More companies are sending their employees home for the foreseeable future. Because of this, working remotely has become a reality for countless professionals everywhere – including entrepreneurs and leaders who’ve never worked outside their office.
If it’s your first time working this close to your bed or kitchen, then you’ll probably need a little help. Why? Because working from home:
- Is a new experience.
- Requires a few specific traits for you to be successful.
Fortunately, there are several ways you can stay effective while working from home, even during a pandemic. Let’s go through some of them.
Create a work schedule
Unless a client requires you to work during specific times, you can set your own hours. Better still, it doesn’t have to be the usual 9-5 kind of schedule.
Yes, you need to be online if you need to chat with your team or join meetings, but you can optimise your day around the hours you’re most productive.
To determine your most effective hours, create a chart where:
- The X axis is your hours during the work day.
- The Y axis is your productivity.
You then grade your productivity from 0 to 10 for each hour. Do this for about a week, look at the specific times you’re most productive, and build your schedule around it.
Treat it like you’re working at the office
It’s tempting to get out of bed in the morning, then get straight to work while still in your pajamas. This is a bad idea.
Why? Because once you’re done with your immediate tasks, you’ll likely slink back into bed afterwards.
Try this instead: Get up, shower, and put on your work clothes. Give yourself a little buffer time before starting work by having some breakfast as well. Doing all this is like flipping a mental switch that puts you into the right mindset.
By doing the same rituals beforehand, you’ll also perform like it’s traditional work.
Simulate an office space
Everyone’s home is different, but try to find a corner that can feel as close as possible to an office space. If you have kids or pets, it should be somewhere quiet (e.g. a separate room).
Next, prepare the best possible computer setup. If you use a desktop computer, is it located in an area conducive to work? Otherwise, you may have to move it to another corner of your home.
If you’re working with a laptop, consider getting a mouse (for ease of use), then output the display to a large monitor.
Note that during this time, Wi-Fi might get a little inconsistent because there are so many more people using it. In that’s the case, get an Ethernet connection for better stability and speed.
Interact with other people
Working from home can be boring and isolating. Even with video chat, you won’t perfectly replicate face-to-face interactions with your team. This, however, doesn’t mean you should give up on socialising.
So make it a point to communicate with other humans.
Even a regular phone call would be a welcome change of pace. To mix things up, avoid talking about work when socialising with others.
Incorporate breaks
Studies have found that the most productive days include breaks. One method says that people work best for an hour straight with a 15-minute break.
Another effective approach is called the Pomodoro Method, where you set a timer for 25 minutes, work straight through, then take a break.
Consider incorporating these breaks during the dreaded afternoon slump – that sluggish feeling that frequently sets in around 1 pm or 3 pm onwards.
For best results, do something physical during your break. For instance, you can:
- Clean up your home office.
- Do some chores around your home.
- Cook yourself a healthy snack.
A physical activity lets your brain slow down to a more relaxed pace, and may help you come up with solutions to work problems that may have stumped you.
Set a hard stop at the end of the day
Home will eventually feel like work, and it’s a pretty bad feeling. To avoid this, establish an end point for your work day and abide by it.
Once you hit that hard stop, stop working and do something fun.
Here’s an idea that’ll help make time pass by more quickly: make plans for activities that you’ll look forward to. Maybe you can schedule a video call with your friends, binge on Netflix with your significant other, or play video games online.
Whatever you do, don’t dedicate 100% of your time to work. There are two good reasons for this:
- Because there’s nothing to be excited for outside your business, you’ll feel demoralised.
- You’ll just waste more time. Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
Outsource your tasks
To be even more productive when working at home, contract out your work to offshore specialists. And if you want to hire the right people for your organisation, team up with Remote Workmate.
We do all the heavy lifting for you, including screening and payrollThis means finding the ideal virtual specialist becomes so much easier.
You can actually choose from our pool of top candidates right away. Simply click the button below to browse a wide range of profiles on our Hotlist page.
