaks to just take a walk around and stretch your body a bit. You can use the breaks to take a cup of tea/coffee or even a sip of water from the kitchen fridge. You may even choose to meditate a bit during these breaks. Anything that helps your mental health, blood circulation and alleviates muscle aches is ok during these breaks. What matters is to do things that help your physical body get some much needed movement to improve blood circulation. You may even choose to step out in the balcony to get some fresh air, catch some sunlight and listen to birds/insects sing/chirp or by simply gazing far into the landscape horizon. These activities help your mental health and wellbeing, reduce stress and somehow improve productivity.