Can you remember one day when you were working from home and you stayed focused all day, and completed your work on time?
It is nearly impossible.
But with just a bit of effort, you can maintain focus throughout your workday. If you are working from home temporarily due to the pandemic or even if you’re a seasoned remote worker, you may be facing difficulties focusing on work so this one’s for you, follow this article to know how you can be more focused and stay consistent while working from home.
Tips to help you stay focused while working from home:
1. Write it down:
Making a list and noting down different points may seem a bit old school but is worth giving a try. You can make a to-do list for the day and then work accordingly. This will help you focus and also encourage you to complete the tasks for that day.
It will also provide a starting point for that day. In this way, you will not waste your time thinking about where to start or what to do first.
Making notes at the end of each day will help you utilize your extra time and also help you review your work for that day, this way you can add the rest of the work into the to-do list for the next day.
2. Make a home office:
The surroundings where you work puts a lot of impact on your working mind. If the environment is healthy and work-friendly you can comfortably work and can be more productive but if it is not, then it automatically decreases your productivity.
Mostly remote working provides you the benefit of working from anywhere you feel comfortable, but an office setup is much recommended. A good set-up gives you a feel of the office environment and it helps you work with ease.
3. Setting a routine for yourself
Segregate your work routine and personal routine.
Put the most time-consuming and tough work in that time of the day when you feel you can be most productive. Mostly in the morning time, we stay fresh and energetic, try to cover most of your work during the morning.
If you have family or kids then you can try to maintain your work routine according to your kid. Cover your work time when your kid is sleeping or busy playing, this way you can also give time to your kid without even hampering your work period.
4. Limit your phone use:
Good advice anytime. If you want to stay more focused on your work then the best you can do is to limit your time on the phone and social media.
The constant beeps can distract our mind and checking out our phone every time will shift our focus. Without us knowing, that quick five minutes will convert into hours.
To avoid this kind of pitfalls you can;
a) Set a time on your phone:
- Avoid using your phone once you are on your desk.
- You can simply turn off your mobile data or wifi if you’re not using it.
- If you are using mobile data, restrict the data usage for social media.
- You can also put a timer on your phone.
b) Blocking:
- Block the time-wasting sites.
- As you are using most of your time on your laptop, you can block the browser from your phone, to avoid notifications.
5. Prepare a work calendar
If you are confused and unorganized then you must put a calendar in your home office or you can also use a whiteboard or any online planner app. The main motive is to get organized.
With a calendar, you can mark all the upcoming events, like; meetings, presentations, deadlines, etc. you can also prioritize your work schedule according to its importance and deadline.
The main objective of a calendar is that it can be more understandable to have a visual representation of your ideas and thought of your work schedule.
6. Schedule breaks:
Breaks are equally important as work, hence scheduling breaks for yourself will keep you active. Working at a stretch can make us lose focus leading to less and less work productivity.
Even when we work in the office we take small breaks, like; coffee breaks, lunch breaks and so on. This is because it helps us stay cool and focused.
When working from home we should take a break in every 90 minutes, so that when we restart our work we can focus.
Conclusion:
Working from home means you will get distracted from time to time because of something or the other resulting in less focus. But with a little restructuring and ideas, you can be more productive at home, than at the office.
Try to incorporate these tips and ideas into your work schedule and see how productive you can be working at home.
