It’s difficult to find the motivation to be as productive from home as you would be in the office. You’re alone, your work space is as comfy as could be, and there’s no one watching over your shoulder to keep you accountable. Even once you get started it’s hard not to get distracted by all your familiar surroundings. You can try forcing yourself to follow a strict schedule, but that’s almost always doomed to fail. Nobody likes being told what to do, even when the orders are coming from yourself! With that being said, here are a few tips to help you avoid procrastination and be more productive when working from home:
- Set a timer
It’s very difficult to be work consecutively and undistracted for long stretches of time. Set a timer for 15 minutes and proceed to work for 15 minutes, not a second longer. Fifteen minutes of uninterrupted work may be too long and unrealistic for some people. If you find that to be the case, then lower the amount of time until you find a span of time that allows you to work with your full and uninterrupted attention. It could be two, three or even ten minutes for you. Start at a time you would be willing to work with and then work your way up from there. Once the time is up, reward yourself with a short rest and repeat!
2. Set Milestones & Reward Yourself
It’s obvious that shorter tasks are much easier to accomplish than longer ones. It can be hard to see the finish line while working on a time-consuming task. It can be very effective to break up your tasks into smaller milestones, and then rewarding yourself upon reaching each one. If you have a 1000 word document to write out, then split it up into five 200 word segments and give yourself a small reward every time you reach the next milestone. The reward could be as simple as a sip of coffee or a minute rest. Choose what works for you and reward yourself for progress made! This will allow you to restructure the way you envision the task, which will make the task seem less intimidating, allowing you start sooner and with more confidence!
3. Use Your Extra Time Wisely
Working from home has allowed you to skip your morning and evening commutes, providing you with extra time you would not normally have had. This allows many of you to sleep in instead of waking up early to commute to work. While extra sleep is an important added benefit to both your overall health, trying to milk every minute of sleep simply because you now can, can harm your productivity. If you have to log on by 9 am, don’t wake up at 8:55. Wake up a little earlier and try to recreate your pre-pandemic morning routine as closely as possible. Wake up, have breakfast, drink your coffee, get dressed in decent clothes, and maybe even take a walk to get yourself primed for a good day’s work! Some people are even talking a walk around the neighborhood in an attempt to simulate their normal morning commute to work.
You get some added time back after work as well, when you would have had to commute back home. Take this time to wind down from a long day’s work. Take this time to watch a few videos you’d enjoy or maybe do some breathing exercises to prepare yourself for the second half of your day.
