While there are certainly benefits to working from home, such as no dress code and no commute, there are also some drawbacks that can wreak havoc on your productivity.
Unless you have the house to yourself, it’s all too common to get interrupted you when you’re on a roll. Even if you do live alone, there are plenty of other distractions like laundry, neighbors, pets, dishes… you name it. Knowing when you are at “work” and when you are at “home” can be hard to determine without clear boundaries.
Here are five ways you can boost your productivity when working from home:
1. Clearly Define Your Work Space
Setting up your laptop on the kitchen table may be convenient, but it’s also a recipe for distraction. Find an area in your home that is designated specifically for you to work in. If you can make this a space with a door that closes, all the better. If not, you can still create an office in a space you choose to use solely for working.
When you’re in that space, your mind can more effectively focus on professional tasks. And when you leave that space, you can turn your attention to your home and family. Explain to family members that when you are in your work area, you are not at “home,” you’re at “work”.
One important point to keep in mind with your work space is to make sure it doesn’t get commandeered for any other purpose. No piling household bills and magazines or laundry on your work desk.
2. Block Out Chunks of Time to Complete Tasks
Are you a good multitasker? You may be surprised to discover that attempting to multitask can actually make you less effective. Science has shown that when switching from one task to another, it may take up to 10 seconds for your brain to catch up with the change in focus. While 10 seconds may not seem like much, when you do it a few times an hour, several hours throughout the day, you’re talking quite a few minutes wasted on the whiplash of constantly changing activities.
Instead, experts say to block out large amounts of time to focus on one specific task. Rather than trying to make a little progress on several projects each day, pick one to give all of your attention and energy to. Complete it (or a large portion of it), take a break, and then move on to something else. This can encourage what some call a “flow” state, fostering increased creativity and productivity.
Along with setting aside blocks of time for work projects, you can do the same with household chores, hobbies, and family time, which makes you more productive as well as more present in every activity.
3. Turn Off Notifications
This step goes hand-in-hand with the previous step. When you’ve cleared a few hours to make some serious headway on a project, but get interrupted by a text message, you may not get as much done as you had hoped. The same is true with emails, Facebook posts, and phone calls.
When it comes time to get down to business, put your phone on airplane mode, turn off all social media notifications, and hang a sign on your door or the back of your chair letting family members know that you are not to be interrupted.
This step requires discipline. FOMO (fear of missing out) is a malady that many busy professionals have contracted, but learning how to unplug will pay rich dividends in the productivity department.
4. Make Time for the Most Important Person in Your Business: You
Too many solopreneurs and home-based business owners find it hard to schedule time to focus on the administrative aspects of their businesses. Filing, correspondence, and planning are easy to set aside because there isn’t an outside force pressuring you to get them done. Plus, these tasks aren’t billable, another excuse to procrastinate.
Your clients are the lifeblood of your business. However, you are its heartbeat! It’s easy to fall prey to urgent requests by your clients or colleagues, or to feel obligated to take on every task at the first possible moment. But not carving out the time to get yourself organized both physically and mentally is guaranteed to cost you in the productivity department.
Along with running your business, schedule time every week for the important job of managing your business. Consider this time as precious as you would a meeting with your top client. You wouldn’t constantly push off an appointment with your number one customer, so don’t do with yourself.
5. Call Delray Beach Executive Suites
Delray Beach Executive Suites is here to help you take these productivity-boosting steps. Live phone answering services keep you from being interrupted while maintaining personal customer service to your clients. Knowing you can block out a large amount of time to devote to a project without missing a call gives you peace of mind.
At Delray Beach Executive Suites you can more easily manage the administrative aspects of operating your business with one of our Virtual Office packages. From copying and printing, to shipping and courier services, you get all the support you need to get more done. You even access to professional conference rooms for meetings. Imagine the impression it would have on a potential new client to meet you in a well-appointed office, with a receptionist, at such a prestigious location.
In conclusion, designate a work area in your home, block out large amounts of time for serious focus, eliminate interruptions, make yourself a priority, and call Delray Beach Executive Suites to lend a helping hand. When you take these steps, you’re sure to see a remarkable rise in productivity.