While the world has been facing a crisis, many employees have been sent home to work from the place where they used to find solitude away from the pertinent demands of the office. Now, the lines between work and play have been blurred and the landscape is a tough one to navigate.
Learning how to have a productive day at home is more important than ever. The answer is simple: Re-structure your home space as well as your routines and adapt to the new environment through better scheduling, time management, and setting strict boundaries. You should also create simple new daily habits to be more productive.
Well, this may seem easier said than done, but making a few seemingly simple changes can, in fact, make a world of difference to your day, leading to a feeling of accomplishment and relaxation when you get into bed each night.
The work from home regulars have probably been boasting about how easy it is to work from home, but if you haven’t been in this environment or aren’t used to it, it probably seems like the hardest thing to do.
However, adapting to your situation only needs time, some guidance, and a few sneaky tips from an expert in working from home who has had many years of practice.
Why Productivity Matters
Being thrown into the working-from-home arena with barely any warning and no preparation is not an easy task. Working this way requires a certain mindset and provisions to be made for it to work properly.
Many people have been handed this enormous task with the added stress of being in a pandemic, having children who can’t go to school or daycare, and having little or no freedom to enjoy social time with friends and family.
Even with vaccines being rolled out in many countries, some experts have predicted that working from home will become a frequent occurrence and the norm for some employees.
This puts stress on the importance of adapting to a structured working environment at home that usually comes with many challenges. Apart from the chaos of juggling work and children, or the endless distractions, people often struggle with either:
- slacking off from work and getting less done due to so many distractions, or
- working harder and ignoring relaxation time by keeping work “on” at all times.
Finding the right balance between these two extremes can be rather difficult and you should avoid both of these at all costs. We obviously know that slacking off is not good for business.
However, overworking can seem enticing as it offers the illusion that you can get more work done, yet this is not the case. Not setting boundaries and letting work overflow into your entire day can result in you being less productive and can affect your mental health.
Prioritize Your Mental Health
This leads to one of the most important points when you are entering this new environment. Your mental health should be priority number one before we get into the ways to be productive.
If you are not mentally healthy, not only will your work and efficiency be affected but your standard of living can also be reduced greatly, and you can end up suffering from long-term effects of bad mental health.
A study reported at least 10 health problems resulting from poor mental health when working from home were evident before the pandemic. These included stress, depression, pain, and fatigue among others.
This highlights the importance of looking after your mental health when staying at home and working from this space. Luckily, there are many tips and helpful resources to help you through these feelings.
If you are following these 8 tips (below) to stay productive during the day, you will be looking after your mental health too by keeping a structured day, since uncontrolled chaos is harmful to your health. Here are a few extra tips to keep you mentally fit:
Tips to Protect Your Mental Health
- Structure your day
- Structure your bedtimes and wake up times
- Find healthy habits to keep
- Drink enough water
- Stay active and eat healthily
- Find time to socialize, even if it is digitally
- Take breaks as often as needed
- Keep a feelings journal
- Seek professional health if you are struggling
- Set healthy boundaries
A Quick Daily Mental Health Checklist
| Mental Health Priority | Done |
| Have you eaten breakfast today? | |
| Have you made up your bed today? | |
| Have you socialized with anyone (even digitally)? | |
| Have you had enough water to drink? | |
| Have you exercised (or moved your body)? | |
| Have you written down 3 things you are grateful for? | |
| Have you taken a break from all screen time and social media? | |
| Have you done something you love doing (a hobby)? |
8 Ways to Stay Productive
Staying productive doesn’t mean keeping yourself constantly busy with things, but rather it is the art of balancing work, play, health, and relaxation time, along with improving your standard of living in different ways.
Not only is this productivity important for you to keep your job and get your work completed, but it is also pertinent for your mental and physical health. Follow these simple techniques and you too can become a master at working from home.
1. A Proper Morning Routine
This is important for getting your day started right. Design a structure that works for you and follow these at the beginning of each morning to get yourself ready for the day ahead. This routine should include:
- A regular time to wake up that works for you
- Drink a glass of water
- Some form of exercise (dancing around your living room counts)
- A healthy breakfast
- Shower and get dressed (even if you are staying at home all day)
- Read a few pages of a book
- Meditate/journal/stretch/write in a gratitude journal
2. Eat Frogs Early
I’m not talking about a delicacy here but rather the idea adapted from Mark Twain’s words:
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
His reasoning behind this was after eating a frog, nothing worse can happen to you for the remainder of the day. This was not relating to an actual frog but rather the idea of your biggest task being completed first.
Brian Tracy explains the meaning behind the quote as focusing on the toughest task of your day first thing in the morning. If you have two big tasks to do amongst the other jobs in your day, choose the toughest one first.
Once you have completed this task, you will have set yourself up for success because everything else will be so much easier and feel effortless after your early morning success.
3. Design a Good Workspace
Since you no longer have an office or cubicle designated to you, you are left to create your own space to work. This can be difficult when you have to find the space in your home, yet it is so important.
If you have a room for an office, that is great. However, if you don’t, you will need to find a spot somewhere in the lounge or dining room, but do your best to keep this space away from your bedroom.
Once you have chosen this space, invest in it by purchasing some handy office things, like pens, a notepad, and an extra keyboard or screen. Most importantly, keep this space solely for work purposes. The separation of work and personal life is so important here.
4. Create a New Schedule
Along with the office space being taken away from you, your regular work schedule is also gone. There is no more rushing to get to the office on time or daydreaming of that lunch break and organizing jobs based on that schedule, but rather, you are left to do this yourself.
