6 Simple Ways To Boost Productivity Whilst Working From Home
From my experience as a freelance app developer and content creator working from home.
With the recent shift in peoples lives, working from home has become much more common, for some people this is perfect, having the freedom to work in your own space and without the need to commute to work. However, for others, it has been a growing problem. Many people find it a struggle to work from the comfort of their home, thus negatively affecting their productivity. This reduction in work productivity can lead to an increase in stress with feeling behind on work, or the inability to separate their work and home life.
The advice in the following sections is some of the ways that I have managed to stay productive whilst working from home as a freelance app developer.
Have A Comfortable Workspace
Having a tidy workspace that is comfortable to work at for hours is essential. This can be a struggle if you are used to working in an office environment, as it means attempting to set up a good space for you to work that is separate from the areas that you use to relax.
Once a suitable workspace has been established, the next part is to make sure it is comfortable to work at for long periods. If you are in discomfort whilst working, your focus will be on how uncomfortable you are, rather than the work you have.
Similarly, if your workspace is cluttered or untidy, it can waste time looking for objects or equipment that may be required, compared to keeping everything organized.
Break Larger Tasks Down Into Smaller Ones
Breaking the larger tasks down into smaller ones and working through them has numerous benefits. Firstly, it makes your work more manageable. Managing your workload allows you to plan out which tasks are the most important and prioritize them. Secondly, it provides a sense of achievement when clearing tasks. If you’ve spent hours working on a complex task, it can feel very demotivating as you can feel like you are not making any progress. Whereas, if you tick off the smaller jobs within that complex task, you know that you are progressing towards its completion.
A great tool I use to manage all my tasks and keep everything organised is Trello, a free work management application that allows you to move and rearrange tasks as needed.
Take A Walk Outside
Getting a breath of fresh air and a little exercise is perfect for clearing the mind, especially if you have been working on a task but just aren’t making any progress towards it. I often get this when finding a bug in the codebase that I can’t seem to solve.
Often you will find that once you have been out for a brief walk and then return to the same problem you were on, the solution comes much quicker, or you find a new angle to approach the problem.
Minimise External Distractions
Constant distractions during work have a massive hindrance to your performance. Sometimes this cannot be helped, whether working with your partner or looking after a child.
Although, some distractions can be cut out, such as checking your phone or having the TV playing in the background. Each time you get distracted takes you out of your workflow, which can take a while to get going again. Easily remove your phone from the vicinity or not check it, unless it’s a work phone and you need it on you, or turn the TV off.
Take Short Breaks
Similar to walking outside. Taking short breaks to make a hot drink or read a few pages of a book can considerably improve your overall productivity. The goal is to completely shut off from thinking about the work you were on. Then return to it with a fresh perspective.
The breaks can either be spread out throughout the day or structured like the Pomodoro Technique, which helps people stay focused for extensive periods. The Pomodoro Technique is to work constantly for 25 minutes, focusing only on the task at hand, followed by a short 5-minute break. Then keep repeating for three more Pomodoros before taking a more lengthy break. This technique is a proven method to maintain a high focus throughout your working time, whilst also preventing you from burning out.
Listen To Relaxing Lo-Fi Music
Stress and overthinking can severely reduce your ability to focus or solve problems, which in turn has a negative impact on your overall productivity. To help combat this, listening to relaxing music that does not contain any lyrics can be an excellent way to stay calm and relaxed. I often find a large playlist containing lo-fi music to work best for me. There are plenty of these playlists on music services or YouTube.
Summary
Working from home can have its challenges, but it can also have its benefits as well. The key is to find the balance and to minimise as many of the personal negatives that you may have with the work from home lifestyle. For some, it is temporary until they can return to an office, for others it is a choice for example if you are a freelancer. Either way, finding the best solution for you to increase your productivity will make that lifestyle much easier.
