From cabin fever to distractions ranging from kids, family, home chores, TV, etc. – the list of WFH (Work-from-Home) issues runs long. But it’s important to stay productive and sane! Here are some proven tips for acing remote work:
#4 Create boundaries: In addition to establishing physical boundaries around your workstation (no house members/friends barging in unless it’s an emergency), its best to set some psychological boundaries for yourself too. Like no getting tempted to do a round of laundry or eat a piece of cake from the fridge unless you’re done finishing a work task.
#5 Dress up: Everyone agrees, comfort is supreme when working from home; but make the effort to shower and get out of your pajamas. Even if you have no video calls scheduled for the day, the routine of getting work-ready preps your mind to get into professional mode. It not only affects how productive you are, but also others’ perception of you.
#6 Structure your work day into project periods: Designate a time for each of your regular tasks like checking email, working on the launch strategy for your next project, making presentations, and even checking social media accounts. This will help you increase productivity like a pro.
Following the 2-minute rule is also a great idea to get a lot of tasks out of your way. If any task on your plate is likely to take less than 2 minutes, do it now! Get done with those quick phone calls, reminders, one line email responses, confirming appointments, etc., so you can focus on the ones that really matter. Find the times of the day when you are most productive and reserve these slots for important tasks. The Pomodoro technique suggests humans are most productive when working in bite-sized chunks of 25 minutes followed by a break of minimum 5 minutes.
Rome wasn’t built in a day
Don’t expect to ace working from home and be super productive on Day 1. Plan for a slight slowdown in the pace and hit in the targets in your initial days of adjusting to remote work.
To be continued…