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Try These 11 Productivity Hacks When Working from Home

Wonder how to be more productive working from home? It can be challenging, but these productivity hacks will boost your focus + efficiency.

When you work from home, it comes with its own set of headaches. It can be hard to stay on task and have the self-discipline to be productive and stay focused.

There’s no denying working remotely has its perks: sleeping in, wearing comfy clothes all day, and not having to leave our house or pets all day.
 

The next time it’s tempting to “procrasti-clean” or start (yet) another load of laundry, consider these productivity hacks.

 
And while working from home is a dream in many ways, it can be a nightmare when it comes to productivity. There are many unwelcome distractions that can lower your productivity, focus, and efficiency.

One main distraction is your phone. It’s tempting to check your social media and reply to text messages, but all of that can wait until your lunch break or after work hours. Another distraction is everything else at home – dirty dishes, loads of laundry, children, pets, roommates …

The good news is, if you’re wondering how to be more productive, there are simple shifts you can make to get there. Read on for tried and true productivity hacks, plus a few tips to turn your home office into a distraction-free zone.

So the next time it’s tempting to “procrasti-clean” or start (yet) another load of laundry, consider these productivity hacks.
 

 
 

If You Work From Home, Try These 11 Productivity Hacks for a Smoother Workday:

We all want to be as productive as possible but also enjoy the process (no burnout here). So if your office is in your home, try these productivity hacks to maximize efficiency and focus for your work day. (Sweatpants and slippers highly encouraged.)
 

1. Eat for Focus

We’ve all heard “you are what you eat” which means that the foods we eat impact our brains and bodies in a positive or negative way. It’s always important to fuel our bodies with healthy, nourishing foods, and it’s especially important in the morning when we start our day.

Be sure to hydrate throughout your day in addition to eating fresh fruits and vegetables that will feed your brain and boost your mental clarity and focus.

Eat These 5 Natural Energy Foods to Boost Your Brain Power and Increase Productivity
 

2. Move Your Body to Focus Your Mind

It’s no secret that a consistent fitness routine brings a wide range of benefits physically and mentally. Yoga is a fantastic physical workout that also greatly benefits your mind. Did you know there are even particular yoga poses that improve your concentration and boost your focus?

These Yoga Poses Can Actually Help Improve Concentration (Photo Tutorial)

Whether you opt for a morning yoga flow, a brisk walk, or another type of workout, be sure to move your body as a way of focusing your mind. This is a great productivity hack!

Practice With Us on YA Classes by YouAligned
Start your workday or take a lunchbreak with us on YA Classes and be more productive throughout your day! With hundreds of online yoga and fitness classes ranging from 15-60 minutes, you always have great options to choose from.

 

3. Set an Intention for the Day

This can be what you want the day to look like, how you want to show up, what you hope to accomplish, an outcome you hope to achieve or even one word like: calm, creative, peaceful, focused, clear, productive. Allow whatever comes to you to come and trust what emerges.

When you set an intention for how you want to approach your day, it can impact the energy of that day. For example, if your intention is to remain focused and productive all day, you’re more likely to resist distraction and stick to that intention.
 

4. Identify Your Top Priorities

We don’t often talk about compassion in the same breath as productivity. But it’s so important to give yourself compassion and focus on the top two to three things that need to get done that day. If you create an unrealistic list of to-do’s, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment which is a productivity killer!

Keep it simple. Set micro-goals. And give yourself some slack if you’re not super efficient or productive – move it to the next day. Just keep going and don’t lose your motivation!
 

5. Single-Task

In any given work day, no matter what you do, your brain is probably stretched thin (to say the least). Whether you’re the person with 20 tabs open (guilty) or just trying to juggle emails and phone calls while still running a house, our brains can easily become scattered.
 

When we try to multitask, we’re actually just half-assing everything.

 
Hate to break it to you, but while everyone loves to brag about their multitasking skills, the whole thing is actually a sham. You might feel like you’re crushing the work game by stretching yourself across 20 tasks at once. But in reality, when we try to multitask, we’re actually just half-assing everything.

Still convinced you’re a wiz at juggling work? The science shows that multitasking decreases the brain’s efficiency by up to 40%. And once we’re distracted (like by an unplanned phone call or random Google-search rabbit holes), it takes a full 15 minutes for our brains to snap back to the original task.

Make single-tasking the new multitasking you brag about, and notice as your productivity soars.
 

