A Friendly Guide to Thriving While Working from Home
Working Remotely 101
Okay, I know this content might be a little overdue and that most cities and countries have returned back to offices but I also know there are many areas that are still working remotely, and for some, it’s already become the new normal. So, today we’re going to talk about how you can stay productive when you’re working or studying from home.
First, I know not everyone has the chance to work from home, and I am blessed to be able to work remotely and I feel for those who lost their job due to the pandemic and are still having trouble finding a job. But I also know many of us are staying at home and still trying to be productive, whether for work, studies, or maybe just to do new things you were not able to do before. So I figured I could share some tips on how you could stay productive or effectively make use of your time while staying at home.
For the last four years, I’ve been fortunate enough to work remotely as a creative, so most of the things I’m going to be talking about in this blog are related to creativity or design but no worries, I’ll try to give it a general approach as much as possible. Anyways, productivity should be general. I mean, we should all know how important it is to be focused and efficient in anything you do.
Step 1. Waking Up
Normally, I start my day by waking up around 6 or 7 in the morning for work. By the way, I work 5 days a week, Monday to Friday. I know, most people working remotely would follow a different timezone, nonetheless, it is important that you give yourself plenty of time to prepare before actually working.
For me, it is a series of waking up, going back to bed again for a couple of minutes then finally getting out of bed for a short Bible reading. Now, I do read the Bible on my phone, I just personally find it easier to take notes and reflect that way. Please, don’t judge me. I always make sure to have Do Not Disturb enabled while doing this. Do Not Disturb is a great feature that most people don’t realize they have on their phone. But more on that later on.
Next part of my morning routine is getting breakfast, of course. Most important meal of the day. For me, it’s basically just a cuppa coffee and a slice of bread or depending on what’s already on the dining table, cause every single day, if not almost every day, my mom gets up earlier than me and she’s always the one preparing breakfast for everyone. So big shoutout to my mom!
Step 2. Office Time
To be honest, I am not a morning person and I am definitely a slow burner. So if you’re like me and you always find it difficult to start working or studying, I suggest you listen to your favorite songs or you can check some cool playlists on your favorite music app.
Most music streaming platforms like Apple Music or Spotify have this feature where you can stream music based on the mood you like, where it automatically plays different songs from different artists you could listen to that could help you stay focused, get cosy, or just feel good.
For me, this works as a fire starter especially on Mondays, it really helps me get in the mood and helps with my creativity. But I know, this won’t work for everyone and some people don’t really like any kind of sound or noise at all when they’re trying to focus.
My personal tip: Try to find one specific thing that you can do every day that gets your body and your mind to transition from home mode to work mode, or study mode. This brings us to another important thing, work space.
Step 3. Do Not Disturb
It is very important that you set a distinct spot in your house or your room that you could use as your personal work space. For me, it is this corner of my room next to the windows, where I could get a good amount of natural light, cause honestly it helps me feel relaxed and focused at the same time.
Staying away from distractions is especially difficult when you’re working from home, because you might feel a little too comfortable since you’re just at home and you don’t have anyone around to check on you to concentrate like your boss or your professor; setting up your work space at home is very significant as it helps create a separate space specifically just for work.
One thing that I mentioned earlier is that I always make sure my phone is on Do Not Disturb mode when I’m reading the Bible, this also helps a lot in staying productive in general. If you know that you use a lot of social media or you know you receive tons of alerts and notifications every minute of the day, make sure you give this feature a try, and I’m sure most smart phones nowadays have this feature available.
Remember, even if you’re physically away from distractions, it will be quite impossible for you to focus and be productive if your mind is pre-occupied.
Step 4. Productive Break
Next, and maybe the most unexpected thing to do to stay productive is to take a break. While researching for this blog, I stumbled across this article from Social Triggers where it talks about why taking a break is essential to being productive.
One of the things mentioned there is that we think concentration is about forcing yourself to stay focused but what we don’t realize is that not taking a break causes decision fatigue, lack of focus, and health risks. In my case, I am allowed to take an hour break every day from work. This gives me plenty of time to eat lunch or take a quick shower.
But throughout the day, even without that one hour break, I always try to make use of my down times, now these are, for example, while waiting for a video to finish exporting, or while waiting for my boss’s approval; I use these quick breaks to rest my eyes for a bit or maybe browse through Instagram just for a second which I have to admit is really bad for me cause most of the time, I end up staying there longer than planned, watching cat videos, but for some of you, you might find this as a creative fuel.
You can also facetime with your friends and family as it makes you feel like you’re not alone and keeps you sane. However, the article suggests that it is ideal to stay away from your screen during your break, so you should probably go for a quick walk because apparently studies have shown that taking a moderate amount of cardio can boost creativity and productivity.
If you think about it, it does make sense. Sitting all day and working is tiring and bad for your health (that’s why they say, sitting is the new smoking), and this might make you feel like work is a burden or maybe make you feel like work is harder than it already is.
You can also try taking a coffee break, grab some snacks, a 15-minute nap, or maybe clean up your room. Whatever it is, you have to make sure that the breaks you’re taking are not just an excuse for you to pass time, you have to remember to allow yourself to actually make use of your time and refill your energy.
Trust me it really does make a change. If sometimes, at the end of the day, you end up asking yourself why you were not as productive as you expected, and you can’t seem to find the answer. Maybe you were trying a little too hard.
Take a break, and open up your mind to new possibilities.
Step 5. Good Night
Finally, get a good night sleep. It is the time to reward yourself after a long day. But before hitting the sack, it is always a good idea to write down some plans you can look forward to for tomorrow or on the weekend.
Remember, be kind to yourself. Just because you’re an adult, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself.
Don’t push yourself too much. Listen to your body.
So, have some quiet time, give thanks and pray. In that way, you can be ready to face another day with hope and strength. Knowing that there’s a new beautiful day tomorrow to look forward to.
