Have you been given the opportunity to work from home?
Happy days!
However, there are a few important things to consider before you get cracking.
The pros and cons of working from home
In my humble opinion, one of my favourite plus sides to working from home is the fact that you can stay in your comfortable clothes or pyjamas all day!
If you usually spend ages applying makeup, doing your hair or just picking an outfit every morning, don’t sweat.
After all, who are you trying to impress?
Working from home also gives you the freedom to eat when you want, take the dog out when it’s light outside and avoid various distractions we all come across in an office environment.
And if you’re very lucky, you might just get to avoid the dreaded meeting about a meeting!
My goodness, if I had a penny!
However, working from home isn’t all sunshine and butterflies – deadlines still need to be hit.
In fact, there is a multitude of distractions you have to contend with like the television, kids, dog, neighbours and incomplete tasks around the house.
To successfully get a good day’s work done, you have to mentally prepare and organise yourself to free yourself from the above distractions.
With this in mind, I’ve put together a few useful tips for staying organised and keeping productivity levels up while working from home.
(I’d say you can drop me an email to thank me, but that might be counterproductive!)
Keep things clean
No, I’m not talking about the toilet or the living room coffee table – there’s plenty of time to address that later in the evening.
If you have a desk or a certain space where you like to work from, it’s vitally important that it’s clean before you start.
Not only does it help free your mind, but it will stop you from taking time out of your day to sort it out.
It’s also worth basing yourself somewhere which has a source of natural light, as this can keep you feeling energised and won’t make you feel like you’re a prisoner within your own home.
What’s more, you won’t have to strain your eyes trying to read the screen, as the natural light will make things clearer.
However, if you live in a relatively dark house, you should opt for a bulb with 4000 Kelvin light as this is reportedly the best lighting to aid brain stimulation.
If possible, choose a room with blue or green décor, as these colours are supposedly best for productivity and focus too.
Get organised
One of the simplest, yet effective, ways of working from home is to jot down notes and tasks on sticky notes.
You can then stick these to your desk or screen to help keep you stay on track, remain productive and be organised.
It’s also incredibly satisfying ticking off a series of tasks as you go along too.
However busy you get, don’t compromise the cleanliness of your desk area. File away any documents you don’t need on shelves or in a filing cabinet.
If you start dumping papers all over your working area, you’ll find yourself getting more and more stressed and overwhelmed as the day goes on.
Alternatively, ditch the paper and store your work virtually. This will then make it easier for you to access it when you return to the office, plus it’ll give you a clearer physical working space to operate in.
Need help organising your home writing cabinet?
Omni Papers has created a cool infographic with some useful tips on how to achieve the perfect working environment in your house.
Make yourself comfortable
It may seem like a bore, but bad posture is very common and can lead to serious health issues like back pain and muscle strains.
If you don’t feel like you have the right working environment in place at home, you could always try doing your work standing up.
It can help improve posture and keep you more alert throughout the day.
Taking breaks every hour to walk around and exercise (if possible) is highly recommended as well, so you can mentally recharge your batteries, stay active and remain productive afterwards.
Eat and drink the right foods
Just because you’re working at home, it doesn’t mean that you have to opt for the naughtiest snacks and meals.
Stay healthy and your mind will follow suit – which will keep you productive all day long.
Drinking green tea during work hours is a great starting point as it’s been known to improve brain function and boost productivity.
Eating little and often every couple of hours can also eradicate the afternoon energy slump too.
Summary
So there you have it!
Get organised and prepare for every distraction and you’ll set yourself up for a productive day working from home.
If you enjoyed reading this article and want to learn other tips for staying productive at work, you might find this a useful read: ‘8 Top Tips to Improve Your Productivity at Work [Infographic]’.
