Tips to Enhance Productivity While Working from Home During Lockdown
We outlined five tips on how you can improve and optimize your work from home experience and productivity while the home office at lockdown.
Before the novel, Covid-19 outbreak, working from home was seen as a trend reserved for A-list companies and organizations. Only a mere 3.4% of the population had the pleasure to enjoy this privilege. In the wake of social distancing and lockdowns, the number of individuals working remotely has increased exponentially. But while beneficial and convenient, working from home, even before the COVID-9 outbreak, was not all sunshine and rainbows. Now that everyone is home, it becomes even harder to remain productive. That is why we outlined five tips on how you can improve your work from home experience and productivity while the home office at lockdown.
Enhance Productivity While Working from Home During Lockdown
1 Create a Better Work Area
Nothing is as distracting as having your work area in your bedroom. The chances of getting bored and jumping in bed after every hour for a “short” nap are pretty high. With that said, if you are to improve your productivity and consequently work from home experience, then the first thing you ought to do is create a better workspace. If you have a garage, basement, attic, or an extra unused room, work on creating a nice dedicated home office.
This way, once you’re in there, your mind automatically switches to work-mode. Also, with such a professional home office, your spouse, kids, or any other loved ones are less likely to distract you. Besides, if you have nagging kids, you can always lock yourself in there, get your job done, and deal with them later.
2 Have Real Work Hours While Lockdown To Gain Productivity
A great part of why we are always productive when working in a real office setting is because the schedule gives structure to our working days. This schedule would not only shape your day, but it’d keep you motivated because once you get back to work after that coffee break, your mind would be ready to handle whatever workload your manager throws your way.
But now there’s no schedule. It’s up to you to set your work hours. Unfortunately, while this flexibility and freedom are all we ever wanted, it can cause you to slack. If you’re to remain productive, have better work from home experience, and keep your job, then you need to have a schedule. Set some real work hours during which you’ll be focused on getting your job done. as a result, a great method to gain productivity while working from home at lockdown.
3 Discover Your Productive Periods
Setting real work hours may work for some people but it’s not for everyone. Some of us only work best under supervision. In other words, some people become comfortable and tend slack if there’s no one to constantly keep them on their feet.
If this describes you, then even if you set work hours and your alarm goes off, you’ll be in no hurry to get into that home office. When you finally do, you may start browsing your phone, instead of working.
To enhance your work from home experience and productivity, you need to identify your most productive hours. For instance, do you have better concentration early in the morning? If yes, then wake up early and get to work so by the time your household is up, you’ll have completed your work. In a nutshell, discover your peak productivity periods and create a work schedule around this time.
4 Connect: Productivity Working Lockdown
In a formal, office work environment, colleagues might seem like a distraction. After all, all they do is stop by your desk. Chat you up or drag you to lunch when all you want to do is focus on the job at hand. While it may have seemed like a nuisance before, the social connection you had with your colleagues in an ordinary work-setting played a significant role in your productivity.
To maintain this social connection and also better your work from home experience. You need to stay in touch with your colleagues. After that official video conference, be sure to hit up some of your favorite office buddies. See how, they’re coping, catch up with them and they may even give you more tips on how to increase your productivity.
5 Keep Your Phone and Social Media Out of Reach
Having your phone around you when working at home means you may end up spending countless hours on it. In that light, keep it out of your reach. For instance, if you set up a dedicated workspace in the basement, leave your phone in your bedroom upstairs. You’ll find it hard to go all the way to pick it when it’s not necessary. as a result, a great method to gain productivity while working from home at lockdown.
Note, you may keep your phone out of reach but end up wasting the same amount of time you’d have wasted on your phone by accessing social media via your laptop. Log out of all your social media accounts. So you’re looking at that Facebook notification that just appears on your screen.
Working from home is convenient and it’s all most of us ever want. But it also presents a unique set of challenges, mostly caused by the countless distractions in this environment. You can, however, enhance your experience by following the tips above.