7 Provenly Effective Tips to Work Productively When Working from Home

When we look at the work from home productivity statistics, there is a clash!

A study by Stanford states that 11% of employees increased their performance by 13% when working from home. In contrast, another study finds that employees are 70% less productive while remote working. The reasons for this productivity backlog are procrastination and distractions that easily come into effect when individuals stay at home.
Something differentiates highly productive remote working employees from those who struggle to keep up the productive spirit. That ‘something’ is habits. We all have heard the dictum – “human beings are the product of their habits.”
It is time to unlock the productivity enhancement secrets that enable working professionals to work from home productively. Continue reading to discover the habits that will transform you into a high-performance professional even when you work from home.

Early morning vibes have the power to change your life! What’s common between Jack Dorsey (CEO of Twitter), Indra Nooyi (chairman of PepsiCo), Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Richard Branson – they are all highly successful people. Well, the other most common thing is that they all are 4 AM risers.
When executed properly without a break, the morning routine will make wonders happen for you. Robin Sharma, in his bestselling book, the 5 AM club, emphasizes about proven benefits of waking up early.

Here is the step-wise blueprint of how miraculous mornings look like-
• Make your bed

As soon as you wake up, make your bed cleaned. When your bed is still messy with a blanket lying unfurled, you will be tempted to sleep again.

• Hydrate Yourself
Start your day with a glass of water before brushing. A glass of water works like an elixir on an empty stomach in the morning. This activity boosts metabolism, increases appetite, and aids smooth bowel movement.
Altogether, it’s a key to kick-start your day most healthily.

• Meditation
Meditation is the art of controlling your breath and thoughts. This will help you avoid distractions and sharpen your focus.

• Workout
The next step is to work out and shed some sweat. Along with this sweat, toxins will also flush out from your body, making you more energetic.
Meditation before a workout allows your body to get triggered and flex your muscles. You will be much more responsive towards exercises when you have already meditated.

Plan your day beforehand in your journal. Utilize Warren Buffet’s 5/25 rule to create an effective planning strategy.
The rule dictates – jot down the list of 25 tasks you wish to do on a particular day. Then, circle the five most important tasks. Now, realize that rest 20 will hinder you from achieving those five priority tasks. Hence, draw your entire focus on those five tasks and let go of the other 20.
Planning not just pivots your day purposefully but also saves you a lot of time. This time can be utilized for achieving other valuable things. Tim Ferris, in his book, “The Four-Hour Work Week,” suggests spending time on 20% of things that can get you 80% of the results. Therefore, don’t try to do all the things, do the most important things to achieve remarkable results over time.

Your working space must be, if not completely, then partially isolated from the rest of your home. This space must be clear from all sorts of the mess as well. Decluttered working space will enable you to work for longer hours with agility.

“Getting dressed during work from home doesn’t sound a smart idea.” Umm…..okay, let’s think over this.
Listen, no need to wear exclusively formal dress codes but don’t opt to work in loose pajamas; go for something in between. The dress you pick should make you feel comfortable but not make you feel drowsy while working at the same time.

This is where you need to manifest a work-life balance. Family is indeed important but to work productively while following a work-from-home lifestyle; you need to set up some restrictions.
Decide your work hours and make sure that no one in your family, friends, or acquaintances disturbs you during those specific hours. Once you are done with your working schedule, you are free to spend time with your loved ones.

Don’t get distracted. One temptation, and you will lose it all. One more episode, and you miss the track. Your biggest enemies in today’s times are procrastination, social media addiction, binge-watching, overeating fast foods. A real winner today is the person who has conquered all these enemies.
Have a rigid routine and stick to it. Never break it unless some emergency arises. You can use apps like Freedom, Forest, Serene that block social media applications and help you stay focused.
Further, your sleep cycle also affects your productivity output. Have a nice sleep so you can wake up on time, eat on time, and drive your day in the right manner.

Of course, technology intends to reduce human efforts. But, sometimes, people end up screwing themselves by leveraging it in the wrong way.
What’s the right way, then?
Automate whatever is possible. Stay connected with teammates to resolve the confusion. At the same time, prefer working alone when required as too much connection also distracts you.
Recently, “zoom-free Fridays” was a buzzword on the internet as some companies decided not to hold any zoom meetings on Friday. This is to curb work-from-home fatigue.

Work from home trend is here to stay. With this said, we constantly need to upgrade our working etiquette’s to adapt to the new normal lifestyle.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Life is all about how you react to whatever happens.
No one ever wished for pandemic, lock-down, or work-from-home. Since we are in this situation, the wisest option is to find ways to thrive during these uncertain times.
Implement the above-mentioned proven work from home productivity tips and witness the positive changes happening in your professional life.