The pandemic has pushed the working culture from office Cubicles to Bedrooms. Since the last year, everyone has been working from home, and the pandemic’s uncertainty still prevails. Big names like Google and Facebook have declared that WFH culture is going to last long. They have decided to go for WFH for a portion of their employees permanently. Software giants like TCS, Accenture, and Infosys also adapt WHF culture without any updates for in-office joinings.
The transition from Work in Office culture to Work from Home wasn’t smooth. Not only companies but also employees have struggled a lot. Though the culture and working style has changed but expectations didn’t. You still have to work on deadlines, participate in team calls, and make clients happy.
WFH carried a lot of fatigue, stress, and pressure, as people have a lot of work pressure though productivity is missing somewhere. Productivity is hampered due to distractions and long working hours. It’s essential to adapt to the WFH culture and learn how to be productive at it, as no one knows how long it will be a part of our lives.
Here are seven tips to be productive at work while Working from Home –
1. Select a workplace and Customize your environment
WFH gives you the freedom to work from anywhere in your house, but it’s not productive at all. It’s crucial to decide on a particular work spot within a home. It could be our dining table or study place. Ensure this spot has all-important things like your notepad, pen, diary, charger, or other equipment you need at work time.
It’s almost like making a temporary office at your home. Of course, you can also add on things like scented candles, flower pots, and plants to make the environment more friendly, stress-free, and focused.
Having a good workplace helps you to stay focused and productive.
The first thing that strikes the mind when you hear WFH is working from couch, bed, and comfy chairs. But when you sit on the couch or bed with your laptop, your brain sends signals of relaxation and laziness because that’s what is associated with these places. Never work from bedrooms or these super relaxing spots as it hampers productivity.
2. Set a morning routine and follow it
If you ask about the morning routine of most of us today while working from home, it would be waking up and getting straight to the laptop. But was your routine the same when you were working from offices? It was not.
The morning routine before the new normal begins with some exercise and a long walk, then a cold shower, meditation for some time, and maybe a good read. After that, follow the same morning routine to beat the laziness and stay focused at work. Do not change the morning routine just because you are working from home. Your mind and body should not feel any change in routine to stay productive.
WFH doesn’t necessarily mean working in Comfy pajamas and lose T-shirts. These clothes are associated with a relaxed feeling. It’s essential to tell your brain that it’s time to work and not to relax. Therefore wearing formal clothes to begin your workday will help you get the work feel and stay focused.
3. Make a Schedule and fix your working hours.
I know it sounds boring and cliche, but if there is a magical formula to be super productive at work, then it would be to make a schedule. Fixing your schedule helps to create boundaries for internal and external distractions. Thus, it helps to amplify your efficiency.
Working from home does not mean working 24*7. Therefore you need to decide the timings of availability for team calls, the client meets, reporting, etc. This way, you can cut down the distractions and can pour yourself into the state of Deep Work.
You can communicate your working hours with your family also to experience no interference. Fixing the schedule and working hours will help you to maintain a work-life balance.
4. Plan your Workflow
Planning your day ahead of the workday is crucial to witness productivity in your day. You need to be very clear about the tasks you need to finish the next day. The high priority and low priority work need to be separated. Make sure to have clarity of the time each task will take to complete.
Know your high-performing hours and less productive ones. After listing down all the tasks, their priorities, and the time they will take to complete, you can plan your workflow according to your high and low-performing hours. Schedule the high-priority work that needs much brainstorming in high-performing hours and vice versa.
Following the planned schedule will help you to eliminate distractions, know your deliverables, and stay productive on the work.
5. Take regular breaks while working.
While working in an office, you can have water cooler conversations, desk gossips, Tea breaks, lunch breaks, and a lot of other things. But, unfortunately, there are no such break options available while working from home. Therefore you need to take breaks in regular intervals to give your brain time to recharge its capacity.
Taking breaks does not waste time but increases productivity. You can talk to your friend, listen to some good music, read something, play a game or have a walk in the break time to give your break time to rejuvenate.
A recent study suggests taking up a break of around 17 minutes after working for 52 minutes to amplify your productivity. Then, you can set up an alarm to get back to work after the break.
6. Minimize the Distractions
It is essential to beat the distractions to be productive at work. Do not allow yourself to distract while working. Avoid using multiple tabs while working. Please do not open any youtube videos, Instagram scrolling, or TikTok videos as they can snatch your valuable time without your attention. Remove all the items in your surrounding that can distract you.
Restrict yourself from Chatting with family or friends during your working hours. Instead, you can use concentrations music or instrumental music to focus on the work without getting distracted.
7. Don’t lose the human touch.
Make sure that you do not lose touch with colleagues when you are working from home. The best thing about the office culture is that it offers easy communications and collaboration, which is somewhere lags in WFH.
Get in touch with your colleagues a couple of times every weak on text, video call, or audio call to have the office fun and discuss important things. It will help you to feel more connected and less stressed.
Shifting the work from the office to home isn’t easy, but you can continue your productivity by focusing on few things and adapting to a new culture. WFH is a fantastic thing as long as your kid does not scream or jump into your client calls.
What are the tips you are using during your WFH scenes to stay productive?