11 Tips For Improved Productivity

Staying motivated while working from home is hard. But, through a strong plan, keeping track of tasks, taking care of your health, and staying positive, you can make the most out of remote work. 

The pandemic has completely changed the way we work and the way we interact with people. Remember the time when we could go out whenever we wanted to and didn’t have to wear a mask? Those were the days! Nowadays, because of the pandemic, it's harder to go out. That has led to many people working from home.  

Therefore, to help you out, we are here with some remote work tips and tricks. You can apply these tips to your day to life to become more productive at remote work.  

11 tips for improved productivity

Below are 11 tips anyone can incorporate into their work routines. These are popular and widely applied tips that have proven to be highly effective. 

Design a workspace that keeps you motivated

While you might not be working at an office, you must allocate a workspace that suits your needs. Take inspiration from the Pinterest app and make a workspace that makes you want to work. 

Make sure to keep it practical and add all the necessary equipment and stationery you need. Don’t hesitate to ask your employer to provide you with any gadget that you don’t have and can’t work without. Also, make sure your workspace is designed to promote comfortable work as a bad posture or lighting can decrease productivity. 

Polish yourself to gain confidence 

When you are at home working all alone, you only have yourself to keep you motivated and charged! In such circumstances working on your skills can be a great way to build confidence. Try taking courses online, attend training sessions, seminars and work on your overall profile. 

We highly recommend you work on your portfolio. A portfolio is a personal website that has all your work in an order. A portfolio establishes you as a professional. It also showcases your skills in a presentable and appealing way. If you want to get your portfolio made we recommend you approach a software house in Islamabad (Capital of Pakistan). 

Pakistan has a huge IT sector with services that are top-notch and very cost-effective! You can also outsource to a company in India, the Philippines, and Malaysia as these are also popular destinations for software/web development.

Make a realistic timetable

From school to college and at work we hear the importance of making a timetable a million times. While it’s very obvious, people tend to overlook its vitality. Especially for remote work, you must incorporate the following in your routine: 

• Work hours
• Short Breaks to relax
• Lunch break
• Outdoor time 
• Chatting time with colleagues
• Time for naps

With a plan, you not only prevent decision fatigue but also are more active, motivated, and willing to work! Try out and see for yourself. 

Prepare for work as if you are in your office 

We all know how tempting it is to do non-work activities while working from home. If you want to be more efficient at work, you can cook the night before, clean and iron your clothes a day before, and set everything before your work hours. 

Lindsay Kolowich (a marketing strategist), stresses the importance of preparing meals a day before and working at home as if you are working at an office. According to her, at the end of the day, every minute counts. 

Try to balance between work and personal life to avoid undue anxiety

When you are working from home, work and personal life get mixed up at times. We all know the temptation to look at Instagram at work or to check work emails during our free time. The boundaries get blurry!

Yet, everyone needs to have defined work time and project deadlines so they know when to work and when to rest. Turn off email notifications or even your cell when off work.

Group tasks to improve efficiency

Multitasking is a skill every remote working individual should master. It helps save time, and effort which can be saved for lengthy tasks. To become good at it, try to group tasks together so you can do them together. 

E.g. If you are a programmer and you run lengthy codes, try to work on some other small tasks while the code runs. That way you get two tasks done at the same time. Check your task list, group tasks together, and work in parallel! 

Do tiny motivational activities to avoid stress buildup 

While it may seem insignificant and fantasized, small motivational activities can be a game-changer. You can try activities like: 

• Journaling 
• Meditation
• Listening to music 
• Aromatherapy etc.

Journaling helps you keep a record of tasks and makes you feel heard. Meditation is great for your mental health and music can improve focus (without lyrics). Aromatherapy is calming and can help you get through stressful days! You can set a time for these activities to make sure you don’t forget them. 

Keep a check on time to avoid last-minute panic

When you are done making a timetable and grouping tasks together, try to keep a track of each task. While timetables are helpful you need to consciously follow them. Also, you need to set a realistic time for each task so you don't get burned out. 

You can try the Pomodoro technique in which you divide tasks into 25-minute blocks and rest for 5 minutes after each task. That way you can rest while actively working for short intervals. 

Use tools that make you more productive

A little help can go a long way! While conscious effort is one thing, the use of productivity tools can make tasks easier. Most of us work on our laptops, therefore, using apps like Todoist, Fellow.app, Trello, etc. can be very helpful. 

Todoist allows you to make to-do lists, manage tasks and collaborate with teams. The fellow.app offers better communication and Trello helps in project management and planning. There are tons of tools out there so you should dig into that to find the best for you. 

Sleep and eat well for better health

Who can deny the importance of good sleep and food! You are what you eat and you are as active and positive as the quality of your sleep. Therefore, make sure to get 8 hours of sleep each day. Avoid staying up late or skipping sleep as your sleep helps your body recover from fatigue and if you don’t recover well you will feel inactive and sleepy all day. 

Also, make sure to eat on time and don't skip meals due to work stress. Your brain needs fuel to work and food can help keep it in good shape. 

Find your own strategies

We all usually consider strategies advised by our bosses, colleagues, friends, or the internet. While that's good and adapting to positive habits is a good thing, working on your ways is also quite useful. As individuals we all are different and as no two people are the same, we really need to understand what works for us. 

Considering your mindset, goals, work nature, and personality, you should work on a system that works in your favor and gets you at your peak performance. Finding out that perfect strategy will take time but the effort will be worth it in the end! 

Conclusion

In this article, we explained 11 tips for improved productivity while working at home. The pandemic has made work quite complex but these tips can be your helping hand. If you want to be more efficient at work, start with a timetable and keep track of your tasks. Design a workspace that encourages you to work.

Work on your skills, your health, and add tiny activities to maintain a positive mindset. Use tools to assist you with better work management and try to group tasks so you can multitask when possible. Try to stay updated with trends, and make sure to keep adding new skills to your profile. 

Another thing to be careful about is keeping a boundary between work and personal life. Keep them separate to avoid undue stress. Lastly, work on building a personal strategy that works for you.

We hope this article was useful to you. Check out more articles on our website for more life-changing tips!

Author Bio

Hanan Tahir is an Outreach Manager at EBRIDGE. Hanan has a passion for serving blogs with the industrial knowledge he has acquired over the years. When it comes to writing, Hanan's main interests are in technology and the internet. Apart from writing Hanan's interests include binging Netflix and reading history