Working from home can be a rewarding experience. You have total control over your schedule and work environment. However, if you don’t learn how to quickly and efficiently manage your work and life balance, working from home can soon turn into a nightmare. To create a productive work routine, consider these seven tips to successfully work at home.
1. Write Out Your Daily Schedule the Night Before
A sentiment that will always ring true is that tomorrow’s success depends on today’s preparation. To be successful when working remotely, you must make planning a top priority. At the end of each day, it is helpful to write a to-do list of the goals or tasks you need to complete the following day. Without a scheduled plan, you may jump from one thing to the next without focus, and before you know it the day is almost over and you haven’t truly accomplished any of the work you needed to get done. Having a structure is an essential element when it comes to successfully working remotely. To get the most out of your days, write out your daily schedule, goals, and tasks the night before.
2. Stick to Set Work Hours
When working from home, it is also essential that you create and stick to set working hours. You are the writer of this schedule, so create a time frame that works best for your lifestyle. You could set your working hours from 9-1, pencil in a one hour lunch break, and then work again from 2-4. Ultimately, you get to decide when you work and how many hours you work on a given day. The good news is that you’re the boss, so you can give yourself as much flexibility as you need.
Some days you may need to clock in more hours than others; however, it’s important that you still schedule breaks for yourself each day. After sitting down at your workspace for an hour, it’s a good and healthy practice to get up and walk around for 5 to 10 minutes.
Every day does not need to look the same. You will be able to play around with your schedule and figure out what works best for you. Just remember to have some sort of structure or plan in place because if you don’t, the day is likely to run away from you.
3. Get Dressed
While it’s certainly plausible to stay in your pajamas all day when working from home, it will most likely hinder your overall productivity. Getting up, taking a shower, brushing your hair, and putting on a fresh pair of clothes are all important when it comes to working remotely. Taking these steps replicates the feeling of heading into the office and puts you on the path to being more productive throughout your day.
4. Give Yourself a Lunch Break
Breaking up your day is another key element of successful remote work. Giving yourself a lunch break can help you stay motivated and on track throughout the day. Carve out an hour each day as your designated lunch break. During this time, take a break from technology. Move away from your workspace and sit down and enjoy a meal. You can use this time to tidy up the house or go for a quick walk. Taking this time away from work gives you a mood boost, as well as the motivation to power through the rest of your work tasks for the day.
5. Create a Set Work Place in Your Home
Another essential element of working from home is creating a set workplace in your home. While it may seem like a fun idea to work from your bed, you will soon come to find out that this will not be a very productive practice. Working from bed not only reduces overall productivity, but it also makes it harder to fall asleep at night as you have been working from the same space all day. On top of that, working from your bed does no favors to your posture.
Even if you live in a one-bedroom apartment, you need to create a space that is designated for work. Set up a little corner in your home. When you enter this space, think of it as walking into the office. This strategy keeps a work and home balance while also increasing your overall productivity.
6. Remove Distractions
While working from home, there will no doubt be distractions. Some of these distractions are controllable, and some are not. However, you must focus on what you can control rather than what you can’t. So turn off your cell phone, stay off of social media, and place yourself in a productive working environment. Distractions decrease productivity, so remove any distractions that are in your control.
Remember to also schedule in break times for yourself throughout the day. If you know that you have a break coming up in thirty minutes, you are more likely to focus on the task at hand, as you know you have a little relaxation and mental break coming up. Scheduling breaks is an excellent way to avoid any potential distractions throughout your day.
7. Connect With Others
The final tip for successfully working from home is to remember to connect with others. It’s easy to isolate yourself when working from home. However, humans are social creatures by nature and thrive off of interaction. Prolonged isolation can negatively impact humans, both mentally and physically. While getting work done is important, don’t forget to come up for air. To successfully work from home, you must find a work and life balance that works for you. This balance includes making time to connect with others.
There are a number of ways to connect with others, even while working remotely. During one of your scheduled breaks, you can take a walk and say hello to the people you pass by. You can walk to your favorite coffee shop and strike up a conversation with the barista. Calling or FaceTiming friends, family members, or work colleagues during a break or at the end of the day is another way to stay connected while working from home. It doesn’t matter how you connect. Just remember to make connecting with others a priority.
Overall, to be successful when working remotely, you must find the right work and life balance. Integrating these seven tips into your daily work routine should help create a remote work environment that leads you down a path to success. Looking for new career opportunities? Contact Atlantic Group today!