Nowadays technology has given us more than enough channels to stay connected to one another. One of the biggest advantages of this is the ability to work from home or remotely. While working from home has its many perks there are a few downsides. How do you stay connected to your colleagues at work? How do you stay on task without any on-site management? To help you answer these questions I’ve compiled a list of six work from home tips that will keep you on track.
Establish Routines
The key to staying productive while working from home is to establish routines. You should mimic the same structure that you would in the office. Make a clear separation between what counts as “home” space and what’s work space. Set a designated area for work where you can setup monitors and leave your laptop.
Try to start work and finish work at normal hours so you can stay in sync with the rest of your team. Just because you aren’t physically in the office doesn’t mean you can start 15 minutes late.
Keep Track of Your Time
This is a good habit to get into regardless of what you’re working on. Tracking your time is great to calculate your billable hours. However it’s also a great strategy to see where your time is going. Platforms like Due offer free time tracking that helps you manage how much time is spent on a specific project. When you reflect back you can make better scheduling decisions as you’ll know which projects take the most time.
Change Your Environment
Every once in a while it’s always good to change your work environment. And no, I don’t mean move to the couch in front of the television. Head down to the local cafe or even a library to setup shop. If you spend all your time cooped up in your home office you’ll grow restless and eventually your productivity will be adversely affected.
Healthy Meal Preparation
When you work from home you have nonstop access to your fridge. This obviously has its pros and cons. If you’re like most people you’re probably tempted to take trips to the fridge every hour or so to grab a snack. If you abuse this you’ll start adding on some unwanted pounds.
Stay disciplined and try to limit yourself to a set number of meals a day. The reason why people snack is because it’s grab and go. Unfortunately most grab and go snacks are unhealthy. I suggest doing some healthy meal prep on Sunday night for as much of the week as you can. Especially for breakfast and lunch. Here’s a list of healthy food options you can use for inspiration.
Exercise Daily
There’s a ton to be said about getting daily exercise. Whether you work from home or commute an hour to work everyday you should aim to get at least 30 minutes of exercise.
Exercising daily has a ton of benefits including keeping you focused and energized throughout the entire workday. That said, I recommend getting it out of the way first thing in the morning.
Automate Your Calendar
Wouldn’t it be great if you could have a full-time secretary who handled your scheduling? Well if you can afford it then great. If you’re like most people its unfortunately not in the budget.
Luckily for you there are a few calendar automation tools available that help you take control of your scheduling. These platforms allow you to set times of the day you’re able to meet and send a link out for booking.
Final Thoughts
If you work from home it’s up to you to keep yourself organized and on track. If you need some extra assistance then I suggesting noting these six work from home tips that will surely help!
Renzo Costarella
Renzo Costarella is an entrepreneur, avid learner, and startup enthusiast currently living in Silicon Valley. He consults for several startups in the Bay Area and is pursuing a few ideas of his own.