Developing Productive Habits for Working at Home

As the ability to work from home becomes more widespread, employees are on the fast track to learning how to maintain productivity in a remote setting. Amidst a world of barking dogs, yowling cats, and blaring televisions, it’s important to have somewhere you can be at your peak performance. Here are some ways you might be able to establish productive habits in your workspace and reduce distractions at home or in the office:

1. Define your workspace

The space you work in should be the space that makes YOU the most productive. Try to find a space at home that meets your needs – to the best extent possible – and set it up in a way that feels comfortable to you.

2. Practice Mindful communication

Communication is key in any workplace setting. In order to make sure you have a space that you are comfortable working in, it is helpful to set clear boundaries with any other people that might be present in your working environment. If you aren’t sure how to approach this, you might try using the “DEAR MAN” acronym. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) uses this method in order to remember certain steps to help communicate our needs verbally or through written means in a clear and nonthreatening manner. To learn more about how to practice DEAR MAN, click here.

3. Limit distractions

Whether you are in an office or a shared space at home, distractions are bound to be present. Creating a list of the things that might affect your work environment can help you to identify issues that might arise before they do, while also allowing you to actively remove said distractions from your work environment if possible. The goal here is minimization, not total elimination.

4. Plan your daily schedule

Create a daily schedule for work-related tasks and prioritize the tasks at hand. You could plan to start each day with your highest priority tasks, or pick a snooze-button task – something you have been procrastinating which takes a certain mental burden – and tackle it first thing in the morning. Be sure to have a definite start and stop time for every day, as well as planned breaks for meals and recreation. Proper work-life balance is important, so make sure to take time for yourself in your routine.

5. Track your time

There are a number of tools available to help you get an accurate picture of where time is being spent. You can try journaling in an empty notebook or using a productivity planner that includes a place to map out and reflect on your goals. Journyx also offers a smart time tracking solution for companies looking to gain valuable insights into project-based time and streamline their employee timesheet collection and processing. To learn more about Journyx enterprise time tracking solutions, click here.