Many of us are now spending a lot more time working at home. As a result it is normal to sometimes feel a lack of motivation and to see a drop in productivity. As such Butler Ross have put together some tips to help you stay productive during these unprecedented times. We hope they keep you feeling energised.
1. Define your spaces
Separate work from home, have a room dedicated to working it doesn't have to be big. This way when you enter it you know consciously what you are there to do. It changes your mindset from "At Home" to "At Work". If you can close the door!!
2. Stick to a routine
It can be easy for hours to blend together. Having a daily or weekly routine can really help avoid this. Writing a to-do list can ensure you stick to it and gives a sense of achievement when ticking things off. It sounds simple but such structure can easily go out of the window. Get up, get washed and dressed and ready to attack the day as if you were going to work. If you can get started straight away, you don't have the daily commute anymore. Use that time to get right into the day rather than sluggishly and slowly getting around to it. Before you know it you've completed some tasks, before you'd normally be at work creating a positive mindset for the day ahead.
3. Give yourself breaks
Don't be locked in a room all day. Take a break and give your mind time to digest what it has just done before coming back to it. Your productivity and quality will improve dramatically.
4. Exercise
Try and find ways to break a sweat and keep the endorphins flowing which is crucial in maintaining positivity. It could be as simple as just going for a walk, there are plenty of options for all levels of fitness but it won't come to you, you have to initiate action.
5. Complete those life maintenance tasks
OK it's not work, work but it will really help. We all have them, that list of jobs we just haven't got around to doing (No. 74 - Jet wash the wheelie bins!!!). Apart from them being essential to maintaining some life order, completing them offers a sense of achievement, creates a task orientated structure to your day and a level of calm as the environment around you becomes how you want it. It also gets you away from the computer for a break.
6. Achieve something new
Having something else to focus on really helps maintain focus and it can be anything at all. It is a great way to keep your brain active and engaged. A new hobby, skill, recipe, language or even a sporting challenge. This can be done individually or collectively. For sport based challenges Strava is a brilliant app for not only tracking your own achievements but also to compare and work together with friends and colleagues to achieve a common goal.
7. Stay in touch with friends, family and colleagues
Working remotely can feel lonely and isolated leading to a lack of motivation. Technology however allows us to easily stay in touch. Take the time to message, phone and video call those close to you or those who you are used to talking to. In office you are used to having daily interaction with people so don't stop.
8. Work when you are at your most productive
Your motivation will naturally ebb and flow throughout the day, plan and schedule around it. Save your harder tasks for when you know you'll be in the right headspace for them and likewise use slower points of the day to complete the easier, logical tasks.
9. Communicate your requirements
Make sure any house mates, siblings, parents, partners, pets and children (granted pets and young children are more difficult) respect your space during work hours. Just because you are working from home doesn't mean you are home. Now this isn't easy to achieve, it takes planning and give and take. No doubt multiple parties are all trying to work at home in the same space and if you have young children it becomes even more challenging. Talk it through, plan it out and stick to it. As importantly communicate it to your employers and colleagues. So they know when you will be doing your hours.They will understand.