5 Secrets to Be More Productive When Working from Home

In today’s hybrid world, many consultants, accountants, lawyers and others working in professional services work from home much more often than they did before the pandemic. Here are five secrets to be more productive when working from home:

1. Create an ideal workspace at home.

Avoid doing work in your bedroom at all costs. Ideally, you would designate a separate room of your home strictly for work. If that’s not possible, carve out part of a room to use exclusively for work.

Give some thought to the design and layout of your home workspace as well. Make sure you have a comfortable office chair and a computer/desk setup that is ergonomically-friendly.

Laptops encourage you to drop your head to look at your monitor. This puts a lot of strain on your neck and back.

Invest in an adjustable desk or create a setup on your own that makes it easy to move back and forth from sitting to standing while maintaining good posture for either position.

Position your monitor about an arm’s length away from you, and set up your monitor so that the top half is eye level. This will encourage you to keep your head upright, which will reduce the pressure on your neck and back.

2. Start the day with exercise and a healthy breakfast.

Working from home eliminates commute time, which saves many people at least 30-60 minutes each day. What about using this “extra time” to get in a good workout and eat some quality fuel? If you exercise and eat a quality breakfast, you will be well-positioned for a much more productive day of work.

Morning workouts release feel-good hormones and boost your brainpower. As Dr. John J. Ratey writes in Spark; The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, “If you had half an hour of exercise this morning, you’re in the right frame of mind to sit still and focus on this paragraph, and your brain is far more equipped to remember it.” ¹

Morning workouts also set a strong tone for your day. Start your morning by voluntarily doing something difficult (like getting up early and working out), and you set a powerful tone for the rest of your day.

In regard to breakfast, the fuel (or lack of fuel) that you consume in the morning sets the tone for your eating habits, your energy, and your performance later that day. Skipping breakfast can make you more lethargic and make you more likely to over-eat when you finally break your fast.

3. Dress for productivity, not for comfort.

The clothes that you wear when working from home have a big impact on your state of mind, your motivation to work, and your eventual productivity. When you work from home, it might be tempting to wear casual attire that you would never wear to an office. However, this can make it harder to stay focused on work.

Avoid dressing casually because no one can see you. Wear whatever will help you feel confident and perform your best.

4. Establish a strict policy against television and internet surfing.

When you work from home, it might be tempting to engage in entertainment that is not related to your job. However, it will only reduce your productivity and make you more likely to make errors.

Many high performers find it easier to ban television and internet surfing during your workday at home, instead of having to figure out when or for how long you can use these forms of entertainment.

If this policy seems too rigid, then limit television and internet surfing to a lunch break. Whatever you do, don’t keep a television on in the background throughout the workday at home.

5. Get out of the house during the day.

While working from home can help you avoid distractions at work, it can feel isolating. Don’t stay inside all day by yourself. Getting out of the house a few times will prevent monotony, and it will increase your energy.

You could meet a friend for lunch, or you could eat lunch by yourself somewhere outside. You could also step outside for brief walks during the day. For example, you could do a short, five-minute walk outside in the morning and/or in the afternoon, along with a longer walk right after lunch.

A midday walk helps you come back for a stronger, more energetic second half of the day. In one study, researchers at the University of Georgia found that ten minutes of low-intensity activity (the kind that does not lead to sweating or require a shower) could make participants feel more energized than consuming 50 mg of caffeine, the amount found in a typical can of soda.²

Summary

Working remotely can provide a nice change of scenery from working at an office every day. However, it also presents unique challenges. Whether you work from home all of the time, most of the time, or only occasionally, here are five secrets on how to be more productive:

1. Create an ideal workspace at home.
2. Start the day with exercise and a healthy breakfast.
3. Dress for productivity, not for comfort.
4. Establish a strict policy against television and internet surfing.
5. Get out of the house during the day.

Follow these tips, and you will be even more productive when you work from home.

References

1. Ratey, John J. with Eric Hagerman, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2008.
2. Kristin Morales, “Skip the caffeine, opt for the stairs to feel more energized,” University of Georgia, April 19, 2017, http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/stairs-more-energy-research/