Productivity Tips for Work-at-Home Professionals | CEO SUITE

There are benefits to working out of your home, and then there are some major disadvantages. Sure, you can roll out of bed and be in your office within 20 seconds, but sometimes not having a dedicated work space outside of the house is enough to make you crazy. Here are some productivity tips for increasing work productivity when your home is your workspace.

1. Turn Off Distractions

With no one looking over your shoulder, it’s all too easy to allow yourself to be distracted. Whether it’s social media, reading the news, or responding to personal emails, phone calls, and texts, there are plenty of ways you can put off getting things done. It’s even easier to be distracted when you aren’t looking forward to a particular task. So when it’s working time, turn it all off. Block social media, put your cell phone on silent, and resist the urge to click over to some website or other until you have accomplished 50% or more of what needs doing. If it’s family or friends who are the distractions, you’ll need to inform them that during certain hours you cannot be reached. If you are too tempted to check messages, put your phone in another room.

2. Limit Meetings

If your work includes lots of meetings, whether in person or through digital channels, your productivity can suffer. If you have any control over the meeting schedule and agenda, only set meetings that will deal with issues of real substance, and make and stick with the agenda closely. Another trick is to confine meetings to one or two days during the week so that the other three business days can be dedicated exclusively to getting your work completed.

3. Set Ambitious but Specific Goals

Setting goals helps you map out the steps needed to accomplish the goal. Ambitious goals allow you to think big, but ambitious goals require you to be specific about how you will accomplish each step or stage. Plan each day by including one or more tasks that further your goal while also allowing yourself some flexibility to change directions or take on unexpected tasks.

4. Reward Yourself for Accomplishments

If you are motivated by rewards, there is absolutely nothing wrong with promising yourself something good for accomplishing tasks and jobs. Many people want the reward so much that they will still give it to themselves even if they failed at finishing the job, however, so if you are one of those people, tie the reward to a system of accountability. Report to a co-worker, manager, or even a spouse on your progress, and they will help you keep at it until you finish and can claim your deserved reward.

5. Get Away and Take a Break

One of the hardest parts about working from home is that your workplace is also your living space, and often the lack of distinction between the two is very stressful. Designate specific work hours, and at the end of that time, force yourself to walk away and have a life outside of work. This time-out helps your mind and body unwind and decompress. It also helps your productivity because your subconscious mind will often busily keep working at solving problems while you play or sleep. The next day, you might find you have a clearer vision of where to go next or how to resolve an issue, and that is because you took a break.

Hopefully, these work productivity tips can help you get more done when you’re working out of a home office. Another option is to rent high-quality office space on a short-term or long-term basis. Renting serviced and virtual offices can help a work-from-home entrepreneur meet with clients and present a professional image when needed. CEO Suite offers fully serviced office spaces throughout Asia. Visit our Home page for more information and to find a location that suits your needs.

Feb 28, 2015