3 Quick Tips to Work from Home more Effectively

Working From Home isn’t a new concept, stay-at-home moms and dads have been doing it for millennia. It is an art form, however, and one that some people are still learning at a finger-painting pace. You want to be the Michelangelo of working from home, not a macaroni stuck to construction paper kind of artist. Many businesses, if not all, don’t train their employees on how to work from home including the tips, tricks, and common pitfalls. This may be the reason so many employers have been reluctant to allow working from home.

It is more vital than ever now to learn how to work from home because it is a valuable skillset for your professional arsenal. According to an MIT survey of 25,000 American workers in early April of 2020 found that, “34% of those who’d been employed four weeks earlier said they’re currently working from home. Combined with the roughly 15% who said they’d been working from home pre-COVID-19, that means nearly half the U.S. workforce might now be remote workers. And that’s also true, the researchers say, for workers 55 and older.”

Here are 3 Tips to Work from Home more Effectively:

1. Create a routine and stick to it. Routine is key in the work from home life. Since there is so much flexibility there is the pitfall of getting off task and not getting your work done. However, with a morning and evening routine you can be sure to prepare for the day in the morning and wind down from the workday in a way your body understands and then it will create a habit.
   
   Sticking to a routine that works for you will help you stay on task, but also help you take breaks so you don’t suffer from extreme overwhelm.
   

2. Move your body and take breaks. Studies show that exercise and moving around helps aid in concentration, memory, and creative thinking. It is helpful to actually set timers to remind you to move. Some people set these on their workout aids and watches, but I use the app Strides on my phone and reminders will pop up on my phone three times during the work day to alert me that I need to go outside and walk. These alerts have saved me time and again from being glued to my chair for hours on end.
   

3. Set boundaries for yourself and others. Like in all aspects of your life both work and personal, you have to set boundaries. This is even more important when working from home. The tendency of our family and friends is to speak with us and interact with us when they see us. However, when you are working from home, this can become problematic and a detriment to your work.
   
   You must set clear boundaries both physical and implied. If you have a particular space where you work then you need to inform family, friends, and roomies that when you are there you are working and are not to be disturbed unless there is a big issue. You can also place actual signs around you or on the doors to those rooms that indicate the same.
   
   You also must set boundaries that encompass time. For instance if you have to be on a call for a certain time, then communicating this multiple times will help everyone get on the same page. You must set these personal boundaries so everyone knows just because you are home, doesn’t mean you are accessible.

For more information, check out my book on Working from Home & take a listen to my podcast series on Working from Home which is Series 2! If you want to schedule a consult with me to go over the Work from Home trainings and assessments I have for individuals and businesses, contact me today.