With the growing demand for social distancing, more business owners are asking their employees to work from home. Even some animal science jobs are being transitioned to remote work for the time being. But not being exposed to sick coworkers isn’t the only advantage of having a home office. From no commute time to more scheduling flexibility, there are plenty of other advantages too. If you want to be successful working remotely, then you need to create a comfortable working environment so that you can stay focused and productive. Here are some effective home office strategies and tips for working remotely.
Create a Dedicated Workspace
Establishing physical boundaries is essential to maintaining focus in your home office. Spare bedrooms are the obvious choices for many people because they can easily be transformed into workspaces and provide separation from activities happening around the rest of the house. However, not everybody has that option, so they create corner workstations, convert closets or even put up room divider curtains. Some may even set up on a patio or porch and take advantage of nice weather. The main takeaway is that you don’t need an expansive space in your home to be productive, a standard cubicle is only 6 x 6, but you can compensate for the lack of space with better equipment, comfortable furnishings, etc.
Productivity Hacks
One of the biggest challenges that you might face working remotely is maintaining the same levels of productivity that you had when you were at the office. Even though some people are more productive in their home offices, you might find yourself spinning your wheels at times. Here are some effective time management techniques that can help:
- The Pomodoro Technique – This technique encourages you to break your workday down into 25-minute intervals called pomodoros followed by five-minute breaks. Schedules like this tend to be more productive in office settings because they allow you to work with the clock instead of against it.
- The 52-17 Rule – No matter how hard you try, you simply can’t be 100% productive all day. If you want to achieve the highest levels of productivity, then you need to focus on working smarter and taking frequent breaks. Try working full-on for 52 minutes and then completely removing yourself for 17 minutes. Step outside to reset, exercise, and get some fresh air. It’s a great way to reduce cognitive boredom and refresh your attention span throughout the workday.
Again, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to working remotely. Making sure that you have a comfortable work environment is the first step. Then you can begin to structure your schedule and try some of these time management strategies that have proven to be effective.
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