Staying Focused When Working Remotely
One of the biggest impressions made by the COVID-19 pandemic was remote work. Many companies shuttered their physical offices entirely, leaving workers to permanently set up shop in their home offices (or living room corner).
Working from home can be convenient (staying in pajamas all day?!), but it can also be demotivating to try to work where you also watch your favorite TV shows, hang out with your loved ones, and sleep. And if you have ADHD or simply struggle with focus, staying productive at home can be even more of a challenge.
Keep reading to learn how to stay focused from home when working remotely. Spoiler alert, you may have to get out of those pajamas.
How to Maximize Your Remote Work Productivity
In many ways, working from home can make you more productive, because there are so many factors within your control. No noisy co-workers, you’re in charge of the thermostat, and you can decide on the best lighting, decor, office chair, etc. But if your home is as busy as an open office (say, if you have kids at home, roommates, or a noisy partner who also works from home), and if you don’t follow a structured schedule as you would in an office, things can easily fall into disarray.
Working remotely offers freedom and flexibility, but it also requires discipline and structure to maintain productivity. Here are some strategies to help you stay on track:
1. Create a Dedicated Workspace with Work Hours
Designate a specific area in your home for work, preferably away from distractions. Maybe this is an actual home office, or a corner of your living room, or the garage. Wherever you decide to work, try to keep that area solely for working and keep it clean and clutter-free. Set regular work hours to establish a routine and maintain consistency.
2. Dress for Success
While you might be tempted to work in your pajamas, getting dressed as if you were going to the office can help shift your mindset into work mode and boost productivity. In a study by Temple University researchers found that workers who dressed better at work than they usually did had a stronger sense of self-esteem and even performed better on tasks.1
3. Outline Your Daily & Weekly Goals to Stay Organized
Create a list of daily and weekly goals and their respective deadlines. Break larger projects into smaller, manageable tasks to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Your brain will also reward you every time you accomplish one of these smaller tasks. Each time you check an item off your to-do list, your brain secretes a bit of dopamine, a pleasure chemical. It makes you feel good and motivates you to keep going.
4. Identify High-Priority Tasks & Tackle Those First
Focus on completing the most important tasks first thing in the morning when your energy levels are highest. This will help you make significant progress and alleviate stress. When everything seems equally urgent and important, you can feel suspended in a state of panic, not sure which task to tackle first. This leads to procrastination and more stress than necessary.
5. Take Breaks When Necessary
Schedule regular breaks throughout the day to rest and recharge. Try not to see them as a distraction or obstacle to getting your work done. Studies show taking consistent breaks actually helps you be more productive than working without stopping.2 Short breaks can also help prevent burnout. Not sure what to do on a break? Try the following:
- Work for 50 minutes straight and then take a 10 minute walk. This breaks up sedentary behavior and gives your brain a breather.
- Don’t have 10 minutes? Set aside just one to five minutes every hour to stretch, do some jumping jacks, hold a plank, or meditate. That’s right. You don’t have to sit in a lotus position for hours at a time to benefit from mindfulness. Even short meditations can benefit your mental health (and may end up leading to longer meditations).
6. Stay Connected with Colleagues
Maintain regular communication with your colleagues through video calls, emails, or messaging apps. Collaboration and social interaction can help combat feelings of isolation and keep you motivated. And be sure that working from home doesn’t get in the way of your social life. Make time in your busy schedule to meet with friends in person to nurture your relationships.
7. Minimize Distractions
Identify potential distractions in your workspace and take steps to minimize them. This may involve turning off notifications, only checking email at certain times of the day, using website blockers, or setting boundaries with family members. If you live in a busy home, consider noise-canceling headphones, or work outside the home, whether that means at the local library or a co-working office.
8. Set Work/Life Balance Boundaries
Establish clear boundaries between work and personal life to prevent burnout. This may entail keeping regular hours just as you would in an office and shutting the laptop (or closing your day planner) at the end of the day. Create a routine that includes dedicated time for work, leisure, and relaxation. This is also more achievable if you’ve established a designated work space in your home.
9. Invest in Self-Care
Work hard, rest harder. Prioritize self-care, like exercising regularly, eating healthily, meditating, and getting enough sleep, and don’t sacrifice any of these habits due to a full workload. When you neglect self-care, you don’t just compromise your physical and mental health, your work also suffers in the long-run because work, work, work is rarely sustainable.
10. Adapt as Needed
Setbacks are a part of life and despite our best efforts, sometimes things don’t go as plan. Being flexible and coming up with creative solutions will help you weather any storm at work and in other areas of your life.
If you feel like poor focus, anxiety, restlessness, or stress are impeding your productivity and motivation, consider taking non-prescription Brillia. Free from harsh, synthetic chemicals and harmful side effects, Brillia is clinically-proven to improve focus and reduce stress without making you drowsy, upsetting your stomach, or masking your personality in any way. Its active ingredient consists of antibodies to the S100B protein, a brain-specific protein that plays a significant role in mood, focus, and learning. By regulating this protein, Brillia helps your brain cells communicate with each other more effectively, so you can focus clearly, feel calmer, and handle life’s stressors feeling empowered instead of overwhelmed. Brillia works best in combination with the healthy lifestyle habits outlined in our 5-Pillar methodology: proper nutrition, adequate sleep, controlled screen time, and mindfulness. Find out more about how this holistic approach works.
Get a whole bunch of support right in your inbox.
References: 1https://news.temple.edu/news/2023-06-01/when-you-look-good-you-feel-good-research-shows-you-might-even-be-more-productive, 2https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/taking-breaks
