How to work from home effectively?
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Today, more and more people prefer to work from home remotely. Compared to office workers who are forced to stand in traffic jams on their way to work and stick to a common schedule, freelancers can independently organize the workflow, adjust it to their biological clock, eat lunch at a convenient time, and do household chores in parallel. They have more power over time, but there are certain risks in doing so. We’ve put together some helpful time management tips from our free online Time Management course, which is available to everyone.
Create a schedule that works for you
Free scheduling can work for or against you. While working from home, you can create a schedule based on your personal needs. But there will also be more temptation to get distracted by other things. In order not to violate the planned schedule, you need to determine your chronotype, what time do you work best. Everyone knows that larks are most productive in the morning, and owls are most productive in the evening. Observe yourself while you work, fix the moment when you are most concentrated on tasks. Make a schedule tailored to your needs.
Find a place where you will be able to work better
A remote worker does not have to work in only one place, it can be a cafe, a park, a summer house, a bedroom or a balcony in an apartment. The employer does not know where exactly you are and what you are doing at the moment. But a non-standard place of work can both increase efficiency and reduce it at times. Experiment with different spaces, mark yourself where you can work more productively.
Set a clear start and end time for the workday
Be sure to set the start and end points of the working day, this is necessary in order not to stretch the execution of tasks for the whole day. When there is no clear time frame, there are more temptations to get distracted by other things, because there is still so much time ahead. Therefore, use a timer and note how much time you spend on tasks. But there is also the other side of the coin, when a person is too immersed in the work process and forgets about eating and resting. It can also be detrimental to your health and overall productivity. Try to stick to a specific schedule.
Get rid of distractions
Relatives and friends may not be aware of your busyness and distract at any time: ask for help around the house, sit with the child, meet the courier. In this case, only one piece of advice works – learn to say “no” and confidently defend your boundaries. Explain to others that you work on a fixed schedule and can only help in your spare time. In addition to other people, your own brain can also distract you. Surely you have often switched to personal problems instead of completely immersing yourself in the task. You can get rid of unnecessary thoughts with the help of music or TV, turning them on for the background.
Beware of social networks
Social networks are one of the main time wasters, which also cause stress. Set aside a special time to watch the news feed, for example, during lunch or after work, learn to stop when the time is up. Set a rule that in the beginning you need to deal with tasks, and then you can only be distracted by social networks.
