12 Ways to Be Productive Working Remotely from Home


With the outbreak of the COVID 19, many organizations are running their operations remotely, making it quite challenging for managers and employees to collaborate.

Therefore, it’s essential to learn how to maintain productivity when working from home to ensure business success.

So here are the 12 best ways to be productive working remotely from home.

1.  Create the Right Morning Routine

When it comes to being productiveOpens in a new tab. while working from home, the way you start your day matters a lot. It’s better to create an excellent morning routine that will allow you to start your day the right way. Science reveals that the tone you set yourself when you wake up in the morning outlines the tone for your entire day.

If you start your day correctly, there are higher chances that you will remain focused on your workflow and complete tasks faster. To fully utilize your morning, check if you have bad habits that interfere with your mood, health, and productivity. Then get rid of such habits, if there are any, before implementing the right ones. Some of the best morning routines you can create to boost your productivity include:

• Waking up early

 Meditating

• Drinking water

• Doing some morning workouts

• Eating a healthy breakfast

Keep in mind that the right morning routines can vary from one person to the other. If something works for another person, it doesn’t mean that it will definitely work for you.

Experiment with your morning routine and see what works best for you and then stick to it.

2. Make a Schedule of the Activities You Want to Do

Like in a real office, you need to make a schedule when working remotely from home. The only difference is that you are held accountable by your senior and other co-workers in the office.

You don’t have to work all day, neither do you have to work for fewer hours. It’s essential to take regular breaks and also do other non-work activities around your home. These will refresh you both mentally and physically. As you formulate your schedule, consider all the daily routines and commitments in your life.

For instance: If you have a baby you are breastfeeding, you will want to work on a schedule to ensure that you have enough time to work and feed the baby.

Once you create a working schedule, let your family members and those around you know about it. This will ensure that they don’t repeatedly seek your attention when you are busy.

3. Set a Home Workplace

If you have just begun working from home, you may think that the idea of working from bed is attractive. It may also feel okay to work in your cozy nightclothes. However, most remote workers admit that working from bed results in low productivity.

The main reason is that you have mental associations between bedroom or pajamas and sleep. This affects your organization, which further interferes with your focus. To prevent this, you can organize your home well and set a strategic workplace to ensure that you stay focused.

Setting a workplace helps create the right working environment and improve your productivityOpens in a new tab.. You can start by choosing a good working chair and a desk to create a home office. You can go as far as getting an orthopedic seat cushion which will add more comfort to your working routine. Here is a good list by MECOpens in a new tab..

When you have all the things you need in place, you will be able to pretend that you are actually working in the office. You can also check online for various ways to create a home office that will help you make the most out of your working time.

4. Formulate Rules with the People You Are Staying with at Home

One of the biggest challenges you will ever face while working remotely from home is constant interruptions from the people around you. This is because many people will assume just because you are home, you are free. However, you will learn that they do so innocently, without knowing that they are disturbing you. Setting up rules, do’s, and don’ts will iron out everything.

People from outside can occasionally come in and divert your focus, and it’s easy for your kids to assume that they can talk to you too. Thus, you should let your children know that outsiders disrupt because they have no idea of the set rules. It will make it easy for them to follow the rules.

5. Eliminate Distractions

There is nothing that will slow down your working pace or even prevent you from accomplishing tasks, like distractions. At home, distractions originate from many sources, including loud music, pets, social media, or noise. These distractions can be dangerous, and they can hinder your productivity ultimately when working at home. Thus, it’s crucial to find practical ways of eliminating distractions to enhance your productivity.

Here are some tips to help you get rid of distractions when working at home:

• Turn of the Television and other distracting sounds

• Block the disruptive social media apps like Instagram and Facebook for a while

• Establish clear work-life boundaries

• Let your kids be busy with other things

• Remove unnecessary items from your office desk

• Fight the urge to multitask

• Know your triggers and handle them

If you get rid of distractions, it will be much easier for you to complete tasks faster and achieve your goals effortlessly.

6. Stay Connected with Your Team Members

While it can be challenging to maintain professional networks when working from home, it’s essential to stay connected with others.

