More Americans are working from home than ever before. According to Global Workplace Analytics, 50% of the U.S. workforce has a job that allows for at least occasional telecommuting. Advancements in technology have made it possible to hold meetings, collaborate with team members, and complete tasks in real time without ever setting foot in an office.
This is great news for workers , but is that great news for productivity? With a traveling supervisor replaced by a friendly TV, it can be difficult to stay on task. How do you actually work from home?
Related: The truth about working from home
ABODO is a young technology company and we have fully embraced remote working. Several team members live hundreds of miles from our Madison, Wisconsin headquarters, and even those who live in town have the option of working from home – an especially nice perk during the state's snowy winters. br />Here are four home office productivity tips we've found useful:
1. Get dressed in the morning.
Early in his career, Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning writer John Cheever had a fascinating writing ritual:Every day he got up, showered, dressed in a suit and left his apartment with a briefcase in his hand. He would take the elevator with the other businessmen in the building, and when they got down to the first floor, he would continue down to the basement. There he would take off his suit, hang it on the back of his chair, and write until 5 p.m., when he would put the suit back on and ride the elevator to his apartment.
For Cheever, write some fiction was work and deserved to be treated as such. And while you don't have to wear a full suit and tie for your home office, dressing up can help you focus and give your work the respect it deserves. Showering, combing your hair, brushing your teeth and wearing an outfit at least one level from pajamas can make a huge difference in how you view your work. Also, if you have video calls, you don't need to turn off your camera.
2. Close the door.
One of the biggest enemies of productivity when working from home is distraction. But it doesn't always take the form you might think:a buzzing television or a handy video game console. Often, working from home falls victim to multitasking. It's tempting to try and do it all at once – to write that report while you're washing your clothes and cooking a delicious meal in your slow cooker, so you just have to pop into the store to a few ingredients. And wait, have you paid your electric bill yet?
The proximity of all your household chores can make it hard to concentrate on the work at hand. That's why it's important to have a dedicated space just for the work they're paying you for. A home office, or at least a corner of the room where you won't be tempted to try your hand at baking a pie, can help separate your home life from your work life. If you have an office, close the door. If you don't, find a way to physically separate yourself from your immediate surroundings. Noise-canceling headphones work wonders.
Related: How to survive working from home
3. Sit at a real desk.
Your couch will be calling your name. Your armchair will call you. Your bed will call you. Don't listen to them.
Sitting improves concentration, circulation and, according to a 2009 study, metacognition or "thought confidence":the belief that what you're thinking is sophisticated and solid. Sitting at a desk is a subtle reminder to your wandering eye that you are, in fact, working even though you are at home. And the more vertical you are, the less likely you are to accidentally sleep through a 4:30 p.m. conference call.
4. Set a timer.
In an office, the rhythms of a workday are set by outside forces. You arrive at work at the agreed time, you have meetings at fixed times, you leave when it is time to go out. It's easy to schedule your tasks around these regular events.
But things are a little looser when you're working from home. Time can seem limitless, stretching across the horizon of your day. It's easy to think that you'll have plenty of time to do whatever you need to do…later. And when 5:00 p.m. you realize you haven't finished anything.
That's why a timer or alarm clock is a good idea. You can divide your day into separate parts and plan your time accordingly. Maybe you only want to spend 15 minutes on email, but need a longer chunk to think about strategy for a team project. Setting alarms will make you proactive in reaching small, achievable goals, and the constant threat of the alarm tinkling (or buzzing) is also a productivity booster.
Related: 8 work from home tips from a guy currently sitting on his couch
