How to Increase Productivity Working from Home
19 Aug 2019
Achieving a work-life balance has allowed for working arrangements to become increasingly flexible. Working from home has many benefits (although this more relaxed way of working is not necessarily for everyone). Here we’ve shared some top tips and tricks to help you hone your skills of self-motivation and concentration so you can up your productivity, even when working from home!
Wake up early
Yes, we know that long lie-in is super tempting but, if you want to make the most out of your day then science predicts that getting up early is the answer! While most of us would definitely enjoy the perks of a long lie-in, studies have shown that getting up early encourages you to be a more productive and proactive person.
If you solely work from home sometimes it can be too easy to forego an early morning routine and, before you know it, the morning is gone and you haven’t achieved much at all! To get ahead of the game, try rising at the same time every day. As well as creating a structure that can prevent exhaustion and fatigue, your body clock begins to understand that it will wake at the same time every morning, therefore, it will also help you get into a better nighttime routine!
If you begin to get really keen for early morning starts, why not start your working day earlier which means you’ll be able to finish your working day sooner too! This is, of course, dependent on the flexibility of your arrangement with work so be sure to check with them first!
Choose the right clothes
Did you know that what you wear can influence your productivity? There’s actually a word for this - enclothed cognition which refers to how clothing impacts the wearer’s psychological processes i.e. how the clothes make you feel.
The great news is that different things work for different people - some feel more productive wearing formal attire, while others prefer to wear relaxed clothing and let their creative juices flow. It depends on your personal preferences, the type of job you have and, above all, what you’re most comfortable wearing in your home office.
Set up a separate office
Working from home can mean the separation between work life and home life can become more difficult to distinguish. Try not to work in the same room that you sleep in. If you set up your working area from your bedroom your brain struggles to recognise the difference between when it should be working and when it should be sleeping. Having a separate space to isolate yourself with work will help train your brain to know when it’s time to work, thus increasing productivity levels.
If your home layout doesn’t allow for a completely separate room try making use of dividers and curtains to create the illusion of a new space. Alternatively, making the most of neglected garden space with a garden room is the perfect way to get that much needed extra office space. Many of our clients opt to use our Garden Rooms as home offices. Check out Our Guide to Picking the Perfect Garden Room for our advice on which room could work best as an office!
A tidy office is a productive office
Invest the time to arrange and decorate your office to make it look nice! A tidy working environment can increase your work productivity as well as enjoyment levels of spending time in your home office. Be sure to invest in a comfy working chair so that you’ll be more inclined to stay working. If your chair isn’t supportive it can quickly become uncomfortable to spend hours working there thereby increasing the likelihood to slack off - not to mention that it’s also asking for back pain!
Try to keep your office clutter-free. Clutter can increase distraction time and affect your ability to process information as efficiently as when you’re in an organised working environment. Keep work files tidy and try to arrange them in a way that they’re easy and quick to locate.
Spend some break time in nature
Did you know that spending time in the garden is good for your mind? Nature has a whole host of benefits for your mind including decreased stress, low mood and anxiety levels, improved short term memory, increased creativity and, you guessed it, productivity!
Greenery does more than improve your office scenery! Studies have found that plants in the office, not only have therapeutic effects for the mind but can increase productivity by up to 15%! Spending some of your breaks in your garden will help you relax, enjoy nature and even combat your work at a more productive speed.
Working from the comfort of your own home has so many great benefits, but be sure to keep focused on getting the work done too! A garden room can help you set up your own separate working space that’s close enough to greenery that you can increase your productivity. We make each and every garden room unique to your needs so, we can make a garden room that can be used as a garden office space! Find out more about how we work here.
