Working from home for the first time and struggling with focus and productivity? You’re probably not alone with many people being forced to work from home during these unprecedented health challenges worldwide. We’re all now familiar with terms like social distancing, self isolation and self quarantine but many are now realizing just how challenging it is to sit at home at the computer by yourself and try to be as productive as you normally would be at the office.
There are so many more enemies of focus and productivity at home than there are at the office. The office is designed to keep you focused and get your work done while the home is the opposite. Even if you don’t have other family members, pets or friends just dropping in to say hello you’ll still have your self to deal with. Self isolation can be confronting to many and to distract ourselves we’ll waste our time with social media, Netflix, Youtube or whatever it is that you normally do at home when you’re chilling out.
I’ve worked at home for more than thirteen years now and I have picked up a few good habits along the way to keep me focused and productive. I didn’t start out being productive though. I struggled for years and still struggle sometimes today but there a few simple things you can do to stay sane and get your work done.
1) Keep a Routine
It may be tempting to throw away the alarm clock and start work whenever you feel like it but don’t do it. Get out of bed at the same time as would normally do at the office and start your day in the same way. So if you normally start with a jog at 7:30, a shower at 8:00 and a coffee at 8:10 then continue that morning routine.
You don’t have to rewrite how you start your work day, just continue doing what you’ve always done during your normal work days and your body will know that it’s a work day today. Obviously it wouldn’t hurt to look at how effective your morning routine is usually but that isn’t what we’re looking at in this article.
Today we just want to keep our normal work day routines going and to be as productive and focused as we usually are when we would go into the office each day.
2) Designate “No Contact” Blocks of Time
If you have kids at home with you these will be especially challenging times but throughout the day you’ll have to set yourself times where you can only be contacted in times of emergency. Child emergencies shouldn’t include being hungry or bored.
This will be even more challenging if you have very young children who need more care and you don’t have others who can help you, but if you want to get anything done then you’ll just have to find a way. You need focused and uninterrupted chunks of time throughout the day where nobody contacts you.
3) Have a to do List
I usually work on my to do list throughout the day for tomorrow. There will be important tasks that I can see I won’t complete today so I’ll start adding them to my list for tomorrow. At the end of the day I’ll revisit the list and then again in the morning. So I’m always working on it rather than just having a set time.
You know what works best for you. This is not an article about how to create a to do list as I’m sure you know how to create your own. However you do it, just do it. Otherwise it is so easy to just drift through the day and get very little done.
Not only do I work with a to do list at home in my office but I also work with a Done list. Each work related task I do I write it down in my notebook. This keeps you accountable and makes you feel a whole lot more productive at the end of the day.
Sometimes I’ll feel like I didn’t get much work done at home but then I’ll look through my Done list and see that I was actually quite productive.
4) Know your Peak Working Times and use them for High Value Jobs
For me I’m most productive and focused between about 10:00AM and 1:00PM. So I’ll make sure I’m doing high value tasks that require my full attention during these hours each day.
Obviously these productive hours should also line up with your “No Contact” times so you can maximize their effectiveness.
So if I have to write an article, edit a video or work on a new marketing strategy it will be during these hours when I’m firing on all cylinders.
Later in the afternoon when my mind is tiring and I’m less focused I’ll do things like reply to emails or do social media marketing. These are tasks that are still important but they don’t require as much attention from me.
5) Find Balance: Don’t Burn yourself out and don’t Waste Time
Depending on your personality and work ethic you could easily find yourself working too much or not enough. If this is your first time working from home you’ll probably learn a lot about yourself.
Don’t try to prove how great you are at working from home by doing the work of ten people each day. Just aim to come close to completing a similar amount of work that you would normally do at your workplace. If you’re burned out by Tuesday because you’re doing 12 hour days then Friday is going to look very far away.
Just pace yourself. Keep busy and focused for as much of the day as possible. If you can do 80 percent of the work you would normally do in the office then I think you’re doing well.
If you’re doing 20 percent of the tasks that you would normally do at work then you’re either wasting too much time at home or you’re letting distractions get the better of you.
6) Take Breaks and Eat Healthy
When you take breaks throughout the day make sure you get away from your computer or laptop. Ideally you’ll have a garden or a park nearby so you can recharge in nature. Don’t be tempted to push through or eat over the keyboard.
With food it should be kept similar to what you would normally eat in the office. The scope of this article is not to give you advice on what to eat, but don’t change your workday eating habits radically just because you’re now at home working and the fridge and kitchen cupboard are filled with yummies. If you don’t eat a packet of chocolate biscuits with your coffee at the office then don’t do it at home either.
7) Tomorrow is a New Day. It Takes Time to Find Yourself
Just know that you’re going to make mistakes. It took me years to work out what works and what doesn’t. I committed every work at home mistake in the book and probably added a few new ones that nobody else had committed! It’s hard work keeping focused and staying focused when there are so many new distractions screaming out for your attention.
We’re all different and have very different dynamics at home but every situation has its own challenges. Look at your first few days as discovery days and keep a record of what you’re actually achieving each day.
Have systems in place to keep you on track and adjust them over time. In a few weeks you may never want to go back to the office environment and some bosses may allow it if you’re just as productive at home.
Let us know how you’re dealing with working at home in the comments below. Is this the first time you’ve worked at home?
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