15 Tips to Effectively Work from Home
These days, we’re no strangers to working from home. The onslaught of Covid and lockdowns saw a lot of businesses shift to remote working and home offices, and even (when we’re lucky enough) the odd coffee shop brekky/work session. Business owners working from their homes, employees work remotely - either part time or full time, people using VA's to help run their businesses, meetings held online through Zoom, freelancers using a laptop to work while they travel (lucky ducks) - work no longer has to be confined to the "office" and so many jobs can be done anywhere there is an internet connection.
We actually have two HQ's at Digital Disco - on the Gold Coast and on the Sunshine Coast. We both work from home, from shared workspaces, from coffee shops, sometimes from the park while our toddlers run around the playground (lockdowns depending of course). We love the flexibility and freedom that comes with "remote work", but we also know it can be hard - losing the structure of the 9 to 5 can throw some people off their game, while others miss the social aspect of the office.
Whether you’re a business owner that has just started the WFM gig, or an employee who is being forced to work from home during a lockdown, it can take a while to find what works for you. So for those still working out how to make it work, here are our top 15 tips to effectively work from home.
#1. Set Up a Dedicated Workspace
Working from home does not mean sitting on the couch, in your PJ's with the TV on all day while you plug away at your laptop. As nice as it sounds, it's not a recipe for productivity I'm afraid (or good posture)! So, set up a dedicated workspace for yourself - a home office, a desk in an unused corner of the room, a set up in your garage. Anywhere that you can be comfortable, minimise distractions, and not have to clear away every time you need to eat a meal.
Make sure your space is set up with everything you need - your computer, pens, paper, a filing system, printer - whatever you need to get your work done throughout the day. And maybe jazz it up a bit with some colourful artwork, kids’ drawings, and a comfy office chair.
#2. Get Up, Get Dressed
You may not be hopping on a bus or train and going to the office, but you're still going to work, so start your day right. Get up, have a shower, get dressed, and be fresh and ready for a day of work. Staying in your PJ's - or your activewear - all day is not going to get you into the right mindset to smash out your work goals. We won’t lie though, a big perk of WFH life - wearing slippers to “work” in winter!
#3. Schedule your Day
When we worked in an office, the first thing we did each morning (after coffee of course), was writing out a to-do list for the day: the meetings we had, the things we needed to achieve that day, and projects we needed to work on.
Now that we work from home, we still have all of those things to do - meetings, deadlines, projects. So, we still have the same ritual of mapping out our days. We get more done if we have a plan in place and know what we need to get done each day. Whether you do this on paper, use your online calendar or a tool like Asana, take some time each day or week to map out what you need to get done, and put a schedule in place.
#4. Have a To-Don’t List
While we do love a good to-do list, a to-don't list can be just as helpful. When you’re working from home, it is so easy to be distracted by thoughts of the dishwasher that needs to be stacked, the dinner that needs to be made, or the bills to be paid. When you're working from home, it can be really easy to get sucked into all of the home things that need to be done. But if you were at the office, they would only get done later, and you need to treat it the same way when you're working from home or remotely.
So, every time you think of something that is a distraction from your work, write it down on your to-don't list and save it for later. At least you then won't forget you need to do it, but you also won't drop what you're doing to take care of it.
#5. Eat the Frog
And no, we’re not being literal. This is a great way of saying you should start your day with the thing you most want to avoid doing. Maybe it’s a phone call, or a report your need to write. Maybe it’s a client email you need to send, or bills you have to pay. If you sit on it all day, putting off doing it, you just land up thinking about it all of the time, and that's not helping anyone's productivity. So, get it done - eat your frog! (By the way - this isn't just a great tip for people working from home, it's an all-rounder!)
#6. Reduce Distractions
It's really easy to get sucked into time-wasters when you're at home - hello Netflix - so if you can, try to minimise the number of distractions around you. Better yet, make sure your office/desk is away from the lounge room and kitchen (aka, the snack place). If working to music distracts you, try listening to Binaural Beats - they’re perfect for blocking out background noises and keeping you focused.
