There’s no denying that the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns introduced by several governments had taken a toll on many people’s mental health. As experts from the Primal Harvest store admit, “The chronic stress, anxiety, insomnia, lethargy, and even depression for many of us has now stretched on for months. From financial stress to fear over our health and safety, we’re facing challenges that we’ve largely never encountered before.”
All this has also affected people’s work and their productivity. Switching to a home office within only a couple of days is definitely not easy. After all, there are so many distractions – especially for those who have kids or pets – that getting the job done seems almost impossible.
However, there are some things that can help you with that and allow you to stay focused while working from home. If you want to find out more, just stay with us.
Create a Suitable Workspace
We all know that one of the most important benefits of working from home is that you can do it from your own bed without even getting up. Unfortunately, as you probably know from your experience, although very convenient, it doesn’t really help to be productive.
In order to increase your productivity, you should find a suitable place to work. Having a place that you can dedicate to work only can help you avoid any distractions and be more focused.
If you already have a home office – that’s great. However, every home is different, which means that in some of them, dedicating a room to become an office is simply not possible. If that’s the case for you, you’ll have to get creative and make use of the space you have. For instance, you can use the kitchen counter (always choose the same spot) or the dining room’s table.
Tip: If you can, try to avoid doing your work in your bedroom. Since your brain associates this room with sleep, it won’t function as well as it would in a fresh set-up. To put it simply – don’t work and sleep in the same room.
Create a Work Schedule
As we already mentioned, getting distracted is very easy when you are in the comfort of your own home. However, you can avoid that by creating a work schedule and sticking to it. What’s more, you’ll be able to allocate an appropriate amount of time for all of your tasks, completing them within a specific period, and thus avoid overworking or underworking.
If you are the type of person that feels the most productive during later hours of the day, it might be better for you to schedule more important tasks for the afternoon and vice-versa. Set time aside to answer some emails, and complete less urgent responsibilities to make sure that you won’t have to do it in your free time.
By creating a clear schedule, you can use the time outside of it to deal with some household chores, as well as complete the tasks that are not work-related. It will help you develop organizational skills and keep a healthy work-life balance.
Remember About Taking Breaks
Your brain has its limit and can get tired, making you less productive and unable to focus on the task at hand. That is why taking breaks is essential. By taking a breather, you can restart your brain and come back to what you are supposed to do with new energy.
If you can, go outside during the break – even if it’s just standing on the balcony. If you have a dog, you can take it on short walks throughout the day – it will be good for both you and your pet.
Establish and Follow a Morning Routine
Just like creating a work schedule is vital, so is establishing a morning routine. Knowing beforehand what to do each morning can help you stay productive and be at the top of your game. Many successful people believe that a partial reason for their success is having strict morning habits.
If you had one before switching to remote work, try to continue it. Obviously, you won’t have to commute, but you can use the time you would spend doing it to go for a walk or read a book.
Now, let’s talk about the way you dress. Of course, staying in your pajamas all day long seems like a dream come true. However, it might affect your productivity to a large extent. It’s the same situation that we mentioned above with working from your bedroom – if you are dressed as if you were going to bed, your brain will think it’s bedtime, and you’ll feel lazy and unmotivated.
Don’t Stop Socializing
Just because you are working from home does not mean that you have to become a loner and stop talking to everyone. Quite the opposite – in times of isolation, keeping contact with other people is more significant than ever, especially for one’s mental health.
Although you might not be able to see your friends and co-workers in real life, there are many other ways to keep in touch – Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, or even Facebook’s Video Chat. If you can, consider establishing weekly meetings with the rest of your team so that you can have some human interaction (particularly important if you live alone). Also, it will motivate you to dress up at least once a week – even if it’s just a formal shirt and sweatpants.
The Bottom Line
The pandemic has definitely taken us by surprise – within just a few months, the world has changed completely. We had to adjust to a new reality quickly, part of which is switching to remote work.
Unfortunately, working from home has affected many people’s productivity. After all, it’s not that easy to stay focused when working from home. Kids, pets, television, radio – our houses are full of distractions. Fortunately, there are some things that you can do that can help you stay as productive as you were in your workplace.
We hope that after reading this article, you have an idea about what to do in order to not only stay focused throughout the day but also keep a healthy work-life balance. Good luck!