13 Work From Home Tips to Increase Your Productivity This Year

Working from home is wonderful, right? But it can be tough if you’re not serious.

Yes, remote working can slowly turn you into a lazy chap. When you’re lazy, you don’t really bother about the work quality and productivity.

This can be catastrophic for your career.

To prevent such cases, here are 13 work from home tips that I leveraged, and you should too!

6 Primary Work From Home Tips – The One You Must Follow 

#1. Waking up early

A famous English academic, Richard Whatley said:

“Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it.”

That’s actually true. There’s no time throughout the day as good as the mornings. 

It’s relatively cool, silent, and beautiful – a perfect time to wake up and start working.

I know many of you like to work at night and wake up late. I myself was accustomed to that life. 

I used to work from 9 pm to 5 am and sleep from 5 am to 11 am. The result was – I lost patience, got irritated, and was sleep-deprived many times.

When I worked on my sleeping habit and started waking up early in the morning, I suddenly realized the change in me.

Let me share some of the benefits that I got from waking up early.

How will waking up early benefit you?

• Organize Your Day: Being the most silent time of the day, you can do important stuff in the morning like setting a schedule for the day
• Make A Healthy Breakfast: Getting up early in the morning gives you time to prepare and eat the most important meal of the day – breakfast
• No More Counting Sheep to Sleep: Early risers tend to fall asleep quite easily, so get ample sleep and be stress-free
• Complete All Sleep Stages: Going early to bed will help you complete all 4 sleep stages that will make you feel more energized
• Stay Happy: A study from American Psychological Association reveals that people who wake up early in the morning are happy

How to wake up early every day?

The transition from being a night owl to an early bird is a tough one. 

Let me list some of the things that helped me achieve this transition.

#1. Discover what motivates you to wake up early

Wherever you come across a tough challenge, you need the motivation to get to the other side. 

Such is the case with waking up early. It would help if you had a strong motivation. 

In my case, it wanted to get healthier. I was stressed, angry, and irritated, majorly because I was sleep-deprived.

So I decided that I wanted to be happy, stay fit, and keep calm. That’s what drove me to become an early bird.

#2. Avoid screen usage before sleeping

There’s a reason why your parents (or maybe other people) tell you to avoid screen time before going to bed. 

Screens emit a blue light that surpasses melatonin – a hormone necessary to initiate sleep. 

I was used to watching something or the other before sleeping. But when I read this, I simply adjusted my schedule.

I am not saying you stop using the screen; that’d be just impossible. Just make sure you don’t use your mobile, PC, tablet, or desktop at least 3 hours before sleep.

#3. Ensure you get light first thing in the morning

Our eyes have photoreceptors that detect light. As soon as the light is detected, our eyes open.

Getting light in the morning should be your first goal. According to doctors, one should be exposed to light for about 30 minutes during the first hour.

So make sure you set your bed in a way where light can fall on you, it helps a lot in waking up early.

#2. Exercise and meditate daily 

Here’s a study by Statistica that shows the percentage of US citizens who exercised or played some sports in 2019.

From the graph, you can see:

Only 20% of the total US population exercises or plays some sport.

That’s not a great percentage.

Sitting for hours on your chair during work from home might lead to health problems in the long run.

Exercising and meditating will take care of your body physically and mentally respectively. 

So if you’re on the wrong side (80% people), time to prepare and come to the right side (20% people).

3 benefits of exercising daily

• Be Happy: It’s a proven fact that exercising keeps you happy and decreases depression, anxiety, and stress
• Keeps You Fit: Exercising helps build bone density, thus preventing diseases like osteoporosis later in life
• Increases Energy Levels: A study by Pubmed revealed that exercising increases your body energy level

3 benefits of meditating daily

• Stress Reduction: The major reason for meditating is to reduce stress; it’s a proven fact
• Improves Emotional Health: Meditating regularly helps improve self-image and gives you a positive outlook to life
• Increases Attention Span: Meditation helps focus better thus increasing productivity

How to ensure you exercise and meditate daily?

The biggest obstacle most people face when they start exercising and meditating is motivation. 

I’d suggest 2 options for this.

#1. Join a gym or meditation class 

This way, you will get to know and see other people, even though online. Seeing happy faces daily doing gym/meditation will keep you motivated.

