5 ways to be more productive when working from home

So many Golden Key International Honour Society members are now working from home after the closure of universities and work places across the globe. There are lots of great advantages to working from home, including no commute time, budget-friendly home-made lunches – and being able to work in stretchy pants. But there are some challenges as well. One of the biggest issues with working from home is that it’s sometimes hard to be productive when you don’t have the motivation of a workplace and colleagues and teachers and fellow students.

How do you keep on track and achieving your goals? Here are 5 suggestions:

Make a list

Maybe even make several lists! As any productivity expert will tell you, list-making is an essential tool for getting things done and is a terrific way to monitor your progress. It’s also really helpful for getting things out of your head and onto a piece of paper, so you can open up some thinking space for more important things. Try creating lists for daily, weekly and monthly goals and tasks to do.

Take regular short breaks

Sometimes the best way to be really productive is to actually take a step away. Creating short regular breaks in your work can really help your concentration and energy levels. But we’re talking short breaks: go for a little walk around the room, do some light stretches, have a glass of water or a piece of fruit, then get back into it.

Use a time management system

A great way to keep track of your work vs break time is to use a set program such as the Pomodoro Tracker, which encourages you to set a timer for 25 minute bursts of work with 5 minutes break in between. You assign each task a set number of Pomodoros (eg ‘this essay will take me five Pomodoros’ or ‘I will answer emails for one Pomodoro’, etc) and work your way through it. It’s amazing how efficient you can be when you break things down to small blocks of time.

Stay healthy

Trust us, you’ll feel SO much happier and healthier and more productive if you do all the good things you know you should do including exercising daily, eating good food and getting plenty of sleep. Take care of your body and it will take care of you, plus you’re concentration levels will be much higher if you feel physically well.

Celebrate your milestones

Every time you complete a task, take a moment to congratulate yourself and enjoy your little moment of success. Recognizing your own process is really important and will help you stay motivated and more productive. And don’t be afraid to share some of your successes, big and small, with your family and friends. Let them know when you finish that essay or big projects, and allow yourself to feel justifiably proud of your hard work!