Guidelines to Ensure Productivity When Working From Home

For anyone that hasn't before, working from home can be a daunting adjustment. As many of us transition from the office to working from home over the last few weeks, the novelty has just about worn off. My new office has been replaced by a corner in the sitting room and my colleagues have been replaced by my 3 year old daughter and 10 month old son. Below I have outlined some key guidelines to try to follow to ensure productivity and focus when working remotely.

Try sticking to a routine: 

Your office routine is not going to be the same when you work from home.When working from home you are essentially your own boss and nobody is there to motivate you. The key I find to being productive is to try to structure your day as best you can and to try to make it as similar to a normal working day in the office. Take the regular coffee breaks, talk to people in the canteen (in my case getting bossed around by a 3 year old in my kitchen). Every morning, lunchtime and evening in nbxTalent we have a quick Google Hangout video call to chat through work, home life and everything else in between. During the early morning meeting we populate our calendars with tasks to complete that day so we are all clear and accountable for the structure of your own day and what needs to be achieved.

Stay away from the chocolate press and look after yourself: 

At a time like this self care is of the utmost importance. In my first week at home one thing I found was that I had been taking regular trips to the treat press. I had gone from cycling 100kms to and from work and playing football to doing no exercise at all. Since then I have tried to limit myself to one treat press visit a day. In terms of exercise, I am now jogging three times a week and walking with the kids at lunchtime. I found that this had made me more productive and focused in my work setting but has also given me way more energy for home life as well.

Choose a dedicated work space: 

“I was not planning a long term work space because the pandemic was at its early stages”

We all see the perfect pictures of many peoples' “perfect” work from home spaces. With the current situation of the whole family at home, this just isn't feasible. For my first week working from home, my couch was my work station. I was not planning a long term work space because the pandemic was at its early stages in Ireland. As the realisation that I would be working from home for the longer term became more apparent in my second week, I knew that sitting on the couch working was not a viable option from a productivity and comfort point of view. I picked a space in the corner of the living room that has now become my dedicated workspace with no distractions. I think it's imperative to have a dedicated work space that you can step away from and not come back to until the next day.

Overall working from home can be daunting and difficult as you struggle with productivity, focus and time management. But I think if you put some measures as outlined above in place around sticking to a set routine, making sure to put some time and effort into self care and making sure that you have a comfortable work space with minimal distractions you will soon become a work from home wizz and productivity will take care of itself!