How to Be More Productive At Home: Top 10 Work from Home Productivity Tips

Working remotely is the dream of every employee. Since the pandemic era, most companies adopted a work from home approach and started hiring freelancers while at it. If you are a freelancer working from home you may notice that your days seem to be shorter than when you were working in the office setup.

Another challenge is balancing personal time and work time since there is a thin line between the two.  Being productive helps you to meet your personal goals, stay focused and achieve the required workplace performance which is crucial for your career. But how can you be productive while working from home and keep off distractions?

Working from home always feels like the greatest blessing ever until your neighbor puts on full blast music or when you can’t get out of bed in the morning because you binge watched Netflix show the previous night.

If you are wondering how to be more productive at home, this article will share the top 10 work from home productivity tips to help you regain control of your time and a sense of work life balance.

What Is Productivity And Why Is It Important?

Productivity is the measure of the tasks you can do within a certain time. You are said to be productive when you do more work effectively within a short time. Productivity in the workplace is a measure of how much employees can do within the set duration in terms of the number of products they have produced or the number of tasks.

It is easier to be more productive in the office because the environment dictates focus on the tasks assigned to each person and the availability of supervision. On the other hand as a freelancer, you may with how to be productive at home because with freedom comes temptation and distractions that can affect your work output.

Being productive while working from home improves the output of work and can improve your earning potential. For most freelancers, you only get paid for the work you complete, unlike a full time employee. So it is important to prioritize tasks and improve your efficiency.

Furthermore, high levels of productivity help you to accomplish tasks on time, reduce stress, give you more time to take care of your body and improve your confidence in your work.

Top 10 Work from Home Productivity Tips

How do you ensure productivity while working from home? Productivity boils down to two things; organization and time management. Now let’s look at the tips for being productive working from home and how the two aspects come into play. Here are the top 10 work from home productivity tips you try to manage your time, stay focused and improve your work output.

1. Set monthly, weekly and daily goals

Having clear goals is the best work from home productivity tip to start with to improve your productivity while working from home. Write out your goals for the month, week or day ahead of time to help you remain focused and remain motivated because you know what you should be working on.

Ensure to set realistic goals that you can achieve within the set time frame to help you stay on track. Depending on your clients they will also have a list of tasks you need to complete in the week or month.

Break down goals into small achievable objectives and give yourself enough time to complete the tasks. Incorporate your personal goals as well to help you make the most of your time.

2. Create a daily and weekly schedule

One of the best work from home productivity tips is to have a daily and weekly routine. Take time before a new month or week starts to create a to-do list with tasks you need to work on. Then, outline the tasks you need to work on in the week and spread them into daily hours with specific times to work and times to take breaks.

Set your next day’s intention and a to-do list the previous night with the priority task scheduled the first thing in the morning or the time you are most productive.

Ensure that your routine is not only work focused. Incorporate when you should be working, time for breaks or doing personal tasks like exercise or taking a shower. Follow the schedule to be consistent and maintain focus.  In the beginning, test out different routines to see what works best for you.

Consider some productivity tools such as Trello or Asana to out your to-do list and use Google Calendar to line out your daily schedule and what you should be doing at a certain time,

3. Have a dedicated workspace

Your work environment determines your productivity and focus. You need to have a dedicated space that is mainly for work. It could be a separate room or a small corner of your bedroom. Having a dedicated workspace also helps you separate your personal and work life.

Choose a space with proper lighting and aeration and keep it clean because you will be spending the better part of the day there. Invest in ergonomic furniture to prevent discomfort and reduce the risk of health issues that may be caused by poor posture.

Ensure that the space is free from distractions and is well organized to improve your efficiency when working from home.

4. Set time blocks

When working remotely there may be a thin line to separate work and personal life. You may work from your couch or bed which leads to less productivity and burnout. or be tempted to work as you watch TV or cook.

That’s why having time blocks is a great work from home productivity tip. It helps you to have boundaries for your work hours and resist the temptation to continue working from your bed.

Having time blocks for work and family reduces the temptation to mix up your work and personal life and helps you be more productive. Ensure to let your family be aware of your work hours so that they do not distract you or demand your time.

Have a definitive start and finish time to establish a work life balance. When the work time is over, log off your computer to teach your brain that work time is over and switch to go and spend time with your family.

