As the world transitions to remote work, many of us are struggling with productivity. Having a flexible work schedule can be a curse in disguise if you don’t know how to manage your time. We’ve put together 4 simple steps on how to stay productive while working from home.
We recommend setting aside time to list out your priorities and tasks at the beginning of the week. Based on your progress, you can then adjust your daily to-do lists every morning.
There are a variety of tools available to help manage your time. While diaries are a timeless option, digital productivity tools have been gaining ground recently on account of the flexibility they offer to their users.
We enjoy keeping a to-do list in addition to a daily schedule. This way, we can list out all of our tasks, and adjust our schedules as the week progresses. Since Google Calendar is used by many companies to schedule meetings, it might be convenient to build your weekly agenda on the same platform. The great thing about Google is that features such as Google Keep and Reminders share the same parent platform. As a result, you’ll be able to keep an overview of your long-term commitments while setting realistic goals for the day.
Organizational videos such as this one can help you navigate the abundance of technology that is available to us today. Take a dive into the productivity space on YouTube to find a combination of tools that work best for you!
Setting unrealistically ambitious goals for yourself will demotivate you early on. Know how long you are able to stay focused, how many breaks you need to take in a day, and how much time you require for your tasks.
Start by evaluating how many tasks you are able to complete when you are completely focused. Don’t forget to schedule in a number of breaks. At the end of the day, you can decide how successful your plan was, and adjust your goals accordingly for the rest of your week.
Having a well-lit, spacious, and clutter-free home office could significantly boost your productivity levels. If you usually scroll through slack while sprawled across your bed, it might explain why you are not finishing your tasks by the end of the day. We all know how tempting it is to get lost in YouTube or Netflix, or push aside your computer and cuddle with your dog. Having a designated space for work could solve that problem.
Taking time to decompress is vital to sustain your productivity. Make sure that you spend time actively reconnecting with your family and friends, so that you can wholeheartedly focus on your tasks during your working hours. The key word here is ‘active’. You will not be able to recharge effectively by scrolling through Instagram or running ‘Friends’ on a split screen. Separating work from your life is often crucial to finding the perfect balance.
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