Tips For Being Productive In The Home Office

For many, the home office started by accident, or it ends up being a small space in the home – one that isn’t fit for purpose. 

Research shows that when people work from home, they have the potential to be more productive and produce better work than when they have to head into an office. Not only that, but it is cheaper to cut out travel, office meals, and that coffee on the go. 

But one of the biggest things that you have to contend with is when you are at home, there is a bed, Netflix, the dog to walk, children around (when there is no school or they are too young), and a heap of other things that can impact how much you can get done. 

So what are the options? What can you do to ensure maximum productivity for your time spent in the home office? Well, there are a few things! 

Let’s take a look at what can make the most significant impact.

Photo by vadim kaipov on Unsplash

Dress

No one says you need to wear a suit – but getting dressed into something else after you wake up switches your brain from snooze mode to go mode. You don’t need to tackle it like a regular work day if you don’t want to – but you can! 

Try to set aside a specific time in the day that you get ready for the day ahead – and make part of that by getting physically dressed and ready. It might be worth investing in something like upscale loungewear that doesn’t look like loungewear. 

The idea here is to kick your brain into work mode. 

Turn off notifications

People who know you’re at home are more likely to interrupt your day. And it isn’t because they want to ruin your workflow; they don’t consider that working from home is still work. 

If you have notifications on, your brain is trained to look at them. The little red circle, the slight noise or vibration – all designed to get your attention, of course, it is! 

But you want to get some focus hours in, and to do that; you’ll have to set some rules. It can be easier to put them directly with the technology you are using than doing it with people directly. 

Find the settings in your phone to turn off notifications until set times. Use software that blocks anything you often find yourself drifting to (like social media). 

These boundaries are essential to ensure that your work time is as protected as other people’s.

Furniture 

No one likes backache, shoulder ache, or a numb butt. Sitting at a desk that is the wrong height, with a screen at the wrong height, and a chair that doesn’t have back support are all going to take their toll. 

You’ll quickly be uncomfortable, and when that happens, you will move, shift, stand, and lose your flow. 

While you should be moving at least once an hour just to stretch and be active, it shouldn’t be because you have uncomfortable furniture.

So, one of the first purchases that you should aim to make – even if you need to save for a while – should be your furniture. Humanscale Freedom has a range that is designed for movement, ergonomic, and built with productivity in mind. 

Make sure your workspace is supporting you to achieve your goals – and if it’s not, then change it. 

List 

Ditch the mental list because you shouldn’t be adding extra things into your brain. Instead, offload everything you need to do into a daily list. Make it short, roughly three things you need to do, then add minor tasks that could be moved around to the bottom of it. 

By doing this, you are more likely to achieve the tasks you want first and will stay on track because they are right in front of you. 

Making the list is also part of how you can work with purpose. Choosing what you do, when, and why. 

Declutter

Real-life clutter around us and on our desks actually causes stress and mental clutter too. When you work from home, it is essential that you take the time to clean your desk weekly. Not only is it a great habit, but it can keep you focused on a task and in a semi-routine. 

Make it a habit to remove anything from the desk that isn’t going to help you achieve your goals or things that you might find you start reaching for mindlessly. 

Keep your workspace for work.

While there are a lot of big dreams and glamour sold online when it comes to being an entrepreneur, there are also downsides – but they are part and parcel of your bigger goal: 5 Things They Don’t Tell You About Becoming An Entrepreneur.