5. Create systems

Automation is also one of the best work from home productivity tips that works both short term and long term. You need to create systems to automate repetitive tasks so that you can focus on those that need your manual touch to improve your workflow.

Automation also saves you time to focus on more tasks and find time to rest because you don’t need to make decisions every day about what needs to be done.

6. Delegate

To be more productive you need to do high priority tasks on time and meet deadlines. But sometimes you may have tasks that are not important and doing them will reduce the time to work on high priority tasks.

Avoid doing tasks take take too much of your working hours and that you can delegate to other people to do. delegations free up your time so that you can focus more on tasks that only you need to do. For example, you can delegate cooking and cleaning to service providers to allow you to concentrate on your work.

7. Minimize distractions

Eliminate distractions when you need to work to improve your productivity. One of the common distractions when working from home is mindlessly scrolling on social media using your phone. You may also be tempted to check your emails or access websites that are not related to the task you should be working on your laptop.

Consider using productivity apps that block you from accessing specific websites and apps to help you remain focused while working. You can also avoid checking your emails every hour and remove notifications from social media apps, keep your phone on silent in the other room or turn it off completely during work hours if you don’t need it for work.

You also need to avoid working in noisy places such as restaurants or your living room if your family is watching TV. Communicate your work time with your roommates or family so that they can give you space to work to avoid distractions and noise.

8. Focus on one task at a time

Multitasking does not help you do more tasks. In fact, it makes your work less efficient because you keep shifting from one task to another. It is better to focus on one task at a time to improve your accuracy and reduce the time you take to complete a task. Prioritize your tasks according to the urgency and work on them until completion before starting others.

9. Take regular breaks

When working from home it is easy to get so lost in your work and you lose track of time. You may also assume that you don’t need breaks. In the office, most employees get an hour of lunch break and a few breaks in between. Just because you are working from home and don’t have to commute does not mean that you should overwork yourself.

You need to take regular breaks even if it’s a few minutes to reduce burnout and mental fatigue. The rule of thumb is to take short breaks of 5 to 10 minutes every 60 to 90 minutes of work.

You can also use the Pomodoro strategy where you work for 25 minutes and take a five minute break. Once the timer goes off move away from your desk and stretch.

Don’t skip your lunch break and avoid the temptation to eat from your desk. You need to take about a 30 to 1 hour lunch break. Don’t be tempted to use your phone during the breaks. Instead, get away from your desk and use the short breaks to meditate, go for a short walk, drink water or do deep breathing to improve your mental health and stay active.

10. Take care of your health

Working remotely makes a sedentary lifestyle second nature. It doesn’t have to be so. You need to take care of your health to reduce the risk associated with prolonged sitting and irregular physical activity. Take a walk during your breaks or prioritise your workout first thing in the morning.

Consider health apps such as MyFitness Pal, Samsung or Apple Health to track your physical activity and monitor your sleep and other wellness aspects. Ensure to eat a healthy diet to give you the energy to focus on your work. Also, have a consistent sleep schedule to help you rest better and improve your focus, concentration and work output.

Another part remote workers neglect is connecting to other people. It can be lonely to work all alone with minimal human interaction. Keep in touch with your friends and family with emails, phone calls or video calls and engage in virtual meetings and conferences or freelancers to socialize and improve your mental health

FAQs

• How do you ensure productivity while working from home?

You can ensure productivity while working from home by creating a weekly and daily schedule and sticking to it. Ensure to eliminate distractions, have a designated work space and have a start and stop timelines.

• How can I work effectively from home?

To work effectively from home you need to have a clear line between your personal and work time. You can do that by planning a realistic work schedule that takes into account your personal and family time.

• What are the four factors that improve productivity while working from home?

The four factors that improve productivity while working from home are having a dedicated workspace, limiting distractions, focusing on one task at a time and having clear daily objectives.

• What makes you productive every day?

You will be more productive every day if you prioritize the most difficult task first. Taking on hard tasks first rather than the simple ones increases your motivation and focus for the rest of the day.

Final Thoughts

As a remote worker, you need to have a productive work schedule that allows you to finish your task on time, be there for your family and take care of your health and wellness. The top 10 work form home productivity tips will help you thrive in the remote work environment and help you to be more efficient at work and achieve your personal and work goals.

You don’t have to try out all these work from home productivity tips all at once. Start with one and keep adjusting and you will improve your efficiency.

How do you ensure that you are productive while working from home? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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