Home Office Productivity Tips
Working from home has suddenly become a reality for millions, and that’s not entirely a bad thing. Where this all leads, nobody knows, but in the meantime those of us who suddenly find ourselves earning our keep at home need to ensure we stay productive.
One might think that working from home automatically increases productivity– after all, there’s no commute time, no interruptions from gossipy cubicle mates, and lunch is often taken right at the desk. That sounds like a couple of bonus hours right there.
And you may be right. If you keep up your normal pace and have all the necessary data and resources, you can easily be more productive in the home office. But it’s not as automatic as you might think.
Coffee break can easily unravel into dream-surfing, a bathroom break can lead to loading the dishwasher, then organizing the kitchen, then a bit of vacuuming, and the next thing you know it’s suppertime and not much has been accomplished.
The tricks to keeping productive in the home office are pretty simple. Among them:
1. Start early each day and get a good chunk done before you allow yourself even a bit of domestic time.
2. Keep your exercise disciplines going. Get the blood flowing early in the morning and you’ll think better.
3. Schedule your toughest fifty percent in your best ninety minutes. For most of us, that’s first thing in the morning, but for others it may be early afternoon. Figure out your “best ninety” and devote that to your “toughest fifty”. (Thanks to Hugh Culver).
4. Dress for success. If you work in your pyjamas, your head never really gets out of bed.
5. Have realistic checklists. Prioritize the important above the urgent.
6. Take a little time every day to plan tomorrow. In particular look for ways to increase productivity.
7. Don’t be a hermit. Interact virtually with colleagues and your network just as much as you might at the office. So long as you keep it in hand, a little socializing in these calls is healthy and good for relationships, but before you call, write down what you need to cover and largely stick to that.
8. If teamwork is critical to your enterprise, consider a daily Zoom round table call. Have an agenda, put someone in charge of herding cats, come to a conclusion, send out simple minutes with accountabilities.
9. All those important disciplines of record keeping, note taking, documentation, filing and following protocols don’t cease to be important just because you’re not “at work”.
10. If you’re not formally networked with the office, there are workarounds. Use them. And keep some non-network-dependent work, like a project, on the shelf so that you’ll have something to do if the network goes down.
11. Remember that business communication which is not face-to-face requires extra clarity, because you don’t have the benefit of visuals and other cues. Don’t assume the other side can read your mind– take the time to be crystal clear.
12. Have an accountability buddy to keep you honest with your time and productivity.
13. The other viruses aren’t taking holidays. Scammers, spammers, and malware aren’t taking time off. The likelihood is that working at home increases your risk. Take extra precautions, be wise.
14. Don’t ignore your networking efforts. Soon enough, life will get back to “normal” and you’ll be glad for the new connections you have made.
15. Consider this a blessing and learn from the experience. We have not seen the last of remote working.
If you’re having trouble making a transition to a home office situation, feel free to drop me a note or give me a call. I’d be happy to chat. Ditto if your entire office is, for the first time, trying to work remotely. I can help.