#2. Find A Partner

Tell your friends the importance of meditation and exercise, and start your journey together. Motivate each other daily.

#3. Set a routine 

Kimberly Miltz took a survey last year and put it on Statista. 

His objective was to know what work from home tips people would give to a remote employee.

I came across it recently and was shocked by the results.

See it yourself:

Only 2% of people gave importance to establishing a routine. 

It was that time when I thought people should know the importance of setting a work routine.

Importance of setting up a routine

Look what Rachel Goldman, an American Scientist, has to say about setting up a routine. 

“When people don’t have a routine or structure to their day it can cause increased stress and anxiety, as well as overwhelming feelings, lack of concentration, and focus.”

By scheduling all your tasks beforehand, you know what needs to be done when. 

I know there are some who can’t work the same routine for days. No problem! Customize your routine daily first thing in the morning.

When you list down all your tasks and make a schedule, you can make sure none of them goes unchecked.

Here, take a look at my routine:

Now, this is just a basic outline of what my workday looks like. I prefer making a more detailed routine after I am done with the outline.

Benefits of setting a routine

• Save Time: When you know what to do next, you don’t have to think about it after every task
• Get Analytics: A fixed schedule will let you know which task took more or less time, so you can optimize your workday with that knowledge
• Encourages You to Work: A fixed schedule gives you that adrenaline rush to complete the list daily 

#4. Take breaks 

Taking breaks during work is non-negotiable. If you keep working for hours without a break, it will lead to poor productivity.

A survey conducted by Robert Half in 2018 revealed that about 41% of people take a break of 21-30 minutes in an 8-hour workday. 

Source

From the image, you can see that 15% of people only get a break ranging from 0 to 20 minutes. 

I guess they don’t know the importance of taking a break. Let me mention them here.

How will work breaks help you?

• Movement Breaks: Taking short breaks from time to time while working will keep you away from heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity
• Prevents Decision Fatigue: Taking breaks will make it easy for you to make decisions by decreasing fatigue during working days
• Energy Boost: Breaks that include physical activity of any kind increase the energy in your body

What is the apt break length in the US by law?

The work break length is different for different states in the US. 

But in most states, the US government wants companies to give at least 30 minutes of break if a person is working 5 or more hours a day.

The break can be taken at any time. So it’s up to you how you’d like those 30 minutes.

For more details, you can just go through the dol.gov site.

#5. Interact with the team 

When working from home, communicating with your team is the best method to free your mind. 

If you’re an old employee at a company, your team eventually becomes like a second family. 

So you often find yourself talking to them before doing anything work-related.

It’s not just an effective way to free your mind. 

In cases where you’re assigned to a new team, communication is the key to gaining your manager’s and team members’ trust.

Why interacting with your team is important?

• Varying Work Schedule: When you work in a team, you want to know which person is working on what and when will they do it
• Get A Clear Understanding of the System: You should know what time to report to your manager according to his/her schedule

How to effectively communicate with your teammates while working from home?

• Follow-Up: Never ghost your teammates, keep them updated on what you’re working on, the results you expect at the end of the day, and vice-versa
• Be Patient: Make it a habit to wait for replies, your teammate might be busy working, so just hold your horses🙂
• Leverage Digital Tools: Select 1 tool to communicate with your teammates, having multiple tools will create a mess
• Be Trustworthy: If there’s a specific task that’s time-bound, make sure to devote your time to it even if you’re on a break – it might get you a promotion
• Positive Attitude: Don’t be toxic or give negative feedback to anyone, work from home is great, but only if you keep the positive vibes flowing

#6. Invest in your home office setup 

Having a comfortable home setup to work is the best work from home tip I can give. 

Your setup should be such that it motivates you to work daily. Have a setup that’s bright and clean. Such as the one below:

Source

Things to look for when setting up a home office

#1. Location – Think well before you choose

There are several factors that come into play while choosing a location:

• Should be comfortable to work
• Should have natural light coming 
• Ample space for your setup 
• Prefer setting up your home office in a room so there’s quiet and peace
• The space should have a switchboard nearby to plug in your PC, laptop, or mobile
• The space should not be a network dead zone 

#2. Furniture – Don’t Hesitate to Invest 

• Choose a chair that’s adjustable and comfortable
• Choose a table that has storage and a wide surface area
• Have a proper cabinet to keep your important files in

#3. Technology – Ensure you’re up to date

• A stable and strong WiFi connection is a must
• Make sure all your software required by the company are updated
• Have an internet connection plan that gives you unlimited data usage rights

7 Secondary Work From Home Tips – Try Following These to Make Your Work Life Easy

#7. Avoid social media during office hours

Social media is a guilty pressure for many, especially while working. The majority of you reading this check your social media first thing in the morning.

