30 Oct 8 Tips For Avoiding Laziness And Staying Productive in Home Office
Are you also working from home office due to worldwide corona circumstances? During this challenging time, complete restructuring of life and economic losses are inevitable. However, a lot of businesses were moved online, and many people are working from home. If you are among them, you probably find it challenging to keep yourself motivated for work and stay productive in home office.
Although the virus outbreak was the reason that forced you to work from home, it doesn’t mean that nobody has ever worked from home before.
In fact, more than 54 million freelancers work from home. If they can work from home, you can do it too. So here are some tips to avoid laziness and stay productive while you’re working from a home office:
How can you create the winning habits to achieve your goals faster?
1. Wake Up Early And Make Your Bed
There’s a good beginning behind every success, and your productivity is no different. When it comes to productivity, waking up early will provide you with the extra mental and physical boost as well as time.
If you wake up early, you will surely have some time to have a healthy breakfast as well as some time to think about what you’ll do all day. Researchers have found that people who wake up late may be affected by idleness. On the other hand, people who wake up early are more likely to be motivated for work.
Besides, getting up early has its own benefits for the immune system which shouldn’t be neglected. So even if you are working from home, you should do your best to wake up early.
Now you’ll be wondering why making your bed is crucial for your productivity and success. I watched a commencement speech of Navy Seal Admiral Mc.Raven and it struck me that the navy is using neuroscience principles of productivity. The simple act of making your bed every morning means that you’ll have accomplished the first task of the day.
It will give you a small sense of pride and will encourage you to do another task. And another. And another… And by the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned in many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can’t do little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right.” Admiral Mc.Raven
2. Make a To Succeed List
When you’re working from home, the chances are high that you might get engaged with other chores while you’re working. As a consequence, you might lose your focus, and it will mostly result in unfinished tasks.
But it’s avoidable. All you need to do is to make a To Succeed List – a variation of to-do list of what you’ll do – and keep looking at it until it’s finished. Nobody will tell you this but looking at a to-do list can help you to concentrate on your work so that you won’t waste time doing some chores at home. It’s a great way of cognitive priming that helps you stay on track. I also recommend calling it a To Succeed List so that you have positive associations and prime yourself for success.
3. Set Working Hours
Ever felt that you’re working for the whole day and even in late nights while you’re working at home? You need to set working hours!
Of course, nobody likes to keep working and working. Everyone needs some time of their own. But if you are working from home, it’s tough to avoid distraction. Sometimes your mother will call you, and sometimes you might end up talking to your wife for an hour or two!
And by the moment you noticed, the time has already run out, and you have to work even when you’re not supposed to be working.
That’s why it’s necessary to set working hours. Let your family members know that you will be working. Decide when all of your work should be completed, and you won’t have much trouble with working hours.
4. Specify Your Working Space
The reason for setting a working space, even at your own house, is the same as the previous one. Even if there’s even no one to distract you, you may notice one or two distracting things. Any distraction derails you from achieving your goals and being productive.
It’s okay not to have a well-decorated office room – a lot of people don’t have it. Smarter people turn a portion of their home into an office. So it’s recommended to set a working space at your home. In fact, it’s a psychologic trick: your brain needs a sign that this will be a place for work. Don’t allocate part of your bedroom for home office though because your brain knows it’s a safe place to sleep.
Also, make sure that you only keep office essentials at that space so that you have a proper office environment for working and minimize distractions.
5. Take Breaks
Taking a break is an excellent way to keep your concentration levels high regardless of where you’re working from. There’s even a rule of taking a break at work (the rule of 52 and 17).
The rule is to take a 17-minute break after every 52 minutes of work. Although it’s okay to follow this rule, I would recommend a 5-minute break after every 20 minutes.
According to research, the human brain concentrates intensively for 20 minutes at most. Although a lot of people can concentrate even after 20 minutes, they aren’t as productive as in the first 20 minutes. Therefore Mark Robert Waldman, one of the leading Neuroscience researchers, suggests having a yawning-and-stretching time or at least a mindfulness bell every 20 minutes.
A small break ensures that you will be able to concentrate more after the break. So whether you’re working from home or not, always take breaks to stay productive.
6. Set Deadlines
You can’t work from home 24/7 as it would result in severe burnout. At the same time, always putting off your tasks for tomorrow is not a good idea either. Your concentration levels will vary and there will be definitely plenty of distractions while working from home. The key to success here is to manage your focus and energy.
Although it’s tough to avoid distractions, you must stay productive. That’s why you should take another initiative to set a deadline for each task. Although it won’t look like anything serious because you’re working from home, setting up a deadline for each task can help keep you focused.
7. Reward Yourself for Completing a Task
Human brain is wired in such a way that it loves pleasure and reward. If you are rewarding yourself for achieving a goal, be it a small one or a big one, it will help you to stay motivated for work.
A reward for working at home doesn’t have to be a material one. You can set goals like working for 20 minutes and reward yourself with your favorite music once you’ve achieved those small feats.
It will set your mind concentrated at work for the hunger of listening to that song. A great way to boost your productivity, isn’t it?
Focus on creating the winning habits!
8. Exercise on Workdays
Experts always say that a healthy body is a foundation for staying productive at work. Although it’s not possible to go to the gym at this time, exercise remains a great way to lift your mood and boost your energy.
However, instead of working out after work, exercising during the middle of a workday can be more productive, according to researchers.
While you might think that exercise will exhaust you out, they have found out that people who work out during a workday are equally and, in some cases, more productive than those who don’t.
Even if you have a different opinion, you should give it a try to see how it turns out.
Final Thoughts
While wrapping this up, I would like to share a few more thoughts here. Although a lot of people may be new to working at home, millions have already been doing it.
The key is to stay ethical and love what you do. It’s absolutely easy to get overwhelmed by the fact that no one is monitoring you. Social media and entertainment options can easily distract you.
However, you need to remember that you decided for your profession or work out of specific reasons. If they come from your heart, you will always find a way to overcome challenges and adjust. If your reason WHY is not big enough and you can’t force yourself to work in home office, it’s the best time to change your professional path. Then you can apply the above listed productivity tips with maximum efficiency.
We’d love to hear from you!
What tactics and strategies do you use to stay productive while working in home office? Please share your ideas. Simply leave your comments and/or questions in the space below.