Due to recent coronavirus happenings around the world, there is an increasing demand in the services of remote working. In times of Global pandemics like we have now with the Covid-19 virus, there is a need to avoid going to work as several Governments have placed restrictions on human movement in their Countries in order to lessen the spread of the highly contagious Virus that is threatening the existence of mankind all together.
In normal offices, you often get distracted by co-workers who often pop into your work time, thereby keeping you from getting real productivity out of your time. Work places can be beneficial as well as they can also become challenges to you if you are the type that gets distracted easily.
So, now that you find yourself with no other choice than to work from home, what are the things you need to put into consideration to be able to make the most out of your home-work time? In this article, I will be sharing several methods that have been proven to have helped several freelancers, including myself, work effectively from home. Gone are the days when having to work from home implies lack of professionalism or success; there are thousands of successful people, especially freelancers like myself, who work from home and have made a name for themselves. Working from home is not also an easy task, but it can be harnessed to give maximum productivity if managed well.
So, if you find yourself amongst those who are forced to work from home due to the current situation of the world, or you have been trying to work from home to no avail for some time now, this post and its content are for your consumption. Do well to practice the following tips and watch yourself soar from the confinement of your house.
One of the problems faced by those who work from home is the lack of a well-planned routine. To make the most of your time in your house, you need to be able to create routines and be honest enough to follow them to the letter.
If you fail to create a routine for yourself, you will end up moving from one task to the other, and at the end of the day, you might end up fulfilling nothing. Take your time in creating a system that works best for you, and you will be shocked to see your productivity sky rocket to another level entirely.
There are no doubts how pestilential disturbances can be to productive minds. When working from home, your family and friends can be a source of disturbance to you.
To curb this issue, you need to share your schedule with them. Explain to them when you will be working and when you will be able to attend to them. Help them understand the importance of you not being disturbed.
NB. This might not be necessary if you live alone.
As humans, and not machines, we perform a given task better when it comes with frequent breaks. These breaks give the mind time to recharge and get ready to do the next task on schedule.
Try splitting your day into four or five 90 minutes windows, this way, you’ll be able to finish at least five different tasks per day efficiently with full focus.
Whatever it is your calendar contains, there should be spaces for breaks. Set Lunch times, break times, otherwise you will lose your opportunities to recharge your mind for better efficiency.
There is a difference between getting a job done, and doing the job efficiently. Always aim for excellence, and excellence comes with a healthy mind.
It has been discovered that the very first thing you do in the morning pretty much dictates how your day will go. So definitely, to get the most of a new day, you need to have prepared from the day before.
Make notes, prepare a list, review information. Create the base for a world class performance in the new day from the night before.
The worst thing to do in the morning is trying to ease your way into the morning. The morning to you is like the morning to an Olympic sprinter. His morning routine is most like a warm up for a race. Your morning should be scheduled in a way that will make your day a super productive one.
Get up, do some clean up, get food- and start working!
Don’t ever start your morning by checking emails, finish your work before you do!
The sound of beeping devices can be a good source of distraction too. Make sure your phones, computers and any other device are muted before getting involved in a task. Only turn them on when you are done with whatever you are doing to find out what it is you have missed in your time of work.
Working from home means you will have to spend a lot of time sitting. Invest in things that will make your work at home enjoyable. Things like good computers, good phones, and most importantly comfortable chair to keep you woke when you are knee deep into your work.
Social media kills productivity as it is designed in a way to make it very easy for you to open and browse through. To stop yourself from mindlessly wasting time on social media platforms when you should be getting a job done, remove them completely from your browsers’ shortcuts and try to log out of every account.
You can also consider working on incognito mode as this ensures you are signed out of all your accounts and your web searches are not tailored directly to your normal social life.
