Since the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have found ourselves remote working more and more, which means many of us are coming face to face with the common problems that remote workers face, most notably, maintaining some kind of consistent level of productivity.
Whether you’re working at home, in an office, or in a cafe or public space, it’s easy to fall into the trap of not being productivity and lazing around, which means deadlines can creep up out of nowhere and stress mounts on your daily life. In today’s guide, we’re going to explore seven amazing ways you can stay productive and keep remote working as a positive experience.
#1. Have a Morning Routine
If you’re getting up and staying in your PJs, yeah this seems like a nice benefit of remote working, but from a mindset perspective, it keeps you limited. By getting up, getting dressed, and going through some kind of morning routine, you’ll be telling your brain that you’re transitioning from bed and leisure time to work time, which makes it far easier to focus and get on with your day.
#2. Create a Schedule
While you’re not bound by the restrictions of a 9 to 5 schedule, it’s important to create your own working schedule to live by. This way, you know when you’re working and what time you’re working with. This could even be as simple as saying you’re going to work from 9-2 and then any extra work you can squeeze in is extra, but don’t forget to have downtime! (more of this below)
#3. Work in a Dedicated Space
It’s amazing how much more work you’ll get done when you’re working in a set working space, like a special workroom, or even just a place at the table. It can be tempted to set your laptop up in bed and relax, and sure, why not treat yourself, but the truth is, your mind finds it hard to separate leisure and work based on your physical location, so train it to identify certain spaces.
#4. Balance Your Work/Play Life
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of working all the time at home if you don’t take the time to set boundaries. You cannot work all the time, just like you can’t play all the time. You need to find an appropriate balance that works for you and gives you enough time to rest, reset, and stay happy.
#5. Communicate Properly with Work
Remote working does create certain problems like trying to stay in contact with your business, boss, team leader, or the rest of your team. Communication is essential for any business to succeed, so as a rule of thumb, overcommunicate to your team and then work backwards until you find the level of communication that works for everyone.
You can also use apps to boost mobile productivity with remote file access features built in to effortlessly share files and data between you and members of your team to make work even easier!
#6. Don’t Forget to Take Breaks
So important. Yes, it can be tempting to settle into work all day long, but if you’re not taking breaks, you’re only going to burn yourself out, and you won’t be able to do anything. Every hour, step away from your work and take a walk around the block or the house and do something else. Give yourself time to relax and unwind before getting stuck in again.
#7. Maintain a Positive Mindset
Sometimes, remote working can be lonely and stressful, and those nights when you stay up late when your family has gone to bed to meet a deadline can be sad, but it’s important to stay positive. The fact we have the opportunity to remote work at all is an amazing and beautiful thing, and by keeping a smile on your face, you’ll make it a life-changing experience that can benefit you in so many ways.
Summary
Remote working is changing the way that the modern workplace works, and there’s never been a time like this. Of course, we’re all figuring out how this new way of working is best for everyone, so be open to change, be creative with your approach, and above all else, make the most of this unique time and experience!
