There are a large number of articles that advise remote workers on ways to improve the quality of work at home. Changing locations, a strict daily schedule, and doing sports can really work. But these advice are individual.
We found an interesting article for you in which marketer Monica talks about her ways to increase work efficiency.
Advice that didn't work for me
Work in a private room
Remote workers are often advised to get their own separate office. Okay, great idea, except I live in a studio apartment with my husband and dog. My husband, fortunately, works in an office. We only have one computer at home, and it's one step away from the bed. So there is no difference between my personal life and my work life.
Work from a cafe or co-working space
Drinking coffee with cream, admiring the streets, and working. At first I thought it was tempting. But in fact, for me, this advice turned out to be rather harmful. I live on the outskirts of town, and it takes me an hour to get downtown. Total: two hours to get there and back, and another half hour to pack. For the sake of sitting somewhere "out of the house" for a few hours. This does not save precious work time at all and stretches it until late in the evening.
Work outdoors
I dispelled all the beautiful myths about the freelancer at the resort, who lies in a lounge chair with a laptop and sips a cocktail, back in my first year of work. I tried it just for fun. It is impossible to work: the sun shines into the screen, my eyes strain, sand and splashes fly to the monitor, and literally everything is distracting.
Make a clear timing of the day
Many times I have tried to schedule my day by hours and set strict timings for each task. But he was interrupted by an unscheduled call, an urgent task, or something else. So now I just write a list of tasks for the day, usually there are from 5 to 8 items. Sometimes some of the work goes into the evening and it stretches until 10 p.m. But I still try to stick to the regime: from 10 am to 18-19 pm with an hour break in the afternoon.
6 habits that help me
1. Get up at least one hour before work begins
I manage to calmly do my exercises, take a walk with the dog, have a leisurely breakfast and read a couple of interesting articles over my morning coffee. I used to wake up before I started work. And I woke up to calls from work or messages. An unpleasant situation: I'm still sleepy and not thinking straight, and a colleague or boss wants something from me.
2. Be sure to get some air in the middle of the day
Not just take a break, but walk for at least 30 minutes outside, in any weather. I got a dog especially for this three years ago. For me, the optimal time for a walk is 2-3 pm. After an hour in the fresh air, my productivity doubles. If I have too much urgent work, and I stay at home - with each new hour my strength and energy run out more and more, and by 6 p.m. I feel powerless.
3. Starting the day with the most difficult tasks
This is very popular advice, and it really works. С утра мозг отдохнувший и сфокусироваться проще. So I really don't like it when my most valuable and resourceful time has to be spent not on important tasks, but on unscheduled calls and discussions about something. All of this I try to leave for later and reschedule closer to the evening. In my personal planner, I even mark them with a special sticker - "For tonight”.
4. Exercise at least three times a week
Otherwise, when you work remotely, you risk losing your physical form. Three times a week I go to boxing training - great for relieving my head and awakening all my body muscles at once. Sometimes I go to the gym or to the pool. And at home I have a lot of tools to get up from behind the computer and stretch: an aerial yoga hammock, a wall pillow for practicing kicks, a balance board, a yoga mat. It also helps to have a fitness bracelet - I make sure to take at least 8,000, or better, 10,000 steps a day.
5. Give yourself at least one full day off a week
In remote mode, the workload of projects and tasks is often greater than in the office. Especially if you work part-time with several companies at once. And you often have to work on weekends. I'm fine with allotting myself half a day on Saturday or Sunday to finish everything. But one day should be left free. Otherwise your brain won't have time to recover. My maximum is 2 weeks of non-stop work, after that my brain really starts to give up, get dull, and productivity drops several times over.
6. Close social networks after the first 5 minutes
Some people advise setting a timer, but I just look at the clock. There's nothing wrong with logging on to social media during a short break, replying to a friend's message or reading a couple of posts. Five, 10 minutes at the most, is enough for this. Next - click on the "exit". Even if there are still as many as five unread messages. I leave them for the evening. Still, you begin to appreciate the value of working time when you work remotely.
And what methods help you in building an effective workday?