Posted on: July 16, 2019 Posted by: Allene Lewis Comments: 0

While the numbers of people who work from home full time are still relatively low, new surveys show to 70% of people work remotely at least one day a week. 

With the way technology has made it easy for us to communicate quickly and collaborate online, it can be easy to assume that working from home is no different from working in an office. In reality, working remotely can bring on a unique combination of distraction and boredom. 

Want to learn how to be productive from the home office? Take a look at these work tips to get started.

Schedule Breaks in Your Day

When you work at an office, you have built-in breaks, even if you don’t think of them that way. They happen when you walk across the street to get a latte, or when you and your colleague hop off campus for some lunch. 

At home, these organic breaks happen less often, because everything you need is within a few feet of you. For this reason, you need to be more deliberate about taking breaks.

Schedule in some time in your day to go for a 15-minute walk. Going outside and getting fresh air and exercise will refresh you. You can even use some breaks to do chores around the house, like throwing in a load of laundry or unloading the dishwasher.

Set Productivity Goals

On the flip side, it can be easy to get distracted from the professional work you have to do when you are in your own home. You might be distracted by entertainment, tasks that need to be done, or a needy pet.

To help with this, set productivity goals for each day. By focusing on what tasks you want to get done, rather than the number of hours you want to work, you can better gauge whether you are getting enough work done.

Check in With Co-Workers Throughout the Day

When you work from home, it’s easy to start feeling like an island. You don’t know what your supervisor is up to, and they don’t know what you’re up to.

Check in a couple of times a day, whether through texts, phone calls, or emails. This will make everyone feel like they can get a hold of each other, and will create an atmosphere of transparency. 

Work Tips if You’re a Freelancer

Not everyone who works from home is a freelancer, but most freelancers work from home at least part of the time. If you’re working at home and working for yourself, that brings on some of its own challenges.

While being your own boss brings freedom, it also brings responsibility. It means that no paycheck is coming in unless you are hustling for it. For that reason, it’s especially important to have a separate part of your home that’s set up for your office.

You also want to make sure to keep all of your finances in order, both for what your clients owe you and for what you are paying yourself. You can use a site like ThePayStubs to generate proof of income that will help you qualify for loans and pay taxes.

Work From Home Like a Boss

With these work tips in hand, you will be just as successful at home as anyone in an office.

Want more lifestyle advice? Check out our blog for more posts like this.

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