6. Block Schedule

To help you single-task, try block scheduling.

Dedicate certain parts of your day to certain areas, and that area alone. This will keep you from feeling like a chicken with its head cut off trying to answer emails, make lunch, take phone calls, and update spreadsheets all in the same few hours.

Pick one task. Write down an actual to-do list. Focus on that. And then thank you, next!
 

 
 

7. Try the Pomodoro Technique

This is an oldie but goodie tip that allows you to hack the way your brain works naturally for optimal productivity. The Pomodoro Technique was invented back in the ’80s by an entrepreneur as an alternative to spending your whole 9-to-5 day working straight through.

To try it out, set a timer on your phone for 25 minutes. Work without distractions. And when the timer goes off, break for five minutes – maybe go fill up your water or pet your dog.

It’s suggested that after four of these “pomodoro sessions” you take a longer break, maybe like 15 to 30 minutes to let your brain chill out. You’ll stay on task, get tons done, and won’t feel drained at the end of your work day.
 

8. Take Breaks to Transition Between Tasks

And speaking of focusing on one task at a time before moving to the next, a little-talked-about hack that can make a world of difference is to do some sort of transitional practice between tasks.

This can look like a few moments with your eyes shut where you mentally release the previous task before moving to the next. Or it can be a spoken affirmation or a few minutes of meditation.

Practice These 5 Yoga Poses For a Mid-Day Mental Reset

This will help you to clean the mental and energetic slate before moving onto your next task, so you don’t inevitably carry energy from the previous task into the next one.

Need a quick meditation to practice between tasks? Try this Guided Mindfulness Meditation for Presence, Peace and Clarity (Free Video)
 

9. Coffee Shop, Anyone?

Let’s be real: It’s the best to work from home. But, cushy as working from the couch or home office can feel (sweatpants on business calls anyone?), sometimes getting out of the house will serve you well.
 

You will be shocked by how much more productive you feel when you have a change of scenery.

 
Head to a nearby coffee shop or park now and again to break up your work-at-home routine. Even just one day a week can do wonders, and you’ll probably be shocked by how much more productive you feel when you have a change of scenery.

Having a bit of pressure of a clock running on your work time can also boost productivity versus when you’re working at home and feel like you can take as long as you’d like on a task.
 

10. Set and Maintain Work/Life Boundaries

It’s all too easy to say “yes” to any and everything when you work at home and have the freedom to move your schedule around.

If you’re your own boss with no one to answer to, this can get even worse. Late night phone call? Working through dinner? Letting your work bleed over into the weekends? Sure!

Not so fast. Even though you have the luxury of working from home, don’t let the boundaries between work and life get blurred – your sanity will pay the price. To prevent burnout, set work hours. And stick to them!

Learn to say “no” to things like calls and meetings that interfere with family life or social time. No one would expect you to take a work call at 9pm in an office setting, so it shouldn’t be any different just because you work from home.
 

11. Block Out Pings and Beeps

Everyone likes to rag on technology for being a distraction, but it’s really up to us if we let it be one.

A great tip to instantly calm your adrenals and stress levels is to turn off and mute your phone as much as you can. Turn it on airplane mode when you’re trying to focus. Set time limits on your apps if your phone allows. And turn off notification noises on Facebook on your phone and computer.
 

Everyone likes to rag on technology for being a distraction, but it’s really up to us if we let it be one.

 
A great extension to add to your computer is the Facebook “news feed eradicator” which actually turns your Facebook wall into a blank slate. You’ll still see messages and notifications but your wall will literally be un-scrollable. All posts and content is replaced with a blank white slate and an inspiring quote of the day.

You can always uninstall it, but this is a godsend if – like everyone – you’re susceptible to falling into the scroll blackhole.
 
 

Work From Home Productively and Efficiently With These Productivity Hacks

Hopefully you have gained insight to the question of how to be more productive working from home. Try out these tips on your next work-from-home day, or pick a few to implement and see how they help your time management.

With the new extra time in your day you’ll have, you can pour more into your self-care time, family time, take naps, cook an elaborate dinner – you name it.

Cheers to hustling smarter, not harder!

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Emmy Schneider-Green

Emmy is a passionate vegan foodie with a wanderlust spirit. When she’s not working her digital marketing day job or writing, she's probably spending time with her two calico cats, lifting weights, listening to a true crime podcast, or daydreaming (sun & moon Pisces here!)

thenonjudgyvegan.com

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