10 Tips to be an Efficient Work From Home Superstar!
With the coronavirus pandemic on the rise, businesses all over the world are resorting to work from home. Although it may seem like the best thing, it sure can go downhill if you don’t keep focused. We know that being efficient and just working are totally different things.
Work from home can be a challenge, with too many distractions, less communication and decreased accountability, it sure as hell doesn’t mean you can’t get things done.
As someone who’s worked from home more times than I can count, here are some ways on how to efficiently work from home in this trying time, you’ll be surprised on how much you can get done with these 10 tips:
1. Remain Consistent
The first step to being productive when working from home is to be consistent. It may be super tempting to give yourself total flexibility and freedom, take breaks as and when you want to, but you’d be doing yourself a lot of damage professionally. Being consistent and informing your seniors about your availability is the number one priority when it comes to successfully working from home. It shows accountability in terms of your work.
It’s also known that work from home helps:
- Decrease traffic and pollution
- Lessen possibilities of accidents
- Lessen hectic routines
- Reduce loss of life and money
“Although work from home sounds like a great addition, it does not necessarily work for all companies. It all depends on how it is handled or controlled”.
For example, Yahoo! had to ban work from home and enforce work from the office. On the other hand, Automattic has been very successful in the same model and had to close its gorgeous San Francisco office!
Automattic currently has more than 700 employees spread across the globe in 62 countries, from Argentina to Zimbabwe.
Here is what the CEO of Automattic, Matt Mullenweg believes and has to say- “First, find the best people you can in the world. And second, let them do their work. Just get out of their way”.
Here are some points to consider when setting a work from home schedule:
- Acknowledging when your senior needs you to be available.
- Having consistent communication with your coworkers (especially when your work is dependent or linked to one another). This could be anywhere from what you’re working on or doubts that you have about tasks assigned to you.
- Being clear about your time of availability (both to your superior and coworkers)
2. Plan & Prioritize
Always make sure you make smart goals when planning your workday. It’s important to ensure you know your priorities before you even start working. Other crucial things to plan are how much time you’ll take to get each thing done and what you will do if you have some extra time on your hands.
When planning also,
- Do the tasks with the highest priorities first
- Plan your work according to your most productive times. This way, you’re more likely to get things done.
- Don’t forget to give yourself a break.
3. Keep your Work life and Personal Life Far Apart
It might be tempting to binge-watch your favorite series, we are all guilty of it, but sorry to say, a huge No-No is “Netflix & chill” all day at least during work hours, if you choose to during break hours, that’s completely okay but make sure you don’t get so lost that you forget you have work to do.
It’s equally important to work at the time you’ve committed or said you will. Keeping work time and personal time separate is key to a productive you. In the same way, you need to communicate to your senior the time of day you won’t be available. For example, you have to do urgent housework/ medical or get some supplies.
4. Take a Break when Necessary
It’s important to give yourself a break, and not tire yourself out, even if you’re working from home. Get up from your place of work, get some fresh air, grab a bite of food, talk to family members whenever possible. This will help you reset, get your blood flowing and get you all prepped for all the other tasks lined up for you.
Also, plan your break time in advance, or follow the break time stated by your company so you can stay on track.
5. Create an Office Like Aesthetic/Environment
You might feel comfortable working from your couch or sofa or even bed, but believe me that could have a huge toll on your productivity. It’s always best to work from a chair or desk to accustom your brain that you’re working, not relaxing when working from home.
This will ensure you feel more alert, confident and also organized. Make sure you have all the necessary work things needed on your desk such as your laptops, pen, notepad etc so that you don’t have to keep getting up especially when video/conference-meetings are on. Afterall, you are going to be spending plenty of time on that desk!
6. Keep the Roomies Out
We know, keeping that cute furry pet of yours away can be extremely difficult!
But working from home is all about boundaries, may it be for pets, roommates, spouses, family etc. It’s best to encourage them to leave you alone when you’re working so you can stay consistent and focused. Remember when I tell you to keep them away, I don’t mean completely disregard them, make sure you keep a friendly distance.
7. Keep your Space Clean
Unlike the office, you don’t have a cleaner to do it for you, which means you have to do it. Keeping your work home space clean ensures that you stay productive, efficient and of course don’t lose anything important.
However, this tip goes beyond just your home workspace. It is also for your house, which if unclean, you will be tempted to get cleaned during work hours. It’s always best to keep a weekly schedule on the weekends to clean your house, so you don’t waste time doing it on work days.
8. Get Tuned In for Inspiration
The best part about working from home is that you won’t be distracted by your coworkers speaking and all the noise that happens at a workplace. Take this time, to pump up those tunes or leave your windows open to let the outside noise come in, if that’s what gets you motivated or inspired.
If you’re doing repetitive tasks then try to gain more knowledge by listening to a podcast or audiobook. Try whatever works best for you, and get the most out of your work day!
9. Always Stay in Loop
I know that working from the office enables one to always stay in collaboration and communication with coworkers and superiors, but you don’t have to miss out on this only because you’re working from home. Try to check in with your coworkers by whatever means you find comfortable, whether by email, phone or even workspace messaging like slack or project management tools such as basecamp both on a professional or personal level.
Doing this is absolutely possible without taking a lot of their time or yours. Just share what is important and motivate or encourage your coworkers to follow through.
10. Set Goals & Beat them by Challenging Yourself
You are and will always be your biggest competition.
According to Dominick Cruz- Greatness is a life mission. Being the best is not about being better than anyone else but striving to be the best you can be, and bringing out the best in others.
Set up some aspirational goals for your work every day, see how much you can get done. Keep records of what you do and see if you can beat your last day’s performance every single day, it’s the only way to get better and become more productive.
Conclusion:
If you can get a stong-hold on these 10 tips and follow them, you might be the next work from home superstar before you even realize it and will even notice that your most productive days end up being the days you work from home.
With the world’s constant fear of the coronavirus outbreak, the economy falling down, it’s more important than ever that we keep connected, take great care of one another and get the most out of our situations as we can!
Do you have any work from home tips to share that have worked brilliantly for you? Let me know in the comments section below.