Tips & Tricks
5 Tips for Working Remotely
Experts claim that working from home can increase productivity by 13% and reduce quit rates by 50%. These statistics don’t quite work for today’s business climate, though. With COVID-19 at the forefront of everyone’s mind, working from home is now a reality for many people who never even considered it a possibility.
If you find yourself working from home, surrounded by the distractions of your family, then it’s time to evaluate your new work environment. Try these tips for working from home to maintain your productivity and sanity.
1. Protect Your Time
Talk with your family members or roommates about the hours you intend to work. Establish certain hours where you’re not to be interrupted, at all, for any reason. During these times, you aren’t available to answer the front door, take care of pets, or any other distracting task around the house.
To help everyone follow the rules, it can help to sit in a separate room. Close the door and place a sign with “Do Not Disturb!” and the hours you’re unavailable.
If you’ve decided to take the plunge to start recording a podcast, this is vital.
2. Consider Ergonomics
If you haven’t previously worked remotely, then you probably don’t have a dedicated desk and chair for working from home on a computer. If this is the case, then you’re working in less than ideal conditions and need to set up an ergonomic work station. Without this, you can develop headaches, eye strain, sore neck, backaches, stiff hips, and cramped legs.
Create a space where you can sit up straight. Your knees, hips, and elbows should be at 90-degree angles. Your laptop or computer screen should be just slightly below your eye line when looking straight ahead.
You shouldn’t tilt your head up or down to look at the screen.
3. Play Music or White Noise
Despite establishing rules and separating yourself, your home still has noise. You’ll find yourself getting distracted by noises while working from home with kids. To combat this, you need to drown out these noises of daily life.
Try playing music that encourages concentration or focus. Or you could invest in a white noise machine. Both of these will allow you to deeply concentrate and remain in the flow of thought.
4. Take Breaks
This may sound counter-intuitive, but taking regular breaks is vital for maintaining mental sharpness. Try to get up every hour and walk around or stretch. This will help you stay limber and encourage blood flow.
If the weather is nice where you are, try to get outside. The sunlight and fresh air will do wonders to give you mental recharge.
Take a scheduled lunch break just as you would at work. Move out of your workspace and take time to cook something you love! These regular breaks will increase your productivity by allowing your mind to refresh.
5. Reward Yourself
After your full day of work, reward yourself by spending time with the ones you love. Get on a virtual group call or watch your favorite movie together. Having something to look forward to will help you stay focused on the tasks at hand throughout your day!
Follow These Tips for Working Remotely
Try to implement these tips for working remotely. You’ll see your train of thought get interrupted less while your productivity and work quality improve. Remember, this is a big adjustment for everyone, so have patience.