Remote workers, virtual assistants and anyone working from home often encounter “at-home distractions,” which refers to the different factors that could impede work performance. The thrill of working at your time and your “place of comfort” is quickly eroded by activities around you that are either beyond your control or stem from your inability to be disciplined or focused.
Such distractions not only eat into your productive hours but also lead to faster burn-out and in some cases, depression. Figuring out the best productivity hacks for working from home could help towards the effective regulation of these while helping you get back to work and remain focused.
Leading Causes of Work-from-Home Distractions
As of July 2020, Statista released a report detailing some of the leading distractions for remote workers in the United States during the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus pandemic. The distractions included:
- News media
- Social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.
- Online shopping
- Binge-watching (movies)
- Gaming
- Kids
- Partner
- Smartphones
- Pets
Hubstaff adds that distractions could also come from outages from the internet and electricity; household chores, including vacuuming and catching up on dishes; and hobbies like playing an instrument and painting.
10 Productivity Hacks for Working from Home
Tackling distractions as a remote worker is core to productivity hacks for working from home. Here are actionable steps to keeping distractive elements at bay and being fully committed to your work.
- Lump Tasks, not Multitask
- Having a Home Office Space
- Dress Like You’re Going to Work
- Determine Your Productive Hours
- Get Up Early to Work
- Prep Your Meals Ahead of Time
- Have a ‘Plan B’ Ready
- Set a Time for Checking Your Email
- Know When to Take a Break – and Use it Judiciously
- Create and Stick to Routine
1. Lump Tasks, not Multitask
Some freelancers record success in multitasking (i.e. working on multiple projects at home). However, this could turn out counter-productive as you’d be spending time attending to different projects, and in some cases, be unable to complete any.
Lumping the tasks into one, especially the one in the same category, can help you truly focus. When that’s completed, you can proceed to the next batch.
2. Having a Home Office Space
As you work from home and not from a co-working space, setting up a home office becomes a necessity. The need for a designated area emanates from the desire to have a place to call a “workspace” or an “office” so you’ll be disciplined when at work.
The choice of an area for the office space is also important, so distractions would be a bit farther away. Here’s how to decide:
- If you have enough space, create a dedicated space that serves as a “home office.” This is a better option than working from your bedroom, which might demotivate you to “go to bed” when you feel a bit tired.
- An ideal home office should be located in a quiet, lighted, and comfy part of the home.
- Make sure to inform members of the household to keep off from the area.
3. Dress Like You’re Going to Work
Some remote workers overlook the fact that working from home can still be attributed to working in a conventional office environment only that you’re the only employee or “boss.”
Thus, dressing up as though you’re going for traditional office work is a good way to start prepping your mind and putting yourself in the mood to work. While you don’t necessarily need to dress up in a suit and tie, wearing comfy clothes, such as shorts and tees is a good way to start. That off to work consciousness and now at work mindset are super productivity hacks for working from home
4. Determine Your Productive Hours
If you use flexible hours for your remote work, then the chances are that you have the “perfect time” when your productivity is at its peak and when it’s low. Draw up a timetable reflecting this and push the most important tasks to the most productive hours of your day.
5. Get Up Early to Work
This is more like an extension of the pattern of identifying your productive hours. Knowing that it’s officially goodbye to conventional working hours, you can be sure that procrastinating and taking more time to rest can be tempting.
However, if you’ve cultivated the culture of punctuality, do well to maintain it now that you work from home. Always go to bed early and rise early to kickstart the day’s activities.
6. Prep Your Meals Ahead of Time
There’s no “break time” unless you create one. Remote work, depending on your niche and the work demands or influx of work, can be time-consuming. Thus, most freelancers might find themselves skipping meals, which isn’t entirely good for their health.
Eating when due provides the required energy to continued focus at work, therefore preparing meals either by buying from food vendors or sorting it out in your kitchen has to be done ahead of time. This is one of the productivity hacks for working from home that also caters for your health and well being while at work.
7. Have a “Plan B” Ready
You need to have a contingency plan in place because of eventualities that might usurp your work. From power and internet connectivity outages to malfunctioning devices; these issues might come up when least expected.
Your Plan B could include:
- Sign up with a co-working space.
- Opt for an unlimited internet subscription. You could also go for Starlink if it’s within budget.
- Invest in solar energy to keep your devices running in the event of a power outage.
8. Set a Time for Checking Your Email
According to Statista, mindless scrolling with the smartphone and checking out the latest information are some of the distractions remote workers face. You want to keep your phones aside and get to work, then have a dedicated time for checking your emails and or catching up with the latest news.
Endless surfing of social media platforms reduces productivity drastically, the distractions are of massive for undisciplined remote workers, therefore having to drop your personal phones and internet enabled devices are impactful productivity hacks for working from home. Enables you to diligently execute tasks without social media distractions.
9. Know When to Take a Break – and Use it Judiciously
Taking a break should also be on your to-do list. It helps to refresh your mind and body while allowing you to be excited to return to work when it’s over.
The other part some people don’t talk about is what to do when on a break as a remote worker. Here are ideas:
- Engage in physical activities, such as taking a stroll, having a mini exercise, or just stretching out.
- Take a nap if you feel weak, but set an alarm to wake you on time.
- Take a walk with your pet.
If unsure of when is the best time to take a break, here are cues:
- Take a break after every 20 to 30 minutes of straight work. It helps your stress feel less stressed.
- Stand for a few minutes or take a stroll around the house and get back to work. That’s a good way to relax your muscles.
- Get up and fix a cup of coffee to keep your mind sharpened at work.
10. Create and Stick to a Routine
Working from home gives you the flexibility to work at your own pace and time. By skipping the commute, a remote worker would be in a better position to “take back the time” and use it judiciously.
This is where creating a routine comes in. Have a to-do list for each day or week and map out a timetable to help you stay organized. There should be a start and end time so you wouldn’t feel boxed in but still have the time to get the job done.
The Bottom Line
Remote work has come to stay and the freelancers who can figure out how to stay focused and consistent on the job will always triumph. By following the tips in this article, you’d be able to stay productive and still have time to juggle between work and personal activities. Though this post uses productivity hacks for working from home, it’s also same for productivity hacks for remote workers.