Do you struggle with motivating yourself when you work from home? Follow these tips to increase productivity.
Working virtually has become a huge trend among both large corporate companies and small businesses over the last decade. Whether your entire company works virtually each day, you are a freelance employee that uses your home as your office, or you simply enjoy a break from your office cubical every once in a while, there are many advantages that come with working from home.
However, for those of us who already have trouble motivating ourselves in the workplace or being super productive each day, working at home may not make these struggles any easier. In fact, you may find that, due to the relaxing, familiar setting, working from home may actually hinder the success of your work day and make you less productive. (You definitely don’t want that!)
Luckily, there are a number of ways that you can increase your work from home productivity each day simply by changing up your routine, your environment or the tools that you use to complete your tasks. To help you get started, here are a few of our most effective tips for achieving success when you work from home.
1. Designate A Set “Work Only” Zone
One of the main reasons why many people struggle to be productive whenever they work from home is because the areas in our home are typically where we relax and unwind from a stressful day, not where we work. For instance, it will be difficult to associate your couch or your kitchen table as productive places because that is not what they are. They are for when we are enjoying time with our family, relaxing or getting away from the everyday stresses of work.
Trying to transform these relaxing areas of your home into work spaces will not only make it hard for you to fully concentrate there, but it will make it hard for you to “get away from work” once you are finished with your project, as you’ve merged your work environment with your relaxation environment. Instead, choose a place in your home that is for work only, such as an office room, a desk in a room that you do not usually frequent (like a guest room), or any other area that you can escape to when it is time to concentrate and be productive.
2. Utilize Helpful Tools That Bring The Office To You
Just because you are working from home doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be connected to your co-workers or tuned into what is happening with your company. It’s still important to have those spontaneous conversations with your co-workers each day in order to inspire new ideas or strategies. You don’t want to lose these important workplace factors just because you are out of the office. Therefore, look for helpful tools that bring the most important qualities of the office to you when you are working at home.
Sococo, for instance, is a great web application that allows you to keep in contact with your co-workers or clients in an office setting, all from the comfort of your home desk. By working virtually with Sococo, you are still able to feel connected to your team through your personalized virtual office floor plan, and you can even pop into a room to talk with your co-workers when you want to brainstorm ideas, catch up with your team members, or even share a video presentation that you have been working on. Sococo offers all of the perks of an office, but with all the benefits of working virtually.
3. Set Specific Assignments For Yourself Each Day
If you think that it is easy to procrastinate when you’re working in an office, just try adding familiar home distractions such as noisy neighbors, kids running around when they are home from school, TV marathons and anything else that you will undoubtedly think of to keep you from your work. Therefore, the best way to ensure that you will keep yourself productive each day and avoid procrastination is to set a specific to-do list for yourself that details all of the assignments you want to finish by the end of the day.
However, don’t just keep these to-do lists vague, such as “write 3 proposals by the end of the day,” but keep them as specific as possible to keep you on track, such as “write proposal one before lunch, proposal two by 3pm, and proposal three by the end of the work day.” It’s easy to procrastinate and push back assignments when you are vague with your goals, so try to give yourself strict deadlines and be sure to hold yourself to them!
If you are someone who works from home or as part of a virtual company, what tips do you have for those who struggle to be productive when working virtually? Do you have any work from home hacks? If so, be sure to share them with us in the comments below! Also be sure to contact Sococo today to learn more about how our virtual office tools will make your work day more successful.