There are many technological tools that can help maintain communication among employees. They include Zoom, Skype for business, Hangouts, and more.

Staying connected with your colleagues will boost your morale and prevent you from feeling disconnected when working from home.

7. Always Ask for What you Need

This applies if you work for a company or organization that allows and supports working from home.

To be efficient in your work, you should never hesitate to ask for what you need. It’s essential to ask for whatever you need to work comfortably and finish your work on time.

Some of the equipment you may require includes software, keyboards, printers, or Mouse.

8. Utilize Tools and Apps

Today, there are many digital tools and applications on the market that you can use to optimize the working process and complete your tasks quicker.

ResearchgateOpens in a new tab. reveals that digital tools play a positive role in improving the worker’s efficiency. Thus, it’s essential to find the right tools and start using them while working at home.

For instance, if your work is to create and manage content, you can use various tools like Grammarly, Ahrefs, Signalhire, and Crello to save time.

GrammarlyOpens in a new tab. is crucial for content strategists as it helps in checking drafts for style, grammar, and spellings.

Other essential tools like Evernote can help you stay organized and improve your productivity when working remotely. Communication apps can also help you stay connected with your colleagues. You can use them to share files or ask for help when you need it.

9. Work for Regular Hours

One of the most significant advantages of working from home is excellent flexibility.

Sometimes you can decide to extend your sleep and make up for work later, or sometimes you may even attend a function before finishing up on your work. Besides, many things can happen. An emergency can come, or even you may get an unexpected visitor.

However, all this will prevent you from sticking to your schedule.

It’s healthy and even more productive to work for regular hours and at your most productive time of the day. You can use an automatic time-tracking app that will detect when you don’t stick to your schedule. Time-tracking app will train you to work for the same amount of time and at your most productive hours of the day.

10. Take Breaks and Leave Home

Taking breaks is a critical aspect when working remotely from home. This includes tea and lunch breaks. During breaks, you can refresh and recharge yourself with coffee or a fruit. This will help you remain active throughout the day.

Be sure to plan your working time well and allocate a few minutes for breaks. If you are having trouble taking breaks appropriately, you can use apps like Timeout or Smart Break. You can also use a clock or timer to alert you when it’s time to take a break for tea or lunch.

If you have more time, you can leave home and take a walk outside to get some fresh air and natural light.

11. Pay Attention to Your Health

When working from home, it’s important to pay attention to your health and overall well-being. As the saying goes, ‘health is wealth.’

Being physically and mentally healthy is extremely crucial for everyone, and even twice important for those who work from home. The reason is that your health and overall well-being will have significant impacts on your life, especially efficiency in your work. It makes you more productive when you have good mental and physical health.

Unfortunately, it can be tempting to eat more junk foods and take more sweet drinks when working from home. This will negatively affect your health and overall well-being. To prevent this, you need to develop positive, healthy habits to boost your immune system and remain productive.

Some of the essential things you can do include drinking more water, having enough sleep, doing exercise, and eating healthy snacks.

12. Take Off Days and Sick Days

Just because you are working from home doesn’t mean you will never take off days and sick days.

When you are sick, it will help if you let your employer know so that he can give you some days off until you recover. You should also take your off day to relax and refresh your mind but still get your compensation package. It could be on a Sunday or any other day that you agree with your boss.

This should also apply even when you are self-employed and are working from home.

Conclusion

Working from home may seem attractive, but it can lead to low productivity if you don’t remain focused. You can use the above tips as they will help you concentrate and remain efficient when working remotely.

A bonus tip for being productive while working from home is staying deadline-driven to ensure that you meet all the deadlines.

Steve Todd

Steve Todd, founder of Open Sourced Workplace and is a recognized thought leader in workplace strategy and the future of work. With a passion for work from anywhere, Steve has successfully implemented transformative strategies that enhance productivity and employee satisfaction. Through Open Sourced Workplace, he fosters collaboration among HR, facilities management, technology, and real estate professionals, providing valuable insights and resources. As a speaker and contributor to various publications, Steve remains dedicated to staying at the forefront of workplace innovation, helping organizations thrive in today's dynamic work environment.

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