Staying productive at home

Define your work space

If you haven’t already done so, if you can set aside a corner or a specific area purely for working, it will make life much easier in the long run. If you don’t have a desk, a dressing or dinner table may serve the purpose. If you do work in your bedroom, try to place work items out of sight before you go to bed at night to help avoid becoming distracted by work out of work hours, or possibly dreaming about it during the night! It is best to close the door whilst you are working to avoid family members inviting themselves in – we’ve all seen the poor news presenter who fell victim to this a few years back!

Stick to your office hours

It could be easy to follow your own hours whilst working from home, whether this means working longer on something that could reasonably wait until the next day, or taking an extended lunch to bump your hours until later on. There are bound to be certain distractions that can’t wait, but if you stick to your hours as much as possible, it will help to keep your work day in order and enable you to relax more in your own time. It is important to still give yourself your normal work breaks, however, as this will no doubt help with your concentration.

Stay organised

You may well make a to-do list as part of your daily routine. If you have been off for some time, this will be essential to keep up as you may well find a build-up of tasks waiting for you on your return and in need of prioritisation.

Keep up your appearance

If you don’t know this by now, an unexpected video call could catch you out if you haven’t kept up your daily wash, shave or make up routine! Few people will be sitting at home in their best suit, but keeping these routines and being ‘office-ready’ has been proven to increase productivity.
Leave your home phone behind
With many people still furloughed, constant messages popping up on your phone from friends is yet another distraction from work. Everyone needs a bit heart-warming company now and then, but set aside a break for these activities to avoid getting too drawn in when you are trying to concentrate on a task.

Stay positive

Most importantly, stay positive! As restrictions are being gradually lightened on the lockdown, soon we will all be able to get out and about and socialise more. In the meantime, enjoy not having to commute and getting to know your neighbours that little bit better.