Since the onset of COVID-19, most people have opted to work from their homes to avoid spreading the virus.

Despite it being a good idea as it’s cost-effective and easier to take care of your family, working from home has many shortcomings that can interfere with productivity. For example, being constantly interrupted by family, or noisy neighbours.

It takes a hardworking and determined individual to make a significant income while working from the comfort of their homes.

Whether you just started working from home recently after the Coronavirus pandemic or you have been doing it for ages, there are certain things you can do to improve your productivity, as discussed below.

Have a Designated Working Area

You will not hack working from home if you are the type that works from the kitchen, sitting room or the bedroom. These working environments are destructive and cannot allow you to focus and take your work seriously. It’s essential to set up a specific place that will act as your office. 

Working in an office-like area will tune your mind and help you concentrate on the tasks at hand. Therefore make the necessary adjustments in your working space. Among the things to look at include the lighting of the room, the working chair, and table, work tools such as pens, notebooks, and laptop, among others. 

Another area to look at is your windows’ quality, especially if you are the type that loves working near the window for fresh air and admiration of the outside world. This may indeed be the right way of relaxing and breaking the monotony but remember distraction is a killer of concentration, and you should avoid it at all costs. 

Setting up your office adjacent to the window will mean intrusion of your privacy by a nosy road passer or neighbours. You will also have to deal with a lot of dust and heat from the direct sunlight, but this should not worry or hinder you from working near the window if that is where your secret to productivity lies. 

Today, thanks to technology and many shutter companies such as Shuttercraft, you can have your windows shuttered to keep away excess heat, cold, dust and intrusion from outsiders. 

Moreover, this is also a perfect way to improve your home’s interior decor, which works magic towards boosting productivity. Besides, this is an inexpensive activity that only requires a phone call or connecting with them through websites such as the shuttercraft website, and they will be at your doorstep within no time. 

Be Disciplined

Working from home means being oneself boss and supervisor and deciding how much or little you want to work. The situation is worse when you are self-employed as there is no one to follow up or ask how far you are with the tasks. 

Regardless of whether you have a boss or not, the point remains that you have to work and be productive. Besides, this is why you opted to find a productive activity to do other than lie idle at home. 

Therefore make it upon yourself to practice the highest form of discipline. Simple deeds such as setting up a timetable and following it to the latter, avoiding answering unnecessary calls or messages during work time, will sire positive results. 

Moreover, avoiding spending too much time on social media or with friends and completing tasks within the stated time will enhance productivity. 

Keep the Working Area Well Organized

It is zero work to have a well-designed home office that is that is disorganized and full of unnecessary staff. Such a room will mean having to waste a lot of time looking for a particular item. You also risk missing important business deals by working in a scattered room. 

Take the case where a client calls requiring an urgent answer found in a particular document and cannot find it due to the room’s condition. This will, of course, mean losing the client, especially those that are not understanding and patient enough. 

 Therefore, make sure your home office is always clean and neatly arranged so that you can send your three years old to get a pen from a specific place, and they will be able to locate it. 

Let Your Family Know You Are Working

Family members or those you share the home with may turn out to be the biggest distractors. Avoid this by letting them know that you’re working from home is no different from the office. Make them understand that you have deadlines and goals to meet and request them to give you ample time. This may mean not entertaining visitors to the house, keeping the music low, or you missing out on family outings.  

Whatever you have to do to enhance productivity, go ahead and do it. At times you may have to request a family member to carry out specific tasks on your behalf, such as attending to your child, cooking for the family or even serving you. 

As you do this, consider that some members may not be willing to assist; therefore, consider hiring a house manager to help where necessary. Equally important, manage your time well so that your work does not eat into family time. 

Set Goals

Just like with the office environment knowing where you want to go and devising ways of getting there is a sure way of staying motivated. Therefore, evaluate yourself to identify your goals and come up with workable ways of getting there. 

As you do this, remember to set short term milestones and appreciate yourself after concurring each milestone. 

Break the Monotony

You will be harming yourself and achieving less if you spend your entire days locked inside the house working. The truth is, work without play makes Jack a dull boy. Therefore find time within your busy schedule to go out, relax, and have fun. 

The secret to this is proper planning that will allow you to meet deadlines on time and give you extra hours to yourself. 

Parting Shot

You can make a meaningful income and remain productive while working from the comfort of your home. Besides, an office is just a building equipped with the right equipment, rules and conditions. 

Why don’t you go ahead and employ the same specifications to your home working area? It will boost your productivity in a significant way.