Essential ingredients to make working from home productive
Why rules, routines and rituals are essential to help you get through your to-do list and stay productive when working from home. Advice from freelancers who do it on the daily.
Working from home is a fantasy for many, and with Covid-19 regulations, it has become a necessity for many businesses.
Studies show that working from home can increase productivity and happiness. Researchers found that working from home not only benefits employees by eliminating their daily commutes, it also increases productivity and leads to healthier lifestyles.
Working from home may seem like the ultimate in flexibility, and yes it can be, but as freelancers who have been doing it for a while now - take note - it can be tricky to get right. Here are some ways to make it work.
You’ll need discipline
With the kitchen mere metres away and your comfy couch looking oh so tempting, it’s easy to see how distractions can creep into your day when working from home. You’ll need a healthy dose of discipline. Here are some of our tried and tested remedies...
Remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing. This helps give a sense of purpose and keeps you on track to continue pursuing a bigger vision for yourself or your team.
Have a desired outcome for the day and write it down. What do you want to have achieved by the end of the day? Ending the day directionless isn’t very motivating.
Keep a to-do list. I like to choose no more than 3 tasks on my to-do list each day. But these are the three most important tasks that will move me closer to my bigger goals. If I smash through those (it can happen) I can move onto other items,
Use a timer. I love the Focus Keeper app, but you can choose any Pomodoro style timer to give you solid focus sessions. These keep you focused for 25min blocks with a 5min break to make a cuppa and get back before the next focus session begins.
Some basic rules
When you’re working from home, the lines can blur between work time and downtime. But with a few simple rules working remotely can be a productive experience.
Pick a time to start your workday. This is where your free choice comes in. You might opt for a traditional 9-5 or if you know that you want to start earlier and finish at 3 pm to pick up the kids. Set your hours, let people know what those are, then stick to it.
Figure out when you are most productive. When you know how you work, you can make the most of your day. For me, I am way better at writing content in the morning, so I limit phone calls as much as possible and save them for the afternoon instead.
Shutdown each day. When your official work hours are over make sure you physically shut down your laptop. There have been so many times I have left it open because I didn’t quite finish something, and honestly, it starts the next day off with overwhelm and distraction. So close everything and shut it down so you can start fresh tomorrow.
Turn off phone notifications. During the workday and especially after your day is done, silence any distracting notifications. A harmless Facebook event reminder can quickly drag you off track and before you know it, you’re watching cute cat videos or scanning deals for your next vacay. Flight mode is a good option, or if you’re expecting calls, just turn off notifications on social media apps or that might divert your attention.
A ritual or two
Little habits and routines will help make working from home fun and focused. It could be something small like lighting a candle on your desk, pouring a cup of tea, or putting on your favourite playlist. Or maybe it’s more structured like setting an intention for the day or handwriting your to-do lists.
I walk to my local coffee shop every morning and when I return, I go straight to my desk and start working. When it comes to rituals, the only limit is your imagination. The idea is for you to create little triggers to remind you that you’re in the work zone now.
I want to take a moment to mention clothing. While staying in your PJ’s might be tempting, the simple act of getting dressed is another cue to tell your brain it’s time to work. So get up and put ya pants on!
Your favourite tools
There are many digital tools to help you raise your productivity game.
You’ll want to choose a video calling platform to connect face to face with your team or clients (Google Hangouts or Zoom are great).
I love to use a time tracker to keep track of where I’m spending my time (I use Toggl, but check out Harvest too).
A flexible task or project management tool will keep your to-dos in check and make collaboration easier (I use Trello but people love Asana and Monday too).
I love using a Pomodoro timer to focus on completing work in chunks (I use Focus Keeper app but there are many others).
Conclusion
This unique time is forcing more companies to embrace remote working and get on board with the way we freelancers and solo entrepreneurs already operate. This may be the start of a new normal, and with the right boundaries, rules and rituals in place, working from home can be better, happier, more productive than office life. It just takes a little practice to get right.
Over to you!
What is your favourite working from home habit? Feel free to share this with a friend who’s new to working remotely.