Like many office workers around the world, I spent just about two years unexpectedly working from home due to the pandemic. Also like many, earlier this year I was brought back into the office for a hybrid three days in office, two days at home schedule. However, perhaps unlike many, I’m very fortunate that my organization reevaluated our working situation and determined that, through the end of the year, we’d only have to be in the office on Tuesdays! Believe me when I tell you that I’m absolutely over the moon about it.
For me, this new working schedule begins today, and I’m still recovering from the longest two weeks of work that I’ve had since 2019. Because of this very unique situation, I thought I’d take some time to ensure I had the most productive work from home day possible, and I’m bringing you along for the ride. Here are the tips I use to have my most productive work from home day imaginable! You don’t have to use every one, but hopefully there’s something here to inspire you.
1. Use your morning routine to kick off a great day
Now that I won’t be spending three mornings a week waking up early and rushing to my bus stop, I’m determined to make the most of the before work hours. While I love sleeping in as much as the next person (but honestly probably more), I’m determined to use those morning hours to do the things that will set up my day for success and also help me achieve my personal goals.
For me, that could mean any number of things:
- Eating a healthy breakfast
- Practicing yoga or doing a rowing exercise
- Taking a walk
- Meditating
- Reading a book
- Writing
- Making coffee or tea and actually taking time to sit down and enjoy it
- Taking extra time on my skincare routine
- Listening to a special morning playlist
Find out what helps you start your day off on a high note and try to incorporate those things in your morning routine to have a productive work from home day.
2. Frontload your workday with deep work
A year or so ago, I attended a CreativeMornings session on the principle of deep work and how to implement it within your workdays. The basic idea was that you set aside a specific amount of time (I do 45-minute sessions), set a goal or topic for your session, and then turn off all distractions and programs besides what you need to complete that goal. They also suggest turning on white noise or some productive music (I use Noisli), having a trigger to alert your brain that it’s time to begin (they suggested centering your mind and then clapping once loudly to “start” your session) and using a timer to help you stick to whatever time limit you set for yourself.
I like to start off my week with two 45-minute deep work sessions with a 15-minute break after the first one. This practice helps me make progress on two big goals or projects right at the beginning of the week, so even if the afternoon is filled with meetings or gets taken over with putting out fires, it’ll still feel like a productive work from home day by the end of it.
3. Know where your time is going
Every so often, I like to take stock of my days and determine how I’m really using my time. I always think more of it is going to TikTok and Instagram than I want, and then I actually see the number of hours in front of me and it’s a whole different feeling. Since this week will kick off a new work schedule and a new season in my annual work cycle, I thought it would be a great time to do this again.
My favorite way to evaluate my time is using Laura Vanderkam’s time sheets, which you can receive for free as part of her time makeover guide. (I’d also recommend her time management books, especially 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think). Basically, you track an entire week of your life (or more!) in either 15- or 30-minute blocks of time. Then, at the end of the week, you evaluate how you’re spending your time and see if what you’re currently doing will help you reach your goals. I like to do this once or twice a year because it really puts into perspective how I actually spend my time!
4. Take regular breaks
I know it sounds counterintuitive, but taking mental breaks throughout the day will actually make you more productive overall. I won’t go into all the science behind it here, but this Medium article does a good job of covering the high points and listing the types of breaks that will actually help you be more productive during the day.
I like to take a break after a deep work session, one during my typical lunchtime, and at least one during the afternoon when I’m starting to feel sluggish and know that my mind could use a mental break. At least one of your breaks should involve some kind of outside time because there’s nothing quite as refreshing for your productivity as getting out into the sunshine and fresh air. You should also try to incorporate movement into your breaks, and if you can combine those two, even better!
Your breaks might include:
- Taking a walk
- Meditating
- Making coffee or tea
- Taking a nap
- Having a dance break
- Doing a chore around the house
- Playing with a pet
- Listening to a podcast
5. Limit distractions during the day
This one could mean something different for you than it does for someone else. For me, limiting distractions means closing my inbox and pausing Slack notifications when I’m in a deep work session. For you, it could include moving your phone across the room, only listening to instrumental music or white noise during the day, or blocking social media or other programs from your computer during the workday.
For me, this also means not letting simple tasks pile up and overwhelm me. Lately, I’ve been trying to follow the “one-minute rule,” which basically means that if a task will take a minute or less to complete, I do it right then instead of putting it off. Sometimes it’s the easiest tasks that will grow into monsters if you don’t tackle them immediately. There’s nothing worse than finishing up a productive work from home day, only to find that you have a pile of work already for the next day because you didn’t handle simple tasks as they came in. Handling those one-minute tasks in a timely manner can leave you free with the time and mental fortitude needed to dig into more challenging tasks.
What’s one idea from this list that you’ll take into your next productive work from home day?
P.S. I created a free downloadable guide to help you create your best morning routine! Download it here.
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