A recent survey with 490 respondents revealed that only 23 percent of Gen Z workers think they’re productive while working from home. Although work-from-home offers many benefits, many young employees still struggle with this setup. If you’re the same, something in your routine might be missing, affecting your productivity.
If you want to know how to boost your productivity while working from home, this guide provides tips that can help enhance your efficiency.
Set Realistic Goals
Realistic goals are objectives you can achieve with your abilities and motivation in a specific timeframe. They help you maximize your time and resources, ensuring you accomplish tasks and meet deadlines within working hours.
To make your goals realistic, define your meaning of success. Then, identify the approaches you’ll take to achieve this success.
Think about what’s important to you. If you have a long-term goal, break it down to make it more manageable. Even the most minor contributions can make a significant impact.
Remember that failure doesn’t mean you can’t achieve your goals. Just keep going and trying until you find something that works.
Dedicate Time for Breaks
It can be easy to be glued to your desk when you need to focus on finishing a task. However, focusing too much on your work can be draining. Thus, take breaks and don’t feel guilty for doing so, even if the break is just five minutes.
You can take breaks by listening to music or working on a hobby. You should also get away from your desk by walking or spending time with your loved ones in the house. Don’t assume you can be productive by working all the time. Have some time to relax to prevent feelings of burnout.
Cook the Night Before
Try to cook the night before the next workday. Don’t use the morning to prepare meals because it can exhaust you.
Preparing meals ahead helps ensure you dedicate your breaks to eating. Treat your work as if you’re working in the office. You don’t cook at the office, so try incorporating the same habit while working at home. This way, you can manage your time and spend your energy efficiently.
Designate a Home Office
Working from home doesn’t mean you can’t have an office. Therefore, designate a specific room or area rather than working on spaces dedicated to leisure and relaxation. No matter the size and location, this home office helps you focus and stay committed throughout the working hours.
If you have a “she-shed” in your backyard, transform this space into your work haven. Why wouldn’t you want a home office that can double as a garden retreat? Just add furniture and equipment that can support your job responsibilities, and you have your backyard home office that can keep you away from distractions.
Establish Specific Working Hours
Since working from home offers flexibility, you can work whenever you want. However, managing your tasks can be challenging without well-defined working hours. You may lose focus when you don’t have set working hours throughout the day.
As such, establish your specific working hours by choosing your most productive time. Create a structure to prevent overriding your personal time.
Moreover, follow the standard eight working hours. Whichever time you choose depends on your company’s protocols and regulations. Just make sure it works for you and your employer.
Limit Your Distractions
Distractions are inevitable while working at home, especially when you live with your family. Additionally, pets, children, neighbors, social media use, and other environmental factors can disturb your working momentum.
For instance, peeking at a social media post may make you lose one working hour. The surrounding noise can also affect your concentration. Hence, limit these distractions by turning off social media, being mindful of your time, and wearing noise-cancelling headphones.
At the same time, stay away from physical distractions, such as the living room, to avoid bingeing a TV series. This “out of sight, out of mind” tactic can make concentrating easier.
Make Daily To-Do Lists
Before finishing your workday, make a to-do list of urgent tasks to work on the following day. This list lets you work on the most significant tasks first thing when you log in so you can be productive immediately.
To create a structured to-do list, arrange your list in descending order—from the tasks with the highest importance to the ones with the lowest. This arrangement helps you organize your tasks so you won’t cram a complex assignment before logging out.
Avoid Multitasking
Multitasking may seem the best way to finish your tasks. However, it may do more harm than good. Just because multitasking works for some doesn’t mean it will work for you. Moreover, it may not always apply to specific tasks.
Some tasks require the utmost concentration. So, as much as possible, avoid this habit. Multitasking can affect the quality of your work because you focus on multiple things at once.
Suppose you finish five tasks in one go, and your manager sees many errors. You’ll review and edit them again, reducing your productivity. Rather than working on new tasks, you’re back to square one.
Hence, adopt the “be here now” mindset. When working on a task or talking to colleagues in meetings, focus your attention there. Do the same when taking breaks.
Stay Productive While Working at Home
Gen Zers like you don’t have to struggle while working at home. By finding the right combination of these tips, you can stay productive and efficient in your job in the comfort of your home.
