How to Efficiently Work From Home

What strategies can you use for maximum productivity if you work at home from a home office?

At first, working from home was a dream come true: waking up a little later than usual, making your own schedule, working in your home office in sweats, spending more quality time with family. Although all of those things were great for the first week, but after that, productivity plummeted.

In reality, all of these things are fantasy; they don’t help you get your work done in an efficient or timely matter. Have you noticed your work quality slack? If so, you need a better work environment. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have a reason to use your business Plum Card to make unnecessary purchases on it. Just make your home office environment geared toward work and success, not fun and play.

Here are some work-from-home solutions to help you maximize your work, allowing you to work more efficiently:

The Home Office is Crucial

You want to treat your home office just like you would your work office — don’t skimp off on the necessities. To be productive you will need a professional quality workspace. You won’t succeed if you stick a make shift table in the corner of your kitchen. At the very least, you need somewhere that’s quiet and a room where you can shut the door. To be successful, make sure you have these things:

  • Computer monitor
  • High-speed internet
  • Great lighting
  • Work desk and comfortable chair
  • Pens, paper, stapler, binder clips and other necessary office supplies.

Don’t be afraid to add some pizzazz to your workspace too: pictures, framed artwork, anything that gets your creative juices flowing.

Pretend You’re at Work, Not at Home

On days that you work from home, don’t skip you’re daily rituals. Get up, shower and eat breakfast just like any other day. Even when working from home, dress professionally. There’s a reason why the workplace has a dress code. If you come to work everyday dressed in sweats, workout clothes or ratty old jeans, you are more likely to be unmotivated and have a poor work ethic. Stay off Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and other personal sites except for your lunch break. End your work day like you normally would: picking up the kids from school or going to happy hour with friends.

Keep Communication Open With Your Colleagues

Be sure to maintain clear and open communication with your professional contacts. This includes coworkers, clients, your employer, etc. Be upfront with them and let them know what they can expect from you and if you have any limitations while you’re working from home. If you need to take care of your children from 10 a.m. to noon and have no access to work email or calls at that time, let them know — that way they won’t try to buzz you in for an important meeting.

Keep Organized: Make a Daily To-Do List

Stay on top of everything and make a daily task list on things to do. This will help you stay on track and reduce your ability to procrastinate. If you’ve made a daily list and still find yourself procrastinating or checking your social sites more than you should, schedule out each hour of your day so you know what you need to work on and when it needs to be done.

Leave a Reply