Work from Home Productivity
My personal tips to reaching your full potential and staying on task while working from home.
As most of you are aware, the year 2020 has brought on intense changes in regard to businesses and working from home. It may seem like a dream to roll out of bed, rub your eyes, and get right to work. It’s important to note and recognize there are many challenges people face when making the transition from constant stimulation in a work setting to the hidden confinement that is WFH.
Some of these challenges are: keeping yourself organized, social interaction reduction, remembering to take breaks and shutting off at the end of the day. Luckily there are positives to working from home, and there are ways to conquer these challenges to ensure you are working at your most productive potential, while maintaining your mental health and happiness. Let’s go over each challenge and identify ways to conquer each challenge that comes your way!
Our first challenge to tackle is staying organized. To help myself, I decided that I needed to set up my work environment away from where I spend my leisure time. This helps my mind to separate work and play time. If you find yourself without an alternative spot, try setting up your work area as secluded as possible, and make sure it isn’t mixing with any play-time items. Keep it tidy and free from distractions. Is there a designated corner you can set up? That may help you switch from work to home more efficiently. Separation is key! If you have your “work area” set to the side, you’ll keep your work items in that space, and will improve your organization skills.
The next challenge we are all struggling with is the reduction in social interaction. When I made the switch to WFH permanently, it was easy at first to crawl into my introverted bubble and hide away. As time progressed, I found myself feeling antsy, short tempered, and even depressed. It was mentioned to me that I hadn’t had any social interaction with my work colleagues and personal friends. I decided to reach out and attend an Office Zoom Happy Hour. Even though we were not in person, it felt great to see the excitement on their faces, and laugh with them as we were catching up with each other. It was then that I knew I needed to fight the inner introvert in order to make working from home a success. As restrictions ease, it’ll offer more advantages to meeting with others in person. In the meantime, I video chat, email, text, call, you name it! Whatever I can do to have interaction and keep my mind feeling refreshed and at ease. I hope that helps you as well.
The next two challenges go a bit hand in hand for me. Remembering to take a break and shutting off at the end of the day are the hardest tasks for me to accomplish. In a way, I feel like I’m already at home in my comfort zone, so why take any breaks? I’m living the LIFE right? Wrong. Taking breaks can increase mental wellbeing and production. I know that may seem odd. Taking breaks increases productivity? I challenge you to take a 5 minute break to stretch, watch some funny cat videos, or go outside for some fresh air. You will come back to work feeling refreshed and ready to solve problems!
Aside from taking breaks, it’s also important to end your work day and I mean really end your work day. Are you off at 5pm? Then I hope you are logging off of your computer by 5:01 and walking away from work for the rest of the evening. If you were at the office, you would probably be rushing to the door to get home and relax. Treat working from home in the same manner. When it’s time, clock out, set your status to “away” or “offline” and leave your work area. The work will be waiting for you the next day. Ensure you make a list to tackle and prioritize important deadlines; do what you can and walk away from the rest.
I hope this blog reached out to you all. Our mental health and wellbeing should be a top priority. You may be isolated, but working from home can be amazing once these challenges are conquered. Remember, you are worth it, you deserve happiness, and life is better with you in it. Take care. ❤
