Productivity tips to work from home

Before last February if you worked from home you were considered to be in the minority. According to statistics, only 3.5% of employees in the workforce were working from home, even though over 50% of the jobs were compatible to working from home at some part time level. Because of recent events, however, as more and more people are forced to stay home for extended periods of time due to social distancing, it is estimated that rules and regulations will flex, and as much as 25-30% of jobs in the workforce could be working remotely at some part time or full time level by 2021-2022. If you’re not used to it; however, it can be quite the transition. I’ll go over several tips to work from home so you can start getting more done in less time.

While working remotely may sound like a dream to you (or maybe it doesn’t) it doesn’t come without a pretty steep learning curve and growing pains. I am currently employed by a company who generally sees it difficult to provide extended remote work options. While I have worked remotely in the past, it has been on few occasions and never a regular basis. Suddenly, the entirety of my company has been thrust into a 90% remote work situation. And it has been a struggle.

While many people have found themselves with a lot of extra time, especially those who are in unfortunate situations of having lost their job or furloughed, some of us are in the situation of quite the opposite. While I am forever grateful that I have a stable position and don’t have to worry about my employment status, it comes with its own set of challenges. With schools and daycares closed, my husband and I are both working from home while trying to care for a 3-year-old and a 10-month-old. In addition, before stay at home orders were implemented, we had started the process of selling our house, and had just went under contract. After deciding to follow-through with the transaction, we found ourselves also trying to find the spare time to pack up the house and deal with finding a new house, getting a mortgage, and everything that comes with house selling and buying. It’s been quite an adventure.

But with all struggles comes learning. Through my own experiences in the last month, I have watched and learned both several different reasons that cause significant focus issues as well as different coping mechanisms to avoid the most common distractions. These distractions, by and large, tend to be because of a change or lack of routine, housework, lack of fitness or movement, children, and overwork or burnout. There are more, but those are the consistent trending complaints that seem to come up again and again.

I’ve compiled a list of different things to try so you can maximize productivity and mitigate distractions and stress while working from home. A lot of these have really helped me, though there is still a lot of distracted multi-tasking that is and will continue to happen as long as I am working at home with 2 kiddos.

Embrace change

Change doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s not a bad thing. But recently things have been happening fast. If things on the outside are changing faster than your ability to adapt, give yourself grace. These times are hard, but if we can embrace what our new normal is shaping up to be it is so much easier to find ways to work with it, not against it.

Tip to work from home: Create a routine or schedule

• If you are used to commuting, set up a “commute” into your routine. Maybe you work in the basement and you can prepare to “go to work” before walking down to your office. Another idea is to go outside for a walk or bike ride around the block before you sit down at your computer. Find a way that can signal a switch in your brain from “personal” to “work”.
• Getting dressed for work can help put you in a mindset of productivity and action.
• Dedicate time into your day to work on home distractions. Say, for example, all you can think about is the laundry and dishes but you really need to focus on your work task. Make a plan so that twice a day, say at 10am and 2pm, you take 10 minutes to get up and change the laundry, then take an extra 15 minutes at lunch to do the dishes. This allows you to put these issues out of your head so you can focus on work, knowing you have dedicated some time to accomplishing them.

For myself, our biggest distraction is our kids. My husband gets up early and works roughly 6-10am while I watch the kids, and then he takes over for the kids and I work roughly 10am-4pm. He works during the kids naps, I help out him at lunch, and we both log back in in the evening. It’s a long day, but the kids know what to expect, and it makes a difference for both the kids and myself to know there is both dedicated work time and dedicated family time.

Increase productivity

• Create a dedicated work space. Our new house has a designated study and I just got a new (to me) desk for free from my local Buy Nothing Group. It has been a lifesaver to get my computer off the dining room table. Not only can family time be family time again, but my work productivity has increased as well.
• Create a daily to do list and list your most important tasks for the day.
• Likewise, spend 30-60 minutes on Friday evening or Monday morning to plan your week so you know your most important tasks for the week.
• Once you’ve created your list(s), prioritize your tasks.
• Work on one project at a time, stop multi-tasking!
• Find an accountability partner.
• Keep a distraction list. Write down distractions as you think of them so you can temporarily forget them. Come back to them when you plan out your week and make your daily to do lists.
• Hire a babysitter. It’s hard to justify this when we are all trying to stay away from each other, but hiring someone you trust to babysit, a nanny, or an au pair for a couple months can help ease the childcare burden. My husband and I finally started to do this so one day a week the kids go to someone we fully trust who is also following social distancing guidelines. It has been a lifesaver!

Tip to work from home: Focus on self-care

Focusing on self care is probably the biggest out of all the tips to work from home that I can give you. It has taken my stress levels down several notches, and allows me to stay focused and productive during the rest of the time. Here are some ways to focus on self-care (if you want to read about the 6 types of self-care you can here):

• Meditate to de-stress. Yoga also helps. As does coloring. (you guys, my son left his coloring out next to my work desk the other day and during a meeting I just mindlessly started coloring – it was completely amazing and incredibly relaxing, I highly recommend you give it a try).
• Get up and walk around every hour to help stay active. Likewise, take breaks! Go check the mail or otherwise get outside, even briefly, if the weather is nice.
• Create dedicated times to unplug. For example, my young kids demand enough of my time during the day, I need late nights to get stuff done. However, from roughly 4-8pm, my husband and I are both unplugged. We play a game, make and eat dinner, and get the kids in bed, without the pull of trying to work as well.
• Put the phone down. It is important to stay connected, but try to remove phone distractions as much as possible. Try limiting your phone screen time, or turning off ALL notifications. (Yes, even messaging!) The only notifications I have on my phone is the credit card, so I know when there has been a purchase if something gets auto paid, and weather alerts.
• Be kind to yourself and give yourself grace. I can’t say this one enough.

Phew!…

There is a LOT there to take in. Over time and with consistency, you can remove most of the distractions from your everyday work at home life. My three-year-old is slowly learning that when I’m at my desk, he’s not supposed to bother me. Sometimes he still does anyways (one of our typical conversations – multiple times an hour – goes “mom, you working?” “yup, I’m working kiddo” “okay, bye!”), but every day it gets a little better. The weather helps too, because now the kids can go outside and play with the adult on duty and the other adult has a quiet house to work.

Don’t try all these tips to work from home at once, but pick a few that you think you can start implementing today. The transition from on-site work to remote work, whether it is for the same employer or a new one (or for yourself!) can sometimes be a rocky one, but it doesn’t have to be. There are lots of resources to use and steps to take to smoothen out the transition. If you find yourself struggling to focus while working at home, I hope at least a few of these ideas can help you get back on track.