5 Ways to Stay Productive While Working from Home

When working from home, it is super easy to get off track! Sure, you have tasks to be completed for your job, but you are at home, which can have its share of distractions. Take it from me, when I first started working from home, I had no idea what I was doing. I had a list of tasks for each job, but it was hard for me to stay on task and stick to my schedule. As a matter of fact, I even gained a few pounds because the only movement I seemed to do was from the office to the kitchen and opening the refrigerator door!

Finally, I realized that my key to success and not gaining any more weight was to do some things to help my productivity. I sat down and looked over my tasks and this is what I came up with:

1 – Set up your space – You need an office if at all possible. I know that not everyone has that luxury of an extra room, so setting up a space that is designated just for working is what you need. You need to furnish it and have it look as much like an office as possible. That will help for staying on track.

2 – Have a schedule – Every Sunday, I get my planner and enter in my daily tasks for my job. I do this every week and it is just the basic tasks. On Monday, the first thing I do is look at my calendar and add in any meetings to my schedule. Once I do those two things, I am ready to start the workweek. I try to time block my tasks. For example, I teach online, I might block off two hours for discussion posts activity. If I need to go over two hours, that is fine, but I try to stick within that time frame as much as possible

3 – Take breaks – Yes! Just like in an office, you need to take breaks. If you live in a place where the weather is nice, you need to go outside and get fresh air and let the sunshine hit your face. Since you don’t have that morning drive, you need this time to get away from your desk. Use it to run errands and also catch up with a friend.

4 – No social media – Social media can be my number one procrastinating tool. I have never cared so much about Suzy and her fiancee as I have when I am procrastinating from work. So, I make it a rule not to look at social media during my time blocks. I actually try not to look at it all during the workday, because it can suck me in, but if I do, I set a timer and stick to that. When you don’t have someone looking over your shoulder, it is easy to get distracted and social media has found to be my number one distraction at times.

5 – When you are done, leave your office – Just like in a regular job, leave it. It can be hard when your office is in your house and at first, you might have a hard time. But trust me, the best decision I ever made was that when the working day is done, so am I. I rarely work super late and once I close my computer, I rarely open it back up until the next day.

These are the things I do to stay on track. Now, let’s be serious. Do I do this every day? Well, not exactly. I do my schedule each week because I have got to do that, but there are days when social media sucks me in. There are days when I am glued to my desk and never take a break!

However, on most days, I do every single one of these. Those are the days where my productivity is through the roof! I mean, we are only human and we have to think of things in that way.