Working from home comes with a number of benefits, including money savings, reduced travel time, and the option the wear whatever you want. That being said, it has its downsides too. Whether you telecommute occasionally or operate a home business, you’ve probably had to deal with a number of distractions and resist many more of the temptations that a home office can bring. While working from home can boost your productivity, that is only possible if you’re willing to make some changes. With that in mind, here are ten simple ways to maximize productivity in your home office.
Claim The Perfect Space
Before you can work on boosting your productivity, you need to carve out the perfect space. Although it is possible to work from your dining room table or the comfort of your couch, both of these areas offer a number of distractions and will make it difficult for you to focus each day. Aside from this practical aspect, the physical boundaries will also help to maintain your mental ones, meaning that when you move to your office, your mind will be ready to get to work.
Give Everything A Home
Cluttered offices lead to cluttered minds, which, naturally is going to affect your ability to work. For this reason, you need to ensure that you clean your office on a regular basis, and make it a habit to remove any unnecessary junk, like old paperwork and coffee cups. You should also ensure that everything in your office has a place to call it’s own, from your HP printer ink to your pins. This way, you’ll be able to find whatever you need quickly, saving you lots of time each day.
Tidy Up Your House
Unfortunately, it’s not just your office itself that can cause you to lose focus. Although you can’t see the piles of dirty clothes in your washroom or the mountain of dirty dishes in your kitchen, you’re still going to find it difficult to ignore them. Because of this, you should spend some time each night completing a few household chores. Once your home is little tidier, you’ll feel less guilty and distracted, so you’ll be able to get on with your work.
Establish A Daily Routine
When you work from home, you’re almost always in charge of your own schedule. While this can be convenient at times, more often than not, it does cause a few problems. This is because you don’t have any set hours or a routine to follow, which can lead to you becoming distracted and spending far longer than necessary on your work. To avoid this, you should set working hours and establish a daily routine. This means you’ll be able to transition from jobs easily.
Get Tough With People
Once you’ve set hours that you want to stick to, you need to make them known to your friends, family, and neighbors. Hopefully, after you’ve done this, most of these people will leave you alone while you’re busy. Unfortunately, there may still be people who don’t understand that working from home is still working. This means you may need to get a little tougher, going as far as to ignore your door or phone unless it’s an absolute emergency.
Consider Your Childcare Options
That being said, when you have children at home, the odd visitor now and then isn’t going to make much difference, as the distractions will be plenty regardless. With that in mind, you may want to consider some form of childcare so that you can focus on your work when you need to. This, of course, could mean hiring a babysitter, but you call also ask for help from your loved ones. If this isn’t possible, then try to limit your distractions by working during nap time or school.
Take Regular Meaningful Breaks
Although it’s important to stay on task and avoid distractions while working, it’s just as important to take breaks when you need them. After all, working yourself to exhaustion will only ever limit the amount of work you can actually get done. That being said, there are ways to get more out of your breaks and make them more meaningful. Instead of playing a game or scrolling through social media, you could read blog posts or articles related to your field.
Bring The Outdoors In
A number of studies have shown that exposure to plants and other greenery can help to reduce stress and fatigue, while also boosting mood and productivity, especially in the workplace. With that in mind, you should consider adding some fresh flowers and houseplants to your working area. Just be sure that you water and take proper care of them, as dying greenery has the opposite effect. Succulents and cacti are perfect options if you lack a green thumb.
Hire A Virtual Assistant
Running a business is no easy job, even when working from home. There are lots of things that you need to get done each day, making it incredibly easy to get bogged down with unimportant tasks. Instead of wasting your time on things that don’t need or deserve it, you should consider hiring a virtual assistant. This can cut down your work significantly, making it easier to get on with things that really make a difference.
Reward Your Hard Work
When you work from home, you rarely have someone there to reward you when you do something well or meet a target. This can cause a dip in your motivation, as it can start to feel as though your work in unappreciated. To avoid this, you should find ways to reward yourself. For example, you could give yourself a longer lunch or order food instead of cooking. Knowing that you have something to look forward to can boost your energy levels and keep you on task.
Working from home brings a number of benefits, but it’s far from a perfect situation. With all of the distractions you have to face each day, staying productive can begin to feel like a losing battle. That being said, the tips above should be able to help you stay on task.