How to Productively Work Remotely
Many experts project that after the long global lockdown forced by COVID-19 more and more people may want to switch to working from home. Even before the forced lockdown, remote work has grown by 44% in the last 5 years.After all, many jobs like link promotion, online marketing, essay writing service, and more do not require your physical presence in the office. Many hour-long meetings can be solved in Skype or Zoom within 15 minutes. Besides, studies show that remote employees are happier and stay in their positions longer.However, some people report being less productive on average when working from home. This doesn’t mean working from home is inherently less productive. The problem is people who have been working from the office for their whole life lack knowledge on how to have a productive day at home.Here are 5 tips that will turn you from a pajama-wearing underachiever to a productivity genius.
Create routines
Routines are extremely important for productivity. You may be thinking that you didn’t have a routine to be productive in the office. The reality is when you work in the office, you do have a routine.You gradually slip into one that is most likely to be centered around going to and from work. You get up at a certain time, grab breakfast, grab a cup of coffee on your way to the subway, check-in with security. Since you do this series of actions every day save for the weekend, you get used to it and they prepare you for work.If you didn’t like the routine you had at the office, working remotely gives you an opportunity to create your own. It takes a bit of trial and error to work out the routine that works for you, but it makes you more productive in the end. You also save a couple of hours on not having to commute to the office.It doesn’t matter what your routine is, the only thing that matters is that you have one. You can walk your dog, go for a jog, do yoga, anything. The most important thing is that you condition yourself to be in the mood for work after that routine.
Set a work schedule to avoid burnout
For many people, working from home is synonymous with working less since you don’t have to commute. However, plenty of people are spending at least three more hours working during the 2020 lockdown.Some people are spending these three hours working non-stop since people consume more content on lockdown, and it’s the best time to get more followers on your website. Others are probably distracted by browsing the internet and talking to their loved ones.Whatever your reason is, you need to do anything you can to not overwork. You may start your working day a bit later in the morning if you want to sleep in, but make sure you work without distractions for 8 hours or less and stop in the evening.Working late may cause you to burn out quickly, and nobody wants that, even your employers. Veronica Seann, Head of HR, says she had to introduce a digital curfew after 7 PM to make sure her employees are not working themselves into exhaustion.Also, if you do want to sleep in, consider this statistic gathered by The Creative Group and illustrated by PR Newswire.By 12 PM, your most productive time is lost, and you may struggle to finish your daily to-do list. While this may not be true for every person on Earth, it’s true for most people who wake up around 8 AM. Make sure you adjust your schedule to keep working in the most productive hours of your day.
Take breaks
Young people can barely relax these days, this study suggests. In part, this is because they often feel bad for not doing anything productive with their time. So they power clean their house, take on extra work or mull over ideas for their online business. This attitude is nothing short of a recipe for disaster.This may seem fine in theory, but in practice, you’re not a robot that’s able to keep working productively without breaks. You need to take a break at least twice an hour and relax. Let your brain take a break from having to focus on one task, and you’ll regain focus much faster.It was found way back in 2011 that a short break can increase focus. But it may be hard to remember to take a break when you’re working on something. You can use this free Pomodoro timer to remind yourself about it or just time your breaks with a watch. That said, it’s okay to work for two or three hours at a time but only if you’re working on the same type of task and take a larger break after that.
Exercise
Feeling a bit down while working alone in your room? You may need a little boost of endorphins. Include some form of movement into your daily routine, and you may feel much better and much more energized.Studies show that while regular aerobic exercise does help with the release of “happy hormones,” doing high-intensity training with long breaks boosts that affect even more.
Socialize
Loneliness is one of the biggest sources of stress for people working from home. As a remote worker, you spend a lot of time sitting alone in your apartment, typing away, or researching.Make sure you spend enough time with friends and family to keep your spirit up. Meet up with friends that live nearby or hop on a short phone call or a Zoom conversation with the people who live far away.
Wrap Up
From the outside perspective, working from home is a dream. From the perspective of a person actually working from home, it’s far from perfect.However, it can be an amazing solution for your productivity and overall well-being if you do it right.Make sure you’re not missing out on the things that make the office life good. Create a morning routine that sets you up for work, socialize with colleagues and friends a lot, etc. Since your remote working lifestyle allows it, you can also take frequent walks or bike rides to stay in shape and increase overall happiness levels.You will need to be more responsible and self-organized, but the additional time to spend with your family and friends is totally worth it.