With work-from-home (WFH) being the default arrangement for most of the community, it has become a new focus to work comfortably and productively. Thus, we have consolidated our team’s methods on improving our work from home experience and we hope they will be helpful!
1 Proper Work Environment
For many of us, music is the best way to set the atmosphere. There are many genres of music and our team suggests playing music in the background while you work. However, the songs playing in the background should be soothing without lyrics as words distract the brain from the task at hand. The recommended genres are lo-fi music, classical music and most surprisingly, background video game music. The aim of playing music is to stimulate the brain instead of distracting you.
A proper work environment should also involve minimizing distractions and increasing focus. In this regard, the comfort of your workspace is also essential. An example would be having a good chair to sit comfortably in to reduce back aches and softwares that reduces blue light radiation to protect your eyes. We encourage you to refer to our other article on essential gadgets to improve your work from home productivity after you are done with this article!
2 Work at a Permanent Spot
By having a fixed workspace, it would be easier for you to get into the proper mindset to work. Your mind would mentally identify that specific spot as a place where you should be focused and productive.
While the bed will surely be a comfortable place to be in, our brains have also recognised the bed as a place where we rest and relax. Our minds enter a more relaxed state and we tend to be more sleepy, hence reducing productivity. You may refer to this article from Healthline on 6 reasons to not work near your bed! Therefore, it would not be recommended for your bed to be your permanent work spot.
We recommend your permanent work spot to be a place with proper ambience where you are able to enter that ideal state of mind and stay focused on the task. Having a permanent work spot also means that it would be easier for you to have access to your necessary working equipment. For example, assuming your desk is your permanent work spot, every time you sit at your desk makes it easier to enter that ideal state of mind and be more productive.
3 Avoid Distractions
If it is tempting for you to check your phone for notifications or scroll through social media while you are working, it would be ideal to keep your phone out of reach during those hours. By having it far from reach, it is less likely that you will get out of your seat to reach for your phone.
As mentioned in the first section, it is ideal to keep distractions out of sight and difficult to reach – increasing the chances of success when focusing on the important tasks at hand. You can also keep your phone on silent mode or use its “do not disturb” mode.
Another recommendation would be to use a focus app. An example would be the Forest app which enables you to choose a deep focus mode. This means that if you open another app while in deep focus mode, your “tree” would not survive. The objective, of course, is to build and maintain a forest! This helps to ensure you will stay focused on tasks instead of using your phone for other purposes.
4 Make a To-do List
By having a proper to-do list, your goals for the day would be clearer. Instead of mentally wandering from task to task, a to-do list gives you a sense of direction and helps you stay organised. However, one should take note that when making a to-do list, the tasks should be realistic and achievable, as overly difficult tasks may end up de-motivating you.
For instance, while we will end up extremely fulfilling to complete a large number of tasks, we should keep in mind that we only have a limited amount of time in a day. Instead of setting an astronomical amount of tasks, which is not within our capabilities in that short period of time, it might be a better choice to set realistic tasks which we know we can complete.
Having a to-do list also helps you to stay motivated. When you check off a task on your list, you would feel a sense of accomplishment, in turn motivating you to continue working and stay productive.
Conclusion: Boosting Productivity at Home
We hope that this article will allow you to work more comfortably at home and we encourage you to take a look around your work-from-home set up and see if you missed any of our suggestions – do not underestimate the importance of a proper work environment, a to do list, and the benefits of avoiding distractions and working in a fixed spot. Check out our other articles which include some tips to cope with work-from-home boredom. Have a great week ahead!