Millions of people have been working from home for weeks now, and you may be one of them. Some are familiar with working remotely, while others are working from home for the first time.
Working from home doesn’t have to be isolating. You still have to collaborate with your colleagues and communicate with our customers through technology, and at the end of the day, you can unplug from work and focus on things you love to do after the workday. Here are some tips to help you keep your spirits up and stay motivated.
You are employed by a company, and you will probably set hours of work. It is important to stick to the routine even though you are working from home. Start your day at the same time as you would normally arrive in your office and finish your day at the same time.
If you are struggling to stick with your regular schedule, business is business and you still need to stick with your routine to become successful in keeping a schedule. The tips are to plan out your workday, plan for your lunchtime, decide your work hours, accomplish your work hour tasks, make use of a reliable time-tracking app, make time for workouts, and plan your dinner.
For some people, wearing pyjamas while working from home will not stop their brains from being productive and from keeping their spirits up. For some washing up and wearing pinstripe shirts and proper shoes help them go through the motions and psychologically prepare them ahead to work. You can still dress the way you like when you used to be working in the office, depending on the type of person you are and what your job is.
If your job does not require meeting clients through video calls, dressing down at home gives you more time and energy to complete other tasks. Dressing with the top half and sitting on the sofa with the bottom half still works well for some. Most women spend at least an hour to get completely dressed. But dressing down helps you start your busy day right away.
When you’ve lost motivation, it is not easy to achieve your goal. Make a simple to-do-list to keep you organised, motivated and productive when working from home. When creating a list, have big and long-term goals. Then break it down into small tasks and complete them one by one to help you know you are making progress. This will give you positive reinforcement throughout the day.
During busy hours, it is easy to get blown off course and discouraged. This is why you need to ground yourself in your goal. If you get distracted, create blocks of time to decide to turn everything off. This includes shutting down your television, radio, or anything that interrupts you. Remember to set reasonable targets and reward yourself every time you achieve them.
Some say procrastination is the silent killer of motivation. Eliminating procrastination from your life helps you stay motivated and achieve your dreams. If you don’t know how to stop procrastination, the tip is here.
Use the 15-minute rule to cut it off. Use the timer or stopwatch on your phone. Set the timer to 15 minutes. Then start doing the task that you put off and commit to doing it for 15 minutes. Why do it for only 15 minutes? Generally, when someone is doing something for 15 minutes, they continue doing it for much longer. Also, by committing to 15 minutes, you are overcoming one of the biggest tasks, which is “getting started”.
So next time you have a challenging project, do it for 15 minutes right away. Set aside 15 minutes every single day. And over time, you will build better habits that empower you to concentrate on longer-hour tasks.
It is professional to have a routine when working from home, but you shouldn’t stay glued to your screen all day. It is important that you take a break from your screen, get up and walk around. We can’t all have superhuman productivity.
Let’s consider 5 minutes or up to 15 minutes after every hour to free yourself from your desk, call a loved one, go get some drinks, update your software, or draw something. Taking a short break will help you increase productivity and avoid burnout as well.
Working from home through the exploration of digital technology always provide you with new opportunities. Building productivity and motivation of employees is also important to drive the business.
While you keep your business thrive during this difficult time, let Luma help take care of your health. Fill in the form below to get a quote.