As some people are getting back to the office, there are still an incredible amount of people working from home. Restrictions may be easing, but for a good portion of the business community, flexible working arrangements are here to stay.

But as the world starts to ‘get back to work’, productivity is expected to increase, even if you are still working from home. So, how do you work from home successfully?

It’s all about the routine.

Plan your Day

Make a plan for what you want to accomplish that day. Having to figure out what to do next takes time and can allow for distractions and procrastination. Instead, work out what you need to get done for the entire day before you start.

What to do first

It may be hard to drag yourself out of bed and get work done straight away. Usually you’ve got a commute to get in the right head space. But if you put off starting your work day, you are more likely to procrastinate. You will end up dragging your feet and getting distracted. Try accomplishing just one thing as early as you can and will motivate you to keep going throughout the day.

Workspace

It also helps to have a dedicated workspace – somewhere you can go and know that you are ‘at work’. If you don’t have a study or an office, try having a dedicated set up for your computer and avoid working from the lounge. It gets you in the right headspace to go to the same place each day and have a work-like set up.

Motivation Peaks

Are you the type of person who wakes up full of energy in the morning? If so, schedule your harder tasks early on. If you are more of a late starter, get some simpler, more logistical tasks done first, increase your motivation and move on to the more complex tasks for when you are in the right headspace.

Take a Break

It may seem counter-intuitive to stop working, but don’t feel guilty for taking a break. Even in the office, you take breaks, make a coffee, chat to a co-worker about the weekend, have lunch… but at home it can be so much more tempting to power on through. But not taking a break can cause mental fatigue and you’ll find yourself getting less productive as the day goes on. Take 5 minutes here and there, make a coffee, stretch, go outside for a minute, whatever you need to do to refresh. Come back to your work ready to get through the next portion of the day.

Clock Off

When working from home, it is so easy to fall into the trap of never switching off. Your work is right there and you just need to send one more email or do that one task. Before you know it, you have completely lost track of time. If you need to, set an alarm, but make sure you are clocking off at the end of each day and allowing yourself time to relax and recharge ready for the next day.

Working from home is likely to become increasingly more common and with a little structure in place, productivity can be even greater than that of being in the office. Embrace the casual work-from-home attire and get yourself set up for success.

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