According to Statista, almost every adult in the US leverages social media.

If not taken proper care, social media can become highly addictive and a tough thing to resist.

It’s said:

“Prevention is better than cure.”

Such is the case with social media.

In work from home, you have enough distractions to deal with already, if social media is added to that list, you’d end up jobless due to it. 

To reduce the usage of social media:

• Try keeping a tab on usage timings
• Fix a schedule for using social media
• Set a timer on social media apps, once you exceed that time you can’t access the app for the day
• Develop self-control by hiding away or giving away your mobile phone while working

These techniques might sound kiddish, but these kiddish techniques might save your job!

#8. Listen to music that lightens your mood 

Almost every person in the world loves some or the other kind of music. 

With work from home, you can take advantage of music in several ways.

Let me tell you the 3 major ones:

• Relaxation: Music helps channel stress and negativity into positivity
• Concentration: Some specific music in the background helps you focus on the job by eliminating distractions around you
• Emotional Management: Music helps you remain anxiety-free and positive

#9. Check in on your team members 

Make sure you check in on every team member. 

Just like when you used to chat with them physically, don’t let that habit go because of distance. 

Ask your team members how’s it going for them, and talk about your and their day. 

This brings in the motivation to do quality work and gets you going for a long-time.

#10. Leverage quality technology 

Work from home is great only when you have good tech. You might not be interested in working from home if your internet sucks. 

So make sure you have a great internet connection.

If the network breaks down between an important meeting, it will irritate you and other people in the meeting. 

So here are some points I researched while selecting my WiFi router and connection:

• Thoroughly see the plans that internet service provider offers
• Buy a router from amazon or offline which can give you at least 100 Mbps speed
• Get recommendations from a friend or fellow employees in your neighborhood about internet plans and providers

#11. Eat right and sleep tight

Back in the days when you worked offline, there was a lot of physical activity. 

You’d climb stairs, go across the hall, or take a stroll outside. Now, your physical activity is cut down drastically. 

If you were a junk food eater back in the days when you worked offline, you might want to control your eating habits. 

Eating healthy food will keep you fit. 

The other thing you need to take care of is your sleep. 

Sleep at least 6 hours a day, this will keep you fit mentally.

#12. Go out for a walk at least once a day

Working from home isn’t like working in the office. In the office, you had coffee and lunch breaks to get that much-wanted short rest from work. 

You even had your colleagues who’d come and check on you.

In the office, even if you have a ton of work, one way or another you were refreshed. 

But when you work from home, it’s different. 

At times, you’re so focused on achieving your goal that you forget your breaks and friends.

As a result, you tend to skip those breaks that later impact the work quality.

Heading out and taking a walk is the best way to get refreshed while working from home. 

This work from home tip will not only give you a break, but you can also leverage it to socialize with people. 

#13. Set ground rules with your family 

Older generations tend to take work from home rather casually. You need to educate them about it. 

They often think you have a flexible schedule and plan stuff that coincides with your work timings. 

To make them understand the gravity of the situation, explain to them that you have fixed working hours. 

This work from home tip will help you out with dividing your day between office and family time. 

It’s better to keep yourself isolated during working hours. 

Imagine if your mother barges in to tell you something while there’s an important meeting going on. 

It will distract you as well as your work colleagues attending the meeting.

Here’s what I did to educate the elder ones at my house:

• Held a small family meeting of 15 mins
• Told everyone about how my workday will look like
• Requested them not to disturb me during my working hours 
• I have a younger brother, so told my mom to keep an eye on him too
• Told my family when will I be spending quality time with them

Wrapping Up

Working from home is beneficial for everyone as long as the work quality isn’t hampered.

The work from home tips I gave above are the ones I follow. These tips for working remotely will definitely help you out.

Let me know which tip you liked the most!