How to Keep Productivity Levels High When Working From Home

Working from home can open up a whole new work-life balance, enabling you to embrace flexibility and make the most of your time. However, it can be challenging to maintain your productivity when you’re working from home, and it can be very tempting to sideline your work in favour of distractions. Read on for our top tips on maintaining your productivity when you’re working from home.

Working From Home: Our Top Tips

Working from home can be beneficial in many ways, especially if you have some flexibility in your working hours. Maintaining a schedule that keeps you motivated and on track with your work can be challenging, however, and you may find some of the following tips helpful.

We recommend:

1. Start Strong. Beginning your day in a deliberate manner can make a huge difference to your productivity. While it may be tempting to roll out of bed and begin work in your pyjamas, or even work from your bed, this will not put you in the right mindset for a productive start. Give yourself time to prepare for the day by getting up, showering and dressing as you would if you were working from an office, and if you can fit in a quick workout and some breakfast, this will really set you up for success.

2. Create a workspace. Your workspace may be limited at home, but creating a dedicated area in which you can work will make you feel more professional and help you to stay organised. Even if you cannot have a full-sized desk, you may be able to make some changes to your space to create an atmosphere that sets you up for positive working. If you are working at your kitchen table, it is important to clear away any clutter and give yourself a clean area to avoid getting distracted throughout your working day.

3. Be strict with yourself and others. A flexible approach is great, but you will probably need some discipline in your routine to ensure that you get the most from your working day. Preparing your lunch the day before and having it ready in the fridge is one way to keep yourself on track and ensuring that you are not interrupted by family members or friends during your working day can really help you to stay focused. You could arrange to meet up with others during your lunch break, as you would do if you were working outside of your home or make exciting evening plans that help you to stay motivated all day.

4. Stay in touch. It can be easy to lose touch with your colleagues when you are working from home and making an effort to stay in touch can make all the difference. Talk to your team about how you can make collaborative working a success when you are working from home and ensure that you build in meetings and catch-up sessions to stay in the loop. Tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams can work very well to maintain team cohesion and collaboration with colleagues when you are working remotely.

5. Take breaks. Although it is important to avoid distractions, you will be missing out on the positives of working from home if you do not take breaks regularly. If you have a flexible schedule, you can arrange your day to include exercise breaks and carry out essential tasks such as taking children to school. You may find that you work more productively when you schedule shorter sessions of work, for example, giving yourself an hour to complete a project and then going for a run. This approach will keep your energy levels and commitment high, and you will see your productivity levels soar.

6. Use lists. When you’re working from home, organisation is key and ensuring that you have a good system to record unfinished tasks and keep track of your work is essential. You could try finishing your working day by writing a to-do list for the following day, so that you can switch off from work and relax during the evening. This means that you can start the following day with a productive list of tasks to achieve and will help you to get into the right mindset for work.

7. Play to your strengths. If you work from home and you are self-employed or have a flexible timetable, you may find that the lack of structure is problematic. However, you can create a balance that works for you by identifying the best times of day for you to work and building your working schedule around this. For instance, if you work most productively in the evening, you may wish to do the bulk of your work at this time and spend your daytime hours socialising, exercising and managing your daily chores. Alternatively, you may find that early starts are very productive for you and you might set yourself up to work before everyone else in your house wakes up, leaving you to enjoy free time later in the day.

Working from home can be a great opportunity for you and for your employer, since you are likely to be more productive and committed to your job if you are able to be flexible with your time. You can create a work-life balance that nourishes you and taking these simple steps will help you to avoid stress and make the most of your working set up.

Are You Looking For A Job In Ireland?

CareerWise is Ireland’s leading specialist recruitment firm, based in Cork, Shannon and Galway. We have a team of dedicated staff who understand the recruitment industry inside and out and our mission is to help you to find the job of your dreams. We can offer advice and support as you search for jobs, prepare your CV and brush up your interview skills to increase your chances of success.

We specialise in the Engineering, Supply Chain, Science/Pharma, IT and Accounting industries in Ireland, and we look forward to working with you. Contact us online now or call us on +353 (0) 21 206 1900 to arrange a consultation.

Laura Gallagher

BSc. (Hons) Pharmacology, UCL

Laura has a bachelor of science degree in Pharmacology from University College London and a postgraduate in education from Liverpool John Moores University. Laura is a trained secondary school teacher with 8 years teaching Science (Chemistry) in England with experience as Curriculum Lead and Head of Chemistry, giving her excellent communication, leadership skills and technical knowledge.

Laura has joined CareerWise as a Principal Consultant with over 3 years of recruitment in Engineering and Technical positions across Life Sciences and Healthcare industry, after relocating to Ireland in 2019. Laura has valuable experience working with clients across medical device, pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical and manufacturing organisations to support talent requirements with a specific focus in the contracting space.

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