Within the last two months, the entire country has faced a quarantine situation brought about by COVID-19. Only essential stores remain open and many people are working remotely. This sounds great on the surface… you get to play your music as loud as you want, you can eat snacks all day long, and you don’t have to spend as much money on transportation or gasoline.
However, working from home is not as easy as it sounds. You’ll need a schedule and discipline. Today, we’ll teach you how to create both a physical and mental environment at home that will allow you to manage your work and be more productive.
Start with the Right Attitude
You’ll need to find a way to stay creative. Don’t let your confined circumstance take away your innovative self or productivity. Your attitude is the key to achieving this. Figure out what you can control and what you can’t. Know your limits and accept what’s beyond your control so you won’t push yourself too far.
Set a Routine
You need to maintain a certain daily regularity so that your body and your brain know when it is time to work and when it is time to rest. Establish a schedule that suits your characteristics. Include time for work, time for rest, leisure time, and time for exercise. Experiment with different options until you find a routine that motivates you and a schedule that works for you every day.
Priorities
When you are planning your day-to-day, you must prioritize the most important tasks. These are the tasks that you should complete as soon as possible because they allow you to finish projects and achieve your objectives.
As a tip, when you are setting your routine, highlight three to five of your top priorities and try to complete them earlier in the day. If you do the most important tasks first, you will soon achieve a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction.
Try Dressing Up
Should you get dressed up as though you are leaving the house or wear your pajamas while working from home? This one may sound crazy because you want to be comfy in your own house, so why bother putting on your nice clothes while working from home? Well, dressing up can put you into work mode because what we put on influences how we act. Studies show that certain clothing can influence the wearer’s psychological processes. Dressing professionally puts us in a different state of mind that may be more conducive to getting more work done. However, you don’t have to go all-in on dressing up. You can just keep it cozy with a business-casual look that will also keep you feeling productive while working from home.
Avoid Distractions
Eliminate them! Working from home can easily translate into household interruptions, phone calls, access to social networks, and all the other factors that are constantly threatening to draw our attention away. The challenge is how to manage those distractions.
One idea is to set aside a few hours a day to deal with email, phone calls, accessing social networks, reading blogs, sending Whatsapp messages, etc. so the rest of the day will proceed smoothly. Playing music or listening to an audiobook during the workday also works wonders and helps increase focus.
Finally, knowing your distractions is essential: identify them, pinpoint them, and once you do that, try to knock them out before you settle down to work. Thinking about it without a phone in your hand will help you focus more on your work. That is easier said than done, but you must start somewhere, right? Without multiple issues hanging over your head, you’re more likely to focus on your work and make working from home a true success!
