The rapid spread of Corona has led to more people working from home. The home office offers many advantages: no commute to work, a personal workplace, and a more flexible organization of the day. But how can productivity be maintained or increased in the home office? We have collected the best tips for more productivity.
Effectively increase productivity
To ensure that your productivity in the home office does not drop, you should heed a few useful tips. Because they help to increase your productivity. At the same time, you make sure that the blanket doesn’t fall on your head. The following advice not only helps in the home office but also in normal everyday work.
1) Create a work environment and increase productivity
Setting up an adequate workplace plays an important role in ensuring your own productivity. If you’re sitting on the couch in front of the TV, you’re bound to struggle to be productive. It can also be difficult to stay focused in a cluttered environment. That’s why you should organize and tidy up before you start work. At the same time, you should make sure that work and private life are separated spatially. Ideally, you use a table in the study and get an ergonomic chair. Also, make sure your workspace is tidy and has enough natural daylight.
2) Develop and maintain a routine
Before you drive to work, you probably have a routine. For example, many people like to drink a coffee after getting up and then freshen up for work. You should also maintain this routine in the home office. Because that helps your brain to understand that you are still at work. Consequently, this can increase your productivity. It also helps mentally to swap your pajamas for work clothes to get into the workflow and overcome tiredness.
3) set priorities to work more productively
If you work from home, you should create a work schedule. It is important to set priorities, which you can record in a to-do list. Working through these priorities motivates and leads to more productivity in the home office. At the same time, the most important tasks are completed without forgetting anything. Such time management in stressful everyday life can work wonders.
4) More productivity in the home office through timeboxing
Likewise, the method of timeboxing can help to work more productively. Because this method ensures clear time management by giving the tasks to be completed in a precise time frame. This prevents getting lost or dawdling in a task. Of course, you should set realistic time frames. For example 30-60 minutes for emails, 45 minutes for the team meeting, and 90 minutes for the new project.
5) Prevent procrastination and increase productivity
Who doesn’t know it, there’s an unpleasant task waiting for you and you start putting it off. Instead, you start doing pretty much everything else. In the home office you suddenly devote yourself to washing clothes, start cleaning, or thinking about redesigning the living room. It’s all part of procrastination. So that this doesn’t happen to you and you are productive, divide the unpleasant task into several steps. Success will boost your confidence and increase productivity.
6) More productivity through breaks and exercise
Being productive also means taking breaks at the right moment. After all, it’s impossible to work in a highly concentrated manner for eight hours a day. In the Stepstone study, almost half of all respondents stated that they take few breaks. There must be breaks, such as a short walk, to relax the mind and prevent pain in the back and neck area. A mini-workout at the work table is also conceivable and keeps you fit in everyday life. Of course, don’t forget about lunch. Studies have found that there is a correlation between being productive and eating lunch.
7) Don’t multitask to be more productive
It’s wrong to think that multitasking gets you more done. On the contrary, working on tasks at the same time can lead to getting bogged down. In the end, you started many tasks but didn’t finish any of them. Then it can be very demotivating. So stick to your work schedule and take one step at a time. So you will certainly ensure more productivity in the home office.
8) Consciously eliminate distractions
Since there are no control mechanisms in the home office, you have to develop them yourself, otherwise the temptation to get distracted is just too great. Experts advise working with timetables and to-do lists in order not to lose the thread. You should mute your cell phone or turn off notifications that have nothing to do with work. It also helps to see all the pages you’re working on in full-screen mode so you’re not tempted to open new tabs that don’t contribute to the current activity. You should also let family members know that there should be no disturbances at certain times.
9) Keep in touch with the college
When asked what is the best thing about work, quite a few people will say the colleagues. A home office does not mean that contact with the college has to be lost. There are apps and programs that help to stay in touch. If you keep in regular contact with your colleagues, you keep the social component alive. You should also maintain your network to maintain the social component of the job. The exchange with the colleagues can help to solve one or the other task. All of these things help to keep the “connection” to work and increase self-motivation.
10) Delegate tasks and increase productivity
So that small or a large number of tasks do not hold you back, you should delegate tasks that others can also take on. Because maybe someone has more time to relieve you of tasks. So you not only increase your own productivity but that of the entire team. Delegating can not only be helpful in the working world but also ensure a quick house cleaning at home, provided everyone helps.
