Introduction
Working remotely can be a great opportunity for many people. You get to work from home, or wherever you want, and you can control when and where you work. However, with all of these freedoms comes some challenges as well. Here are some tips for improving your productivity at remote work:
Find a quiet place to work.
The first thing you need to do is find a quiet place to work. This can be difficult if you’re working from home, but there are ways around it. If your family or roommates are constantly distracting you and preventing you from getting things done, try finding a co-working space where there are other people around who also have their own projects going on. This way, when they ask questions about what exactly it is that you do all day (or why there’s always food in the microwave), at least they’ll be distracted by their own tasks rather than bothering yours!
Turn off all distractions.
- Turn off your phone.
- Turn off notifications on your phone, including email, social media and instant messaging.
- Turn off the internet. If you can’t do this at home or work because of job requirements, then use a VPN (virtual private network) to make it appear as if you’re working from somewhere else in case someone checks up on you during the day. You could also use one of these tools: Freedom app for iOS or Android which blocks certain websites for set periods of time; Cold Turkey for Windows which lets you block certain sites completely until a specified time; StayFocused extension for Chrome browser which allows users to block specific websites until they manually unblock them with their password; SelfControl app which lets users create whitelists and blacklists of websites so users only have access to whitelisted ones while blocking everything else
Get social support from your coworkers and friends.
Whether your remote work situation is new or not, getting social support from your coworkers and friends can help you stay productive. You can:
- Talk to them. If you have an office with other people, this is probably a no-brainer. But if you’re working remotely, it’s important to make sure that the people who know what you’re going through are easy to reach when the going gets tough–and even when it doesn’t!
- Use social media. Facebook groups are great places for finding like-minded individuals with whom you can share ideas and support each other during difficult times (or celebrate successes). They also provide access to experts in various fields who may be able to answer questions about specific aspects of your job–or even just make things more fun by adding some variety into daily routine!
Plan your day in advance.
Planning your day in advance is one of the best ways to be productive. It helps you achieve your goals, feel more productive and get more done.
Planning your day in advance also helps you avoid procrastination and stay focused on what matters most for your business or career.
Create a routine that works for you.
It’s important to create a routine that works for you. You may find that doing something at the same time every day helps your productivity and energy levels, or perhaps breaking up your day with different tasks will be more effective in getting things done.
It’s also important to remember that what works for other people might not work for you–and vice versa! If one approach doesn’t seem like it’s working out, don’t be afraid of trying something else instead.
Set aside time for breaks and exercise.
Take breaks.
If you’re working remotely and don’t have to leave the house for work, it’s easy to forget about taking a break. But even if you’re not sitting in front of a computer all day, taking breaks is important for productivity. Even if all you do is walk around outside or go for a short jog around your neighborhood, it will help keep your mind fresh and make sure that when it’s time to get back into work mode again, your body isn’t stiff from sitting still too long without moving around at all.
Exercise regularly!
It sounds obvious (and maybe even uninteresting) but exercising regularly helps with so many aspects of life including stress relief and better sleep quality–both key elements in improving productivity overall! Exercise also helps keep us motivated so we can continue working hard towards our goals as well as reaching them faster than if we were sedentary!
Schedule recurring meetings and calls with your manager and project leads, if possible.
As a remote worker, you might be tempted to skip the weekly meetings and calls with your manager or project leads. After all, these are just more time in front of a computer screen–something you probably don’t want to do during work hours. But these meetings can actually be very helpful for productivity: they help keep communication open between you and others on your team, which in turn improves collaboration and efficiency.
So when should these recurring meetings take place? Ideally on a recurring schedule (e.g., once per week), but at least once per month if possible. If this isn’t possible due to scheduling conflicts or other factors beyond either party’s control (e.g., travel), then consider holding them less often–just try not let them go more than two weeks without taking place!
Don’t overcommit yourself in the first few months of remote work.
When you’re just starting out, it can be tempting to take on as much work as possible. The idea of being able to get more done in less time is exciting and motivating–but it’s also unrealistic.
You’ll most likely feel overworked if you don’t slow down and give yourself some time to adjust to remote work before taking on too much extra. You should also try saying “no” when someone asks if there are any other projects or tasks that they could help with; this will help ensure that no one expects more from you than they should be expecting at this stage of your career (and life).
If the pressure continues after making these adjustments, then consider letting people know how overwhelmed–and maybe even scared–you feel about trying something new like remote work. This way everyone knows exactly where things stand between them and their colleagues/bosses/coworkers/etc., which means nobody gets blindsided later down the line when things go wrong because no one knew what was going on with someone else!
Be efficient with how you handle emails and Slack messages.
As a remote worker, you’ll likely have to deal with a lot of emails and Slack messages. But don’t let this be an excuse for slacking off! Here are some tips for being efficient when handling emails and Slack messages:
- Use email templates. You can save yourself time by creating templates that have all of the information necessary in them so that when someone sends you an email, all they need to do is fill in their specific details (like what project they’re working on). This will allow them to get back to work quickly without having to ask questions about what should go where or who should be cc’d on certain documents or tasks.
- Use email filters based on sender/recipient name(s), subject line keywords (such as “urgent”) or even specific dates (like today). This way everything pertaining specifically towards those things will automatically go into one folder instead of cluttering up your inbox! It’s also helpful because then when someone searches through old emails later down the road looking for something specific like “urgent” then those emails would come up quickly without having too much clutter around them making it difficult at times trying figuring out which ones exactly were urgent versus ones weren’t urgent but just wanted feedback regarding changes made before sending out publicly etcetera…
Create a dedicated workspace or area in your home that’s solely for working. The more intentional you are with this choice, the better it will work out long-term! You don’t want to feel distracted by other things going on at home when you’re trying to focus on work. You can always get dressed up early in the morning and go somewhere else if you need a change of scenery after a while!
Create a dedicated workspace or area in your home that’s solely for working. The more intentional you are with this choice, the better it will work out long-term! You don’t want to feel distracted by other things going on at home when you’re trying to focus on work. You can always get dressed up early in the morning and go somewhere else if you need a change of scenery after a while!
Conclusion
Hopefully, these tips will help you to improve your productivity at remote work. If you have any other suggestions or questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below!
