Streamlining Productivity When Working from Home
- October 1, 2024
With the widespread popularity of the remote work and flexible working models becoming more common in all types of industries, you may have found it harder to be productive at work.
Here are some tips to streamline your productivity when you are working from home.
De-prioritise emails
It’s not unusual for busy people to receive an endless stream of emails throughout their working day (and beyond).
But do you really need to read and respond to them all immediately? Communication is important, but it’s easy to let emails take over your whole day.
Ben Greenfield is a bestselling author who writes about everything from productivity to fitness to meditation, while managing a podcast, website, supplements company and more. He writes:
…“I only check e-mail three times per day: 9am, noon and 7pm”…
Greenfield also recommends using plugins for email management: Inbox Pause and Boomerang. Inbox Pause lets you pause your inbox, so emails aren’t even visible before you actively choose to unpause your inbox. He uses Boomerang and, in his words, to:
…“avoid a hodge-podge of e-mails flying back and forth by writing an e-mail, but then selecting a time for it to be sent later, such as four hours later, the next day, the next week, etc”…
Install a private web browser
Clicking ‘accept’, ‘reject’, or refining your cookie choices on every web page you come across can be tedious. This can also bite a significant chunk out of your time every day. Targeted adverts divert your attention from the task you set out to do.
Private browsers can automatically reject all cookies and targeted ads. A private web browser is the best choice for both privacy and productivity. Browsers such as Mozilla Firefox (which doesn’t automatically include ad blocking but has extensions that do), Brave, and Vivaldi are all good options.
Prioritise what’s important
Okay, so you’ve put emails to one side and got a timer ready on your phone or computer. What do you want to work on?
Try dividing your tasks into categories: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and finally – neither.
Work on and complete the important and urgent tasks first.
You can also try the ABC Method, which is where you assign A (most important), B, or C to each task and start with the A tasks.
Use a Pomodoro timer
Pomodoro apps are timer apps designed to increase productivity.
The Pomodoro Technique is simple: work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. When four of these “pomodoros” are complete, take a longer break (20-30 minutes) and then repeat by starting on the next 25-minute work session.
As Harry Guinness, writing for Zapier, puts it:…“The Pomodoro Technique is one of the most deceptively simple and effective productivity tools I’ve ever used. It stops you from procrastinating or getting distracted, so you can just get things done—and all it takes is enough commitment to start a timer”…
You can use your phone’s timer app, such as the Clock app on iPhone, an old-fashioned sand timer, or one of the specifically built Pomodoro apps, like Luxafor Pomodoro app,(both of which are free), or Forest (free with ads on Android and paid for on iOS).
Consider ditching the snacks
Greenfield, who also often writes about nutrition, advises ditching the habit of snacking.
Greenfield writes that:…“it is a complete nutritional fallacy that frequent snacking keeps your metabolism elevated or is healthier than eating three square meals a day”…
and after previously bringing a boatload of snacks to work, he realized that his “entire day was focused on food and taking breaks to eat.”
Carleigh Ferrante, writing for mindbodygreen, advises having a breakfast that includes protein and fiber to avoid feeling the need for snacks.
Ferrante writes:…”Studies show protein and fiber both increase feelings of satiety—and about 95% of American adults and children aren’t getting enough fiber!…
Delegate and outsource tasks
If you lead a team, delegate certain tasks to the team members who are best suited to them.
If your company can afford to hire freelancers or contract workers, consider outsourcing tasks and projects that are outside your, or your company’s, expertise.
Reflect
At the end of each week (or day, if you prefer), review what you’ve accomplished in that time period.
Try and identify any areas for improvement – for example, you might realise that you’ve spent too many hours on C-rated tasks when that time could be better spent on the A-rated, most important tasks.
Sleep well
Good quality sleep is arguably the number one thing to help increase your productivity. Sleep helps us physically and mentally in a number of different ways, but one of the most important ways is how it helps consolidate memory (which occurs during REM, or rapid eye movement, sleep), and better memory consolidation leads to better learning and recall. This is essential for problem-solving and task management.
Sleep also improves your concentration and focus. If you focus well, you make fewer mistakes, and accomplish tasks (well) at a faster rate.
Exercise
Regular exercise can help productivity in a number of ways.It can increase your physical energy by enhancing blood flow and oxygen delivery to your brain and muscles, which allows you to better maintain productivity throughout the day.
It also improves sleep quality, and sleep, as discussed, is just about the most important thing you can do for cognitive function.
Exercise also helps by stimulating the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helps grow and maintain neurons. This improves learning, memory, and overall cognitive function. Importantly, exercise also reduces your stress, which inhibits focus and productivity
Reward yourself
Though it may seem something more suited to children (or pets), a reward system can boost your work productivity.
Start by setting a clear goal, like writing a report, and then break it down into manageable tasks, like researching, outlining, drafting, and editing.
Then, once you’ve completed the task, reward yourself by watching an episode of your favorite sitcom at the end of the day, or treating yourself to a new book, piece of exercise equipment, or app (which could all further improve your productivity – the cycle continues!).
Summary
Implementing these strategies can really help to enhance your productivity while working from home. Remember that it is all about balance. Because productivity is equal parts of effective time management, self-care, and continuous reflection on your progress.
LUXAFOR HELPS PEOPLE TO ACHIEVE THEIR GREATEST PRODUCTIVITY LEVELS WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF OFFICE PRODUCTS. LET’S BE PRODUCTIVE TOGETHER!
