“I believe I’d go insane from all the distractions,” is what many people think when they hear that IWT staff work full-time from home.
Many people don’t get how it is possible to focus on work and stay productive in a household full of children and other distractions.
The truth is, they’re correct. It can be difficult to manage your time when working remotely.
Getting out of debt, Starting your own business or Being disciplined with money are all possible. This is all part of living a rich life.
How to work productively from home
We will be discussing schedules and productivity while working remotely. Ramit Sethi is a founder who has worked from home for over 20 years and has many tips and systems to share.
In the past year, however, many people have started working remotely and many others have had their schedules disrupted.
These are our top tips for staying productive at home.
1. Inventory your tasks
You must first understand what you need to do most days before you can manage your time.
You must start with fixed costs, just like when you set a budget for your first time. Your non-negotiable tasks are what you need to manage your time. Begin by listing the tasks that must be completed each day, along with their time.
These could be:
- Get ready to shower (0h40m).
- Take your children to school (0h25m).
- Exercise (0h45m)
- Zoom Meeting with Boss (1h00m).
- Take-out lunch (0h30 m)
- etc.
2. Your calendar should include non-negotiable tasks
Add any non-negotiable tasks, starting with the most flexible, to your calendar. If you have to meet with your boss, it’s not negotiable.
Exercise, however, can be done whenever it fits into your schedule.
Take your children to school: This is a non-negotiable. Time-flexible: Finishing a work project.
3. You can add the remaining important tasks to your calendar
Lastly, add any tasks that you simply must complete to your calendar. Although these tasks can be completed at a time that suits your schedule, they still must be done.
You should have a full calendar after adding all tasks. This will depend on your life and work situation.
You may have more obligations if you have a large family. Part-time work may mean you have less work obligations. So on.
4. Disable distracting notifications
Once you have your schedule in place (and you might need to do the same three steps each day), it is time to stick to it.
We will do this by harnessing the power of technology to reduce distractions.
Calendar notifications can be turned on
First, make sure to use a calendaring application on your phone that allows you to see your calendar on the desktop.
Next, ensure that your calendar notifications are on. To see when it’s time for you to concentrate on a specific task, grab your daughter from karate or join a Zoom call to your boss. These notifications can help you get work done.
Everything else should be turned off
You can focus more on work by turning off any notifications that you receive by default on your phone. This will allow you to focus on family chat groups, game notifications, and even email notifications.
5. Designate specific spaces for certain tasks
While not everyone can afford a dedicated home office you should still make sure to create separation between your workspaces and play spaces, family spaces or hobby spaces.
You don’t have the space to do it all, so you can use other cues.
Perhaps you only listen to classical music while you work. Perhaps you only use your laptop for work but prefer to use a tablet or a phone for personal browsing.
6. Make sure everyone is on board with your schedule
The most challenging aspect of a WFH program is to keep your family and friends from distracting from the important things.
This will require communication from your side. Tell your partner, family members, friends and roommates what your visual cues are (i.e. “If I listen to music, it means I need to do some work”) and what they will need to help you succeed.
To ensure that you are “at work”, you have to be all-in. However, if you’re not at work, you can ask for support from your boss, coworkers, and teammates.
7. Automate as much of your work as possible
All of this advice is great, but if your time management skills are poor, what’s the point in “being more productive?”
While you may be managing your time more effectively on paper, at the end you won’t have as much time or peace of mind than before.
It might be worthwhile to hire someone to manage your schedule for you. Automating your calendar will allow you to complete the important tasks that were mentioned earlier in this article. It’s easy to forget about it. Follow your calendar every day.
Mischief managed.
Respecting the things you have put on your calendar is about self-respect. You should have enough respect for your self if you decide to add something to your calendar.
You may find yourself not finishing tasks that you have set on your calendar. Go back to steps 1 and 2. Ask yourself: “Is this what I really want or need?”
It’s true: if you don’t automate your calendar , the entire world will fill it for you and you won’t get to the most important tasks that matter most.
8. Be proud of little victories
Simple things are beautiful and can help you maintain productive, long-lasting routines. These are some simple routines you can try:
- Freshly brewed coffee
- Make your bed
- Perform hygienic rituals as you would during workweek
- Get dressed up, and don’t wear pajamas all day.
- Cooking and planning meals
- Find ways to exercise in your home or outdoors.
- Now is the best time to be a morning person.
Consider one routine that you can do for yourself. The key to accepting what’s happening outside is to remember that what you can control, we cannot change.
9. You can be of service in many ways
Ramit Sethi, founder of WFH, recommends that you find ways to serve others in your WFH activities. Ramit Sethi says that he believes everyone has something they can do to help another person, and he is willing to wager that each one of us can help somebody. My mom would take me to the retirement homes with my siblings and I used to play the piano for them.
Imagine calling an elderly care facility or nursing home in your area and asking for a 15-minute chat. Would they be open to you? Yes.
There are many ways we can help people. There are many elderly people in need of assistance. Therefore, I believe that every person has something they can do to help others. My idea of community service is something I would include in my schedule.
Work from Home Versus Self-Care
Which percentage do you spend on work and which percentage on self-care?
For me, self-care is a relaxing morning. I don’t like to rush in the morning. For me, self-care means working out and being able to communicate with friends when I can.
When people hear the term “self-care,” they think of massages and other things. It’s a strange way to look at self-care and working from home. I would say that you should make sure that you do enough things that will give you energy and sustain you so that you can find the happy balance between work life and personal life.
You can also create your own workspace to encourage work-life balance. You can find a place in your house, apartment or anywhere else you live to work and make sure that it is yours. Netflix is a great way to make your home feel more cozy. If you are able to dedicate your time to a workspace, it will allow you to do more and make it easier for you not be distracted by work.