Working from home is a wonderful way to escape the 9-5 grind, but it can be extremely difficult to maintain productivity and focus. The right mindset is crucial in order to not fall off the rails of procrastination and occasional bouts of self-doubt.
Here are some helpful tips for maintaining healthy boundaries while working from home:
1) Schedule hourly “breaks.”
Wake up at 7 am, take a 15 minute break around 8 am, do phone calls until 11 am, lunch around noon, then work until 5 pm before taking another break for lunch and then working again until about 7 pm.
While this schedule does not account for any “life happens” emergencies (becoming distracted by children, nagging spouses and/or pets), it does promote a good work/break balance while also making the most of one’s “home office” time.
2) Be sure to set boundaries around your home.
For example, don’t bring home any work that you can complete outside of office hours. One cannot possibly be as productive when there are distractions such as television, pets and/or children running around the house. If it is work that needs to be completed immediately, then leave it in the office and get away from it at home. A piece of paper in a desk drawer does not do anyone any good.
3) Get a good lamp.
A proper desk lamp with an adjustable light will help in maintaining focus if working from home. Not only is the changing of the light setting distracting, but it is also hard to read or work on a computer when there is too much light in the room.
4) Use an organizer (desktop or otherwise)
This is so that you can keep track of all your information and notes, dates and things to do. If you have children, get a calendar wall or something similar so that they don’t look through it and find out to do lists, etc.
Conclusion
Working from home is a fast-growing segment of the workforce, and with good reason. It can be a wonderful way to escape the daily grind. With the right mindset, one can effectively achieve the same level of productivity of someone working in an office.
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These tips are essential are great for condo living!