5 Tips To Improve Efficiency When Working From Home
By JD Esajian on September 30, 2018
Working from home is a different kind of animal. There is nobody standing over your cubicle monitoring your every move telling you what to do. There is no water cooler talk and nobody to have lunch with. For as many people who find working from home efficient and enjoyable, there are many who struggle staying motivated and focused. Like any other employment, your goal should be to maximize your day and get as much done in as short a timeframe as possible. Working from home takes some getting used to, but once you find a balance you will never want to work in an office again. Here are five tips to help improve your efficiency when working from home.
- Start early. When most people think about working from home they have visions of sleeping in and rolling out of bed whenever they feel like it. After years of being a slave to the alarm clock working from home can seem like a vacation. The reality is that working from home means you are working for yourself and you need to work even harder. The best way to get your tasks accomplished is by starting early. Just because you can sleep in doesn’t mean you should. You should aim to get up at the same time you always did for work, if not even a little earlier. Once you get into a pattern you will find that your early morning hours will be your most efficient. There are minimal distractions at 5 or 6 in the morning allowing you to get things done before the kids wake up or there are other tasks on your plate. Starting just an hour before everyone else gives you a head start and a clear advantage over your competition.
- Develop a routine. If you worked a traditional office job for years you most likely developed a daily routine. You woke up at the same time, went to work the same way and knocked tasks off at roughly the same schedule every day. When working from home you need to develop your own routine. Even with the motivation of a closing paycheck driving you, there are times it is difficult getting going. By having a routine you can start your day and immediately dive into your work. The beauty of working from home is that you can create whatever routine works for you. If you want to get in a few hours of work before you need to get the kids off to school there is nothing stopping you. If you have soccer practice or you coach a sport, you can change your routine to fit your schedule. Whatever you have on your plate a good daily routine will help you find structure and efficiency. Without one you will go through the day bouncing from task to task without any real goal. At the end of the day you will be left wondering what you did with the time you had.
- Dedicated work space. There is no question that there is a definite shift in how and where we work. It was only a decade or so ago that if you wanted to validate your business you needed an office address to put on your business card. Today, more people work from home than ever before. Spending money on rent almost seems foolish in retrospect. While you don’t need an office to get work done, you should have a dedicated work space. In a perfect world you would have a room somewhere in your house or apartment strictly for your business. Even if you don’t have a home office you should find somewhere to work every day. Your kitchen or dining room table could work just fine as long as you commit to it. If not, you will end up working on your couch and the next thing you know you will get too comfortable and not get anything done.
- Unplug. As great as it is working from home you must avoid letting your mind wonder. Even though you don’t have anyone bothering you at home, it doesn’t mean there aren’t distractions. With your TV, phone, social media and a laptop in front of you, it is easy to get quickly sidetracked. When you are working you need to put everything else out of the way and focus on your work. Put your phone in a drawer, put the TV on mute and finish a task to completion. You will have time in your day to return emails and return any missed calls. You will never get anything accomplished if you look at your phone every time it buzzes. Put all distractions aside and unplug until you are done with whatever it is you are doing.
- Work blocks. A final tip for work from home efficiency is to finish tasks in blocks. It is a good idea to make a blueprint for how you want to spend your day. Things always come up that could take precedence, but you should at least have a template to follow. Your morning routine could be from 5-6 AM you can hit the MLS and research properties. From 6-7 you could return emails. From 7-8 you could hit the gym and from 9-12 you can network. There are multiple options depending on your business and your schedule. After you finish a task you should get up and walk around for ten minutes to recharge your battery then get right back after it. Working in blocks gives you a definite start and finish and by knocking things off your list it will motivate you to do more.
If you currently invest in real estate there is a good chance you do so from home. Use these five tips to get more done with the time you have.