Financial Blog

We all love the idea of working from home. No long hours of commuting, more personal time that makes work-life balance overall. However, after a few weeks of remote work, you’ve probably realized that balancing telecommuting and productivity is not as easy as it looks. Here’s 6 working from home tips for success that can help you in boosting your time management skills.

1. Know when you work best

More flexible hours means being able to try out different schedules. Find out your most productive time, and plan your day around it. Are you more of a morning person? Or do you work best in the afternoon? Do the most difficult and complicated tasks at your most effective time. Read more: Work from Home Guide for Beginners

2. Be firm about your working hours

According to a study from the University of California Irvine, it takes almost 30 minutes to regain focus after getting distracted. So set boundaries early on. Let everyone at home know your working hours, and make it clear that you shouldn’t be disturbed unless it’s an emergency. One fun way to do this is to have a “stoplight” on your door: stick a red post-it when you absolutely cannot be disturbed, yellow if you’d prefer not to be disturbed, and green if it’s okay to drop in for a chat.

3. Choose the right place to work at

Ideally, your work area should have plenty of natural light. A brightly lit room helps you feel more energized and engaged, while also lessening eye strain. Try not to work near your bed so you won’t be tempted to sleep. Be mindful of your posture and invest in a comfortable chair. You can even play music in the background to really help you get in the zone.

4. Clean and organize your work area

This includes both physical and digital workspaces. Having a tidy desk – and desktop – makes you more efficient because you know exactly where everything is, and can easily find things when you need them. It also minimizes distractions, helping you stay sharp and focused. Come up with a system for arranging and storing your files. Keep only what you need on your desk. Store all completed, pending, and upcoming projects in another corner. Throw away all unnecessary items.

5. Practice time blocking

Let’s face it, there are countless distractions at home. Although we’re doing our best to avoid those, you’ll still need a structured schedule to help you get things done. That’s where time blocking comes in. It’s a productivity hack that limits distractions by making you focus on one task at a time. Having this checklist of tasks also helps you visualize your progress.

6. Minimize distractions

Turn off all non-work-related notifications, especially social media. If you’ll be engaging in “deep work,” you can even put your phone away and temporarily turn off email alerts – just let your colleagues know in advance. Looking for home-based opportunities? Grit.ph listed down 35 high paying remote and online jobs for Filipinos on this article.