Working from home offers great flexibility. But sometimes, you may feel distracted or distant from the work at hand. If you find it difficult to maximize your productivity when working from home, you’re not alone. So here is how to make the most of your day while working at home.
Start Your Day Off Right
An easy habit to fall into when working from home is rolling out of bed and onto the computer. When you start getting into this habit, you are losing valuable time you can use to start your day off right. Try instating a morning routine to get energized and in the right mindset for the day.
Pick an outfit to work in that isn’t pajamas. Dressing the part can push you to be more productive throughout the day. Being ready for the day will also prevent you from wasting time putting yourself together for video meetings or impromptu on-screen chats.
Set Up Working Hours
When you’re working from home, it can be easy to move from task to task with little rhyme or reason. When you don’t have set working hours, you can easily start procrastinating instead. To avoid this you need to set up working hours for yourself.
The best part about working from home is setting up these hours in whatever way works best for you. You may want to work in a two-hour burst with breaks in-between. Or you might prefer blocking off four-hour blocks in the morning and evening with time in the middle of the day for other activities. No matter how you decide to split it up, you will be more productive and accountable when you set up concrete working hours throughout the day.
Organize Your Space
One of the difficulties of working from home is your personal life and work-life blending together. It can be impossible to focus on your work if there is a big pile of dishes in your line of vision. You can take time out of your work from home day to keep your space organized.
During one of your breaks you can organize all of those dishes on a sink rack so they aren’t cluttering your space. If you’re not sure how to clean that space, you can check out some great over-the-sink rack options too.
Doing small organizational tasks throughout your day can keep your home consistently clean as well. So you can always have a peaceful place to do your work.
Plan Out Your Day
With seemingly endless time during the day when working from home, you can easily make the most of your day by planning it out. There are many different methods for planning your day. You can use a classic planner to block out important meetings, dates, and deadlines.
If you have to work on multiple projects at once, then using project management software can help you keep everything organized. Using planning tools can also help you set milestones and goals in your work.
If you were in an office, these goals may have been set by a manager. But when you’re working from home it can help to see your own goals and deadlines on a planner to point you in the right direction. From here, you can start breaking down tasks into actionable items. Then, you’ll be able to work on them in your dedicated working hours and make the most of your day.
Take Thoughtful Breaks
When you work at home you can make the most out of your breaks. You can do different activities to keep yourself energized and ready to conquer more tasks. Take these times throughout the day to work on yourself. You can do activities on your breaks like:
- Reading a chapter of a book
- Doing a 15-minute workout
- Taking a stroll with your dog
- Running a quick errand
When you are working at home, you have the flexibility to incorporate your ideal lifestyle into your workday. So try to use your break times to do things that you wouldn’t be able to do if you worked at an office.
Conclusion
Working from home is the new normal for most people. Finding ways to make the most of your day may feel overwhelming, but it’s a great way to plan out your tasks and improve productivity. So get out there and make every day great while working from home.