Some people may find this exciting to have the freedom to design the day how they want to, while others find it daunting to hold themselves accountable without a boss peeping in on them throughout the day.
Drafting this schedule is important to keep yourself accountable, and don’t forget to include meal times and regular breaks. Invest in a board you can stick above your desk and post your schedule above your laptop.
This way you can think of it as your boss watching over. You can even print out a photo of them to stick up next to the schedule to keep yourself on your toes.
5. Set Business Hours & Stick to Them
It is a lot harder for your boss or manager to check when you have “clocked” in and out during the day, as this responsibility now falls on you alone. Drafting up work times that suit you will be helpful here.
Now that you are working from home, you shouldn’t keep to the regular work hours, unless you absolutely have to. Rather, curate a timeline that works for your unique situation.
You may need to take on extra house chores or look after children and these should all be factored into your times. Keeping to these times will not only ensure that you work enough in the day but also prevent you from overworking.
6. Don’t Multitask
Multitasking is an easy habit to fall into when you are home all day. You may think doing more than one task at a time will help you finish everything a lot quicker, yet multitasking leads to less productivity.
Neuroscientists have expressed concern over the negative effects that multitasking has on attentiveness, learning, and mindfulness. This is largely due to the effects of jumping back and forth between tasks.
Focusing on one topic at a time will help you finish the task a lot faster and do a better job as your attention is undivided. Setting tasks to follow each other is more productive than trying to group them together.
7. Time Management
Manage your time wisely by prioritizing your daily tasks and jobs. When you are setting up your schedule, be sure to include time limits and set times for things outside of work too, such as eating times and breaks.
You may feel yourself running out of time during the day and wondering where it is all going. Fix this by jotting down everything you do in a day, including the time it takes you to finish tasks, check your feeds on social media, check emails, and speak to friends.
You will begin to notice the seemingly quick checks on social media and your emails are actually taking up a lot of your time and distracting you from your flow of work. This leads to it being harder to get back into your work.
8. Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries for yourself and anyone else living with you is necessary to stay on track. Every time you are interrupted by someone, you are forced out of work mode and it takes time to get back in.
Let the people around you know what times you have allocated for work and what time is for them, and ask them to stick to it.
You should also set boundaries for yourself, noting when you should stop working and start relaxing. If you constantly let your work time bleed into your downtime, you could overwork yourself. A study has shown that this overworking can lead to cardiovascular disease in extreme cases.
Apps to Help With Productivity
You can also look for extra help to stay on track using apps and platforms designed to help you schedule your day. This will help you tremendously. Here are a few options to look out for:
Monday.com is a great platform if you are working with a team. It allows you to organize jobs between co-workers, plan who is working on what tasks, and keep track of everyone’s progress. It includes a calendar, time management, and workload features for you to stay on track with all your tasks in one place.
Google Calendar allows you a more private space to note down all your appointments, meetings, and things to do. If you have a Google account, your calendar will sync to all your devices so you can access your schedule anywhere.
Todoist is your key to having a digital to-do list. It allows you to easily set up various lists and group similar tasks together. It also includes a hierarchy for you to prioritize your tasks by importance. You can also easily delegate tasks by sharing projects with others.
Evernote offers a sleek design and an interface full of useful spaces for you to stay organized. You can curate notes to keep as reminders and these can include images, audio, videos, and documents. You can also collaborate with a team on the platform.
Toggl is a time-tracking platform that creates a space for you to focus on your time management. It also has a project planning feature to keep your team up to date with current tasks and deadlines.
Habitica boasts a creative platform that gives you an interactive way of keeping up with your tasks. The platform offers a game-like setting where you are the hero of the story. The app includes punishment for missed tasks and in-game rewards to keep you motivated.
Be Creative
Creativity may seem counterintuitive when trying to be more productive, especially if you are picturing a daydreamer doodling away without focusing on work.
However, creative thinking is important for learning and can help you think of better solutions for your problems.
Find some time during your day to enjoy creative outlets and schedule these in amongst the work. Enjoy some creative activities that may help you improve your productivity such as the ones below:
- Listen to podcasts on productivity.
- Watch inspiring YouTube videos.
- Learn a new language.
- Read up on new topics and skills.
- Take on a new skill: cooking, sewing, or exercise activities.
- Network and find online friends.
- Organize everything: your computer, emails, and workspace.
- Set goals and have check-in dates to track your progress.
- Lend a helping hand.
However, it is also important to enjoy some creative activities that are completely unrelated to your work to allow your mind to reset.
How to Have a Productive Day at Home FAQs
- Why is it hard for me to be productive?
You may be feeling unproductive if you lack direction or if you find the work you are doing is uninspiring. This may mean it is time to check if you are happy with your direction in life. It may also be challenging to be productive if you have not set goals for yourself.
- Is it okay to have unproductive days?
Yes, it is okay to have unproductive days as long as you don’t have too many in a row. However, you shouldn’t think of it as an unproductive day but rather as a rest day to reset and re-energize for the days ahead. Listen to your body and mind for when it needs a break.
No More Procrastinating …
Well, I’ve given you enough procrastinating time with this article, unless this was your scheduled reading for the day. Either way, it is time to get back to work, and if you don’t have a to-do list or schedule ready, go and start one now.
These lists and tasks don’t need to be set up in the morning, so if you do forget, write it out as soon as you remember. Even if it is once you have two more tasks left. This will allow you to get into the habit.
Remember to look after your health both physically and mentally, and don’t sit at the desk for the entire day without a stretch every hour.
Okay, I’ll give you one last opportunity to procrastinate, but after doing these quick stretches you really need to get back to work.