There are plenty of articles floating around the internet right now with tips about working from home. On top of the official guidance you get from your office, unofficial tips are scattered around like confetti on social media and news sites. Some of these strategies aren’t anything more than basic common sense, while others are ideas that you might have never even considered before. These three unique tips will help you be more productive while you’re working from home.
1. Change It Up
Change it up. Your physical space has a major impact on your mood and your energy. If your space isn’t doing it for you on Tuesday, move – maybe to the kitchen table (if it’s a distraction-free zone) or maybe outside for just a couple hours. Then, on Wednesday, move back to your regular work-from-home space. A change of scenery might be just what your brain needs to get unstuck.
2. Track Your Unique Energy Peaks
It’s easy to fall into simple advice about when is the best time to complete a certain type of task. The fact is, there are many self-help books, YouTube videos, and articles out there listing tons of tips for when to do certain tasks.
Interestingly, timing is actually a lot more nuanced than what a simple self-help guide can tell you. We all have different chronotypes – a way to describe when our peak energy time are, and when are dull, slow times are.
To be as productive as possible, track your energy levels over a period of time (two to three weeks is a good idea). Write down when you feel your best and when you feel most lethargic. After you’ve tracked your levels for a while, take the new data you’ve collected about yourself and attack your calendar. Start scheduling your hardest tasks for when you have the most energy, and your easiest, most mundane tasks for when you’re at your slowest.
3. Make Time for Nature
This tip might sound a little confusing at first. Make time for nature? When I’m expected to be accessible ten hours of the day? How?
First of all, if your company expects to reach you at all hours of the day and night, that’s a problem that you need to address. Your company should respect your basic human need for a personal life.
Okay, so even if they do respect that need, how do you make time for nature? The simplest way to do this is to pair going outside with mealtimes: before work begins, at lunch time, and once work ends, leave your home for a few minutes. If you have a balcony, a patio or a yard, spend some time in that area.
Give yourself a break from the screen and enjoy the world around you. If it’s hot outside, make your nature break a short one, but still spend time outside. If the weather is nice, then try to build in time for a walk or a run. One of the ways to reduce the friction you feel from sitting in the same spot for hours on end is to give your eyes and brain a break and focus them on something that isn’t a computer screen. Spending time in nature can elevate your mood and boost your productivity.
In Conclusion…
Change it up, track your unique energy peaks, and make time for nature are three simple things you can do to help you become more productive as you work from home. You deserve to lead a happy, productive life, even in the middle of unprecedented times. Make it easier for yourself by acting in a strategic way while you’re working from home.
