Is working from home affecting your productivity? Learn these 5 essential tips from Brett Ulrich to help you stay productive and manage your well-being.
Working from home can be fun—no need to wake up too early, dress up, or beat the heavy everyday traffic. However, without discipline, routine or intentional efforts, this freedom can harm your productivity. Brett Ulrich, a senior consultant in the major Microsoft and Novell directory services, says that working alone can make you feel unmotivated, stressed, lonely, and isolated if you’re not well-prepared. The tech expert says that people need to create a balanced work environment to avoid hurting their productivity and well-being. He shares these five tips to help increase productivity when working from home.
1. Develop a routine
When you were working in an office, even if you didn’t create it, you must have developed a specific routine that was fairly consistent from morning to evening, notes Brett Ulrich. That old routine may not work now, because there is literally “less accountability”. It might also be tempting to steal some work time and spend it with family or fix a few personal issues, which eventually affect productivity. Staying disciplined and developing a reasonable schedule will help create enough time for work, family and wellness.
2. Prepare yourself for work
While there is no pressure to get ready for work every morning, Brett recommends preparing your mind for work. He advises on keeping up with the previous “getting ready for work” routine to prepare your mind for a productive day. Getting ready in the morning helps you adopt a professional mindset while also signaling to your family that your working day is about to begin.
3. Set up an effective workspace
Walking to bed with your laptop or sitting in your favorite spot on the sofa may provide you with freedom and comfort, but that’s not what you need to be productive. Setting up a specific workspace for your dedicated home office helps create a clear distinction between work and play. Brett Ulrich recommends choosing a room with low traffic and some good natural light sources as your office. The room should only have what you need for work, not a TV or soft sofas that can be tempting to sit or sleep on.
4. Limit distractions
Working from home can introduce quite a number of distractions. It is also tempting to work on some house chores during worktime or turn on the TV when working. Your children who are not used to seeing you during the day may also want to hang around you all the time. Brett Ulrich suggests developing a schedule that allocates time for everything to overcome these distractions.
5. Communicate and connect
Working from home doesn’t mean you lock yourself away from the rest of the world. Maintain constant communication with your colleagues and friends through team meetings and conference calls. Use various communications platforms to connect with people during breaks and discuss things from new trends, projects and news to personal challenges and achievements. Constant connection and communication help maintain proper physical and mental health.
