How To Be Productive When Working From Home.
This week I answer a question I’ve had on my questions list for quite some time and has now become a question many people are asking. How to be productive while working from home.
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Script
Episode 126
Hello and welcome to episode 126 of the Working With Podcast. A podcast to answer all your questions about productivity, time management, self-development and goal planning. My name is Carl Pullein and I am your host for this show.
Well, we are living in strange times and experiencing a lot of disruption to our regular working lives. For many of us, we are now having to find ways of doing our work that is alien to us… Working from home!
For me, it has been very interesting seeing companies that previously said the work they do meant it was impossible for them to allow their staff to work from home suddenly find ways for their staff to work from home.
So what can you do to create a working environment that assists to you to get on with your work and minimise the distractions that inevitably come from having to work without supervision and with kids, spouses, partners and roommates hanging around?
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Details for this wonderful offer is in the show notes.
Okay, it’s now time for me to hand you over to the mystery podcast voice for this week’s question.
This week’s question comes from Andrew. Andrew asks: Hi Carl, I’ve just started a new job that allows me to work from home three days a week and I was wondering if you have any tips and tricks for being productive when working from home. I am finding it very difficult to concentrate and it is so distracting. Any tips would be a huge help.
Thank you, Andrew. Great question and a question I am sure a lot of people have at the moment in these uncharted times.
The first thing you are going to need to do is set your working times. Now you are working from home, you no longer need to commute to work. That is likely to save you quite a lot of time. In theory, all you need to do is roll out of bed, put the kettle on, make coffee, turn on your computer and you’re at work. Ten minutes max.
The key is to set yourself a routine. You had a routine when you had to go to your office, now, even though you don’t need to go to your office, you still need to treat your working day as if you had to be somewhere at a specific time. The thing is you do. You need to be at your chosen work station. So pick a start time and make that your working time.
Likewise, you should also set aside time for your lunch break and finish time. You need that structure or you will soon find yourself doing email late at night and home shopping at 3 pm in the afternoon. You might not be at your office, but you are still working. You need to treat your working time as just that. Working time. Do your home shopping, news reading and YouTube watching when you finish work! Don’t slip into the temptation to mix what you would normally do at home with what you would normally work on at work. You need to set up barriers between your home life and your work life.
A trick I use is I have a keyboard shortcut for quick entry to my To-do list manager’s inbox. If I am suddenly tempted to look up some useful bodyweight exercises I can do at home (now my gym is closed) I can just quickly add it to my inbox and do it when I finish work. I really do not need to research that now when I am supposed to be doing my work.
Next up is to create yourself a work station. The worst place is to stay in bed and work from there and your sofa is the next worst place. You need to create a physical space to do your work. A place that is free from distractions, a place that is clean, cool and well lit. If you have a dining table that’s often the best place and failing that your kitchen table. Just make sure you put a lock on your refrigerator! (That’s just from personal experience!) Try to set yourself up by a window. Natural daylight helps with your circadian rhythms and prevents you from feeling sleepy and being tempted to take a nap your sofa.
Now once you have set your working times and your work station you need to make sure you’re taking breaks. This was a mistake I made in my early days when I was working from home. I felt because I was at home I did not need to take as many breaks. That turned out not to be true. I needed the breaks. So I worked out my best working times. I found out I could work well for around ninety minutes before needing a break in the mornings and for around an hour in the afternoons. This helped me to break up my days.
So, when I started working from home, I began my day at 7:30 AM and worked until 9:00 AM and then made some breakfast. I would step away from my work station and made sure I ate my breakfast in the kitchen—away from where I was working. I also made sure I moved. Fortunately, I have a little dog at home so I got outside quite frequently walking the dog. I also used my breaks to do my shopping as my local supermarket is only a five-minute walk from my home.
I would return to my desk at 9:30 AM and do another ninety-minute session which took me to 11 AM. For me, 11:20 AM to 12:00 PM was communication time. That was the time I would clear my action today folder in email and make any calls I needed to make. It was a nice break from writing or creating a presentation file.
Once again, make sure you take a proper lunch break - step away from your desk and computer and get some air. I found the most difficult thing about working from home was the feeling I was stuck in a single place 24/7. That’s why if you can step outside into a garden or a driveway and just get some air it will give you a mental boost. I know we have to be careful in the current situation, but you can still keep your distance from other people and get some air. Just make sure you are following your country’s government’s guidelines.
Now the thing I would advise you to do is to make sure you are moving. One of the biggest changes that will take place when you have to work from home is you suddenly stop moving. Your desk is a few metres away from your bed. This is seriously not good. If you are unable to leave your house now would be a good time to do some housework. Cleaning a room, scrubbing a bathroom wall or doing the vacuuming are all good sources of exercise. I know I said don’t mix your home life with your work life, but in this case, you need to make an exception. If you are not moving, you gaining weight, your focus, mental and physical energy will drop. Make sure you are moving. The stairs in your home can also be a great place for some exercise.
Now for finishing your work for the day you need to set a stop time. The biggest danger with working from home is there are no barriers between your workplace and you home. This makes it difficult to stop and it can often lead to your work creeping into your private time. I was terrible at this—I still am—but you do need to make sure you have a stop time and stick to that time. Close down your computer and step away from your work station. Again, get outside, if you can, and move.
Now, before you do close down, though, plan the next day. I find this is more important than when you work in an office. Certainly have a plan for the first task you will attack when you start your day. The biggest fight you are going to have is with procrastination. The best way to defeat procrastination is to have a plan. We procrastinate because we are not sure what needs to be done next—there are other reasons for procrastination but not having a plan is the most common—so give yourself fifteen minutes before you close down the day for planning what you will do the next day.
This is where your calendar will be useful. You may not have your regular meetings right now, so you may feel you don’t need your calendar, you will find your calendar is going to be your best productivity tool. Before you close down the day, schedule out your work on your calendar. Don’t be too specific unless you are working on something specific. Use phrases such as “writing time”, “design time” or “communication time” keep it general. This gives you some degree of flexibility. And make sure you block out your break times too.
A few extra tips for you.
Create a music playlist for doing your work. Both Apple Music and Spotify have dedicated playlists for working and they can help to keep you focused on your work. And make sure you keep your workspace clear of your personal things when you are working and keep work away when you are not. Remember there is no physical barrier between your work and home life now, you need to create these barriers.
If possible, use a different computer for your work and your personal life. I know that might not always be possible, but if you are provided with a computer for work use that only for your work. Sounds obvious, but it is so easy to do your personal browsing on your work computer because it is just there. Don’t do this. You need to create those barriers.
Well, there you go, Andrew, I hope these tips help you to get on with your work while you are on lockdown. Remember these times are unprecedented and not likely to last. Hopefully, we will return to our normal lives very soon.
In the meantime please stay safe, listen to your government’s advice—now is not the time to be political activists—and avoid sharing scare stories and fake news. That makes you part of the problem and not part of the solution.
It just remains for me now to wish you all a very very productive week.