Picture working from home. Do you imagine an employee dressed in sweatpants, the TV on in the background, and close proximity to the fridge? Most people imagine this luxury to be counterproductive to employee motivation. However, the flexibility and comfort of your personal space actually create a more productive environment.
Employees who work from home increase their productivity by 13.5%, have higher job satisfaction, and took fewer sick days, says Stanford University economics professor Nicholas Bloom, (TEDxStanford). Working from home often includes certain connotations, but your office space can range from the comfiest cushion on your couch to a bustling coffee shop. With all this choice, how do you get rid of distractions and motivate yourself to work those extra couple hours?
3 Hot Tips for Working From Home
Schedule: First, start off on the right foot and establish a routine, no matter where or when you choose to work. Whether that means getting up at six am every morning or a religious three pm coffee break, establishing a schedule keeps you more awake and motivated throughout the day.
Busy schedules often get the best of us, but sticking to a schedule allows you to save time, prioritize what is important, and builds momentum. Repeating the same actions every day, such as brushing your teeth or going to the gym, makes each task seem less daunting and more manageable. The same is true for your work life.
By working for a couple of hours every morning, you start to build good habits, making work seem like nothing! Adhering to a daily routine also increases self-confidence. That feeling of checking everything off your list will fuel you throughout the rest of your day, either during work hours or your personal life.
Workspace: Developing a workspace that aligns with your ideal work environment, is a sure way to improve motivation to work a couple of more hours. If you crave the busy, noisy environment of a coffee shop, find a local one that has your favorite drink or table. If you need absolute silence with no distractions, find a corner in your living space where you can unplug and zone in on your work.
When evaluating your current workspace, think about how it affects the rest of your personal life. Having a dedicated workspace in your house provides you with a greater separation between your work and personal life, allowing you to fully enjoy your time off. Things like office layout, lighting, and color scheme also have impacts on your productivity and satisfaction. Provide yourself with as much light as possible, as well as brighter colors such as greens, yellows, whites, ivory, gray, etc to maximize the vitality of your office space.
You: Working from home is a great luxury and comfort most employees strive to have but are often worried about too many distractions and outside influence. While keeping those comforting elements in your workspace, developing a plan for both yourself and your workspaces will allow you to maximize your productivity and be efficient with your time.
Regardless of this or any other blog article that you may read about the “ideal” time or location for productivity, evaluate your own personal work habits. It is all about you. That is part of the trade-off one makes when they decide to work from home.
Ask yourself what will make you happiest. Developing a schedule based on these, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, will increase your success.
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