INSCMagazine: Get Social!

By Jessica Oaks

Working from home has a lot of perks. From rolling out of bed and doing work in whatever attire you feel like wearing to multitasking and getting work around the house done, you have the freedom to work the way you want. But with all the typical office job restrictions lifted, it can be hard to focus on the task at hand. If you work from home, try out the following tips that’ll give you a little more direction and boost your productivity.

Enforce Your Schedule

Creating a schedule for work can provide a platform for routine. Instead of working at whatever time you decide to get up, set a time frame each day of when you’ll work, along with how many breaks you allow yourself. When you establish a routine, you get in the habit of getting into work mode quicker.

Create a Solid Office Space

Dedicate a part of your house to be your office space. Unless you prefer to move around and work off a laptop, having a desk and desktop or at least a monitor, keyboard and mouse that hooks up to your laptop can be a sanctuary for productivity. Invest in a good chair so that you can easily settle in and do work comfortable for hours at a time.

Set Time Limits

As you jot down your to-do list for each day, note how long you ideally want to spend on each task. By outlining a frame of time and setting some sort of boundary, you will subconsciously force yourself to concentrate on meeting your goals. When you don’t complete a task in the allotted time, move on to the next and come back to it later. It’ll help you time manage your job and keep the momentum going.

Uphold Solid Connection

For those who work on the go constantly, you need to make sure you always have good connection at all times. With 5G wireless technology on the horizon, we’re about to gain access to network connection that’s 100 times faster than we have currently. Make sure your mobile devices are enabled to tap into the faster network available. You may also want to invest in a mobile hotspot if you travel a lot. This will ensure that you have connection to do work in places that lack service. By constantly staying connected your productivity can continue to soar.

Download a Work Communication App

If you work remotely but still need to communicate fairly regularly with a team, a great app to connect you and colleagues is Slack. The app lets you organize team conversations by topic or project name. You gain the ability to send messages to anyone or group of people directly. Additionally, you can do voice calls along with video calls for some face-to-face interaction. A work communication app can help boost your productivity because it keeps the team collaborative and focused on a project even if you’re not all together in the same space.

Resist Social Media

Unless your job is to manage social media channels, try to avoid going on them during your work day. It’s easier said than done, especially since no one’s around to call you out. Luckily there’s an app called Focus Lock that disables social networking apps so that you’re forced to do work instead. The app does allow you to schedule a break and disable the apps for a brief period of time if you need to get a quick fix on the latest posts. Social media can be a dark hole once you start scrolling through the feed, and this app lets you utilize your time more efficiently by blocking out the noise.

Set Aside a Time to Workout

Exercise can energize you and improve your focus throughout the day. Since you have the flexibility to work from home, schedule in a daily time to work out each day to get the blood flowing. You can either take a walk or run, go to a quick fitness class or exercise in the comfort of your own home. A sound body makes for a sound mind, and taking a break to jumpstart your focus can translate into better productivity.

Working from home is a great privilege that calls for some even greater self-discipline. By trying out the aforementioned tips, you can increase productivity and maximize your output as you work remotely.

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