9 Actionable Tips to Help You Become More Productive at Home

Productivity can be challenging to achieve when working from home. After all, we treat our home as a sanctuary and not as an office.

This explains why working remotely can be a tall order for someone who is used to working in an office. Luckily, these eight actionable tips can help you attain productivity in a work-from-home setup.

Purge the Excess Clutter

Excess clutter is a common occurrence in any household, and the presence of it occasionally doesn't make you an irresponsible adult.

However, you will always operate more efficiently when your area or house is clutter-free for the most part. Thus, you should make decluttering and paring down your items a habit.

Even if your work area is clutter-free, you will keep on thinking about that messy part of the house. You might find yourself unwittingly doing a full-on decluttering session during work hours. That's because the clutter has been niggling at your subconscious for a while.

Set Goals to Increase Productivity

One reason why you might not be as productive as you could be is that you don't know what tasks you need to accomplish in the first place.

The hubbub of everyday life can make you lose track of things, which is normal. Since you know that could happen, goal-setting is going to be vital for you.

When you know which priorities to focus on, it's a lot easier to work towards them rather than shooting from the hip every day.

If you ever finish short-term tasks, you can look at your long-term goals to help guide your direction of what you should be doing next.

Create and Stick to a Schedule

In line with goal setting, you should also consider creating a schedule for yourself when working. Aside from creating a schedule, it would be best to learn how to stick to it. Otherwise, there's no point in having it at all.

Your schedule should leave some room for flexibility in case of sudden, unplanned tasks appearing on your to-do list. However, as much as possible, stick to your planned schedule.

You'll find that getting things done is more straightforward if you stick to a schedule. This explains why it is handy to have a to-do list with calendar functionalities.

Prioritize Projects and Tasks

As far as importance and urgency are concerned, not all tasks are created equal. Therefore, you should identify them to help you do the tasks that need doing first.

This particular type of prioritizing tasks isn't a new concept. There's even a name for it: The Eisenhower Matrix.

The matrix organizes your tasks in four boxes based on urgency and importance. If your job is both urgent and important, that's the one you need to do the most.

If your task isn't necessary nor urgent, get rid of it completely. It's a simple and efficient system.

Do Proper Time Tracking

Although it may not be smiled upon by many, since it means there is little to no much-cherished self-distraction, time tracking at your workplace or even in your home office can really boost your productivity.

With time-tracking, you can expect to see less time spent multitasking, improved focus and smaller burnout chances. 

Time tracking allows you to control your multitasking first. The fact that you can only focus on one task at a time is enough to make most people more productive as it allows them to section their time and work on their time tracking skills. From this stems the improved focus, as there is no switching between many tasks. 

Furthermore, you get smaller chances of burnout with time tracking. Time tracking allows you to map your time and your goals.

Over time, you can become more satisfied with the work done, since your daily tasks are broken down into smaller segments and you get a chance to complete many smaller goals. 

Organize Your Spaces

We know how difficult it is to be productive when there are so many distractions working against you. One distraction that might go unnoticed would be the clutter surrounding your dedicated work area.

If you're too used to having a messy workspace, you probably don't think anything is wrong with it. Some people even pride themselves on working under organized chaos.

However, Maid Sailors Cleaning Services NYC points out that your eye will keep on seeing the clutter. It can be distracting and can give your train of thought a halt. And this can waste your time.

Therefore, before you settle down to work for the day, consider organizing your spaces first and after you finish your workday.

Take Quick Breaks

Breaks are essential to allow your mind and body to get the rest it needs. Otherwise, you're wearing down your body, which can make you increasingly inefficient and productive as the day goes on.

That's why, even when you're working from home, make sure that you take your one hour break time and step away from your usual workspace. Eat your lunch away from where you work.

Stay Focused

The best way to keep focused while working from home is to have a dedicated workspace. Ideally, it should be a place behind closed doors so that there's a physical boundary that protects you from the hustle and bustle of your home.

Also, avoid being near gadgets while working from home. Keep your phone somewhere far from arm's reach, so you don't grab it by impulse when working.

Practice Self-Care

The short breaks you get in the middle of the workday are not enough. You also have to make sure that you deliberately practice self-care.

Although self-care can manifest itself in ways such as eating food you like, taking a spa day at home, and so on, don't forget mental self-care. Check up on yourself, meditate, and distress.

Mental self-care is the one that helps you become readier to take on your job and be productive than anything else.

The tips listed above show how you can be productive while working from home. However, we understand that a change of environment would mean you will need time to adjust. This includes getting used to your new environment and getting the hang of working at home.