#7. Stay Visible
If you work with a team, staying in contact with them during the day can help give you that office environment feel. You can let them know what you're doing, what tasks you've completed, ask questions on things you're stuck on, and let them know you're around if they need help. We are big fans of Slack, and we constantly communicate on work-related tasks (and sometimes what our kids are doing to annoy us) throughout the day. We also have a weekly video Zoom call so we can see each other “face-to-face”.
#8. Embrace the “Do Not Disturb”
On the flip side, if team chats are distracting you, or you have a piece of work you really need to concentrate on, don't be afraid to say "yo, peeps, going to be offline for a while", and set your chat to "Do not disturb". It is ok to be unavailable for a while. You can also pause your email so that doesn’t distract you either. Close down unnecessary tabs, switch off your phone, and hit the pause button (if you have Chrome, add on the Boomerang for Gmail extension - it’s a gamechanger).
#9. Group Your Meetings & Appointments
If you have meetings or appointments at your home office, have to video conference into meetings, or drive out to see clients at their offices, try to schedule these close together. That way you can have a chunk of time dedicated to your meetings, and a chunk of time free to get stuck into actual work. If your meetings are spread out throughout the day, you may find the time between them all isn't enough to get anything productive done.
#10. Embrace Video Calls
Google Hangouts, Zoom, Skype - they're all fantastic tools you can use to be more productive working remotely. You can still call into that meeting from your local coffee shop, or chat with a teammate over video about a project you're working on. Maybe consider investing in a decent pair of headphones if you're going to be doing this frequently.
#11. Take Regular Breaks
When you're working from home it can be easier than normal to stay at your desk for longer than is recommended. So try to take regular breaks away from your desk - get up for a quick walk around your yard, make a cup of coffee, or move work spots.
Also, make sure to schedule in some time for social interaction - it can feel really lonely at times working from your home, so try to set up a few lunch or coffee dates, maybe go to a midday yoga class, or have a chat to another mum at school pick up. Feeling lonely and isolated can quickly lead to burnout, so try to put a plan in place to combat this aspect of remote work.
HOT TIP: Join The Founders Team to be part of an amazing small business community. We’ve been a member for years, and it’s been crucial to the growth of our business, as well as making those much-needed social connections.
#12. Change it Up a Bit
Feeling sluggish at your desk? Bored of the same view all day? Isn't the ability to change things up a part of the beauty of working remotely? You don't need to be chained to your desk all day, so grab that laptop and head out - work from a park, grab a coffee and send some emails while you drink it, or work from a co-working office for the day. A change of scenery can do wonders for your productivity.
#13. Use Your Peak Hours Effectively
Are you more focused first thing in the morning? Or maybe you're more alert after lunch and a few coffees? Whenever your peak periods of productivity hit, make sure you're using that time for your most important tasks of the day. Then leave the less important stuff for times in the day when you may feel mentally fatigued. Or, to have a nap (maybe only if you’re the boss - sorry!).
#14. Determine the End of Your Work Day
Our workday usually ends at 4.00 pm when we go to pick up our kids from daycare and school (but who are we kidding - we own our own business, we’re always working!). Once we hit school pick-up time, it’s laptop off, the office door closed, and we focus on family things instead.
It's really easy to just "send one more email" or keep working until the task is done when you're working from home, and you can quickly land up doing a lot more hours than you would if you worked in an office. So, determine in advance when your workday ends, and include it in your daily schedule.
#15. Have a Shutdown Ritual
When you work from an office, you usually have the commute home as a time to wind down from the day, reset your mind and get ready for "home life". But what about when home life is work-life and they all start to merge? That's where a shutdown ritual can help.
Do something that helps you decompress from your workday and transition into the evening - whether it is writing up what you achieved for the day, making your schedule for the next day, or even tidying your desk, it's something that signals to your brain that your workday has ended and you can then focus on family, dinner, friends or whatever plans you have for that evening.
Working remotely is a fantastic way to achieve more work-life balance, but it can be very easy to swing in either direction. You switch on the TV and the next thing you know you're 6 episodes into a Netflix binge. Or you start a task and 3 hours later you've missed lunch and haven't left your desk at all. But, hopefully, with some of these tips and tricks, you can establish a work routine or environment that allows you to be both productive and have a work-life balance.
And if you have any other tips you use to be more productive when working from home, please share them on our Facebook page! Even we need a few new tricks up our sleeves every now and then!
