Tips for Optimizing Productivity

Working from home comes with a whole new set of obstacles in the form of distractions. As a remote worker, it’s likely you’ll have to contend with a spouse or kids in the house, household chores, pets, television, social media, or other intrusions such as noise. Optimizing your productivity means eliminating the number of distractions in your home. Unfortunately, that’s often easier said than done. The following can help you to minimize distractions in your home office and start getting things done.

Planning Your Week

Planning your time is essential. If you think it’s not necessary, try going one week without planning and another with it. You’ll probably find that scheduling your time helps you to stay on task, be more productive and ultimately, optimize the amount of time you have. Your schedule should be detailed. Ideally, you’ll break your day up into two- or three-hour chunks where you work on different projects. This is going to help you utilize your time effectively. If you allot yourself an entire day to work on a project, you’re more likely to justify wasting time – you have a whole day to do it, right? When you have a mere two hours, it’s imperative that you stay on track. Spending two hours, five days a week to finish a project is far more effective than spending one ten-hour day.

Staying Firm

As a remote worker, you need to lay down the law. No one is going to ensure that your work gets done and that means you need to set down rules for yourself when it comes to your hours. Make a point of not accepting personal calls or intrusions while you’re working, unless they’re urgent. Ensure that your family and friends know that you’re working; it’s all too easy to justify putting off work by saying you’ll “do it later.” Avoid running personal errands, or letting household chores or other responsibilities get in the way of your work. You’ll find that staying firm with your schedule you’ll be less likely to succumb to distractions.

Family & Social Time

Balancing family and social activities when working from home is one of the most difficult aspects of a telecommuting job. Your family members, including your spouse, may have difficulty not seeing you as available when you’re at home.

They may be unable to simply pretend you’re not there when they know you’re home. You may need to have a discussion about disruptions or set some ground rules regarding appropriate disruptions. If your spouse and family members are supportive of what you do, they’ll understand that you can’t afford to be disrupted.

Rest Time

Finding a time to rest is crucial when you work at home. It’s easy to get caught up in your work and since you may not physically leave your place of work when you work from home, you may find yourself slipping into bad habits – working late or extended hours. This is where your schedule comes in. Your schedule should give you a realistic idea of how long you need to work each day to complete all of your tasks. If you adhere to it, you shouldn’t have a problem ending work each day when it’s time to rest or do something for yourself.