4 The Secrets To Being Productive When Working From Home
Working from home, means setting your own working hours. Yay, now you can have your own flexible schedule. Not so fast. With greater flexibility comes the need for more discipline and you also have to guard against distractions as all responsibility is on your shoulders.
Set up your own guidelines from the start. Implementing the right approach will be well worth this setup time.
“Success does not come from what you do occasionally. It comes from what you do consistently. ~Marie Forleo
Set a Schedule
We are creatures of habits and function best with regular, recognizable patterns. To be productive, you need to create and maintain a daily routine that will set you up for long-term success.
Is there is a reason to create a schedule?
A schedule has a beginning and end time for each task. This system allows you to create your own natural workflow. You want to know when your workday starts and when it ends.
When ever possible don’t extend your work hours, instead wrap up what you’re doing and reschedule the rest for the following day.
A schedule helps set your own deadlines. Even with a varying a weekly schedule, you should still stick to the structure of your schedule.
Develop small habits
They make all the difference and reinforce the right mindset. For example, dress like you would when you worked outside your home, if you’re female you can leave off the high heels. Just don’t hang out all day in your pyjamas.
Productivity and Procrastination
Working from home can improve your productivity, but it also has a downside. It’s easy to procrastinate and feel as though you can do everything later. Procrastination always has long-term consequences. Putting work off until later is a “self-defeating behavior”.
Studies show that about 90 percent of us do it at least once a day. Stay disciplined, stick to the plan and be honest about how you want to reach your deadlines.
Stay in touch with the outside world
This is another task to put in your schedule. Without distractions you get more done, but it can also leave you feeling alone and out of touch.
Have a scenario in place in case of an emergency. Who and how would you contact the important people?
These are just a few guidelines to get you started. Don’t look at them as written in stone. Tweak them to suit yourself until things just flow smoothly.
Enjoy working from home!
Do you need help setting up your schedule? Contact me today and we’ll create a plan that’s
doable and doesn’t overwhelm you.
