As we stare another work from home week in the face, we’re inviting you to reframe lockdown and use it as a chance to bring out your best self.
This week we’re giving you some top tips on being productive. The perfect tools to master being a #GirlBoss in your own home.
So what are you waiting for? Use the weekend as the ultimate prep days to ensure you hit the new working week running.
Remember! You’ve got this…
Step 1: Location, Location, Location
Whilst you may feel like you need to hunker down at a desk or table for the day to give you that ‘office feel’, sometimes it’s more productive to move around and find a space to suit your need. Are you trying to be creative? Then staring at a blank wall may not inspire you. Ditch the desk and go sit by a window or relax on the sofa, sometimes putting your body in a different space will allow your mind to wander and conjure up something truly special. Need to number crunch? Then a more formal seat and desk will help with focus. Just because you’re at home, you don’t need to chain yourself to one location – mix it up and see how it boosts your output.
Step 2: Pomodoro Perfection
Developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, The Pomodoro Technique suggests we should break work into 25-minute chunks, interspersed by five-minute breaks (with a longer one at midday). Use a timer so you’re not distracted by the clock and make use of those mini breaks for quick downtime tasks e.g. cleaning, watering plants or even making a cup of tea! Sometimes staring at hours of time ahead of you can be overwhelming, but focusing on 25-minute intervals is much more manageable and will help you to work harder in bursts rather than dawdling over the day.
Step 3: Routine Is Everything
Whilst it can be tempting to sleep in and stay up late now we’re at home for the foreseeable future, it can be one of the worst things for productivity. Even if you’re working from your living room, try to pretend as if you are still going to work. Get up, have a shower, get dressed (even if it’s into loungewear) and get going. You’ll trick your mind into thinking its office bound and ready to get going. Never work in bed, it will slow your activity in the long run and disturb your sleep cycle for the future.
Step 4: Pick Up The Phone
When you’re working from home in isolation it can be easy to fall into a round of email Ping-Pong, sending endless messages back and forth to discuss something you’d likely have resolved in a few minutes in person. It can become all too easy to lose hours of your day writing unnecessary emails when a phone call would have instantly solved a situation. Next time you find yourself going back and forth, pick up your mobile and make the resolution swift. In these times of isolation, a call will also lift your mood and help you feel more connected.
Step 5: Set Your Boundaries
When you’re working from home, sometimes it can blur the lines between work and play – all the hours merge together, and you never truly switch off. The result is exhaustion and a lower output across the board. Logging off and making sure you maintain that ‘life balance’ is still vital, even if you are at home. Turn your laptop off at a specific time every day and switch off email notifications outside of working hours. If you have ideas come up outside of the 9-5, jot them down and revisit them when you are officially ‘working’ to ensure you’re delivering 100% during those hours, rather than being on 24/7 and burning out.
We hope these tips inspire you to get the ball rolling for one of your most productive weeks yet!
