The 2020 global pandemic couldn’t stop the world from moving. Remote work became more popular, as it was the best way to ensure safety and employment. Moreover, it seems to be a great decision!
One of the good things about remote working has been the reports of increased productivity. In a survey conducted by FlexJobs, 51% of its 2,100 participants reported being more productive working from home. However, many others find it challenging to cope with these new work conditions.
However, why are you unproductive, and how can you solve it? It’s time to get some answers!
1. Distractions
Attention-seeking pets, restless children, your bed, easy access to the TVâ there are so many distractions in the home. The traditional office space is designed to mitigate distractions causing you to focus more of your time on the task at hand. However, at home, this may seem almost impossible.
Fortunately, there’s a way to beat this. You can limit your distractions by clearly stating your work times and sticking to them. You should also consider creating a workstation, preferably away from distractions such as the TV or your bed. This way, you can spend more time finishing work than fighting the urge to indulge in multiple guilty pleasures.
2. Inconducive workspace
Creating a workstation isn’t enough to ensure that you would be productive while you work. The state of your workstation plays a significant role as well. It would be difficult to be productive if you spend most of your time looking for documents or trying to keep your space organized. Additionally, the appearance of a cluttered space can make you feel tired, making it difficult to concentrate on getting work done. An aesthetically pleasing and clean workspace, on the other hand, encourages more productivity as you are happier in that space and enjoy being in it. Therefore, you should consider designing your workspace to your preferred style. You can also implement smart storage solutions to keep your space organized and clean.
3. Lack of realistic goals
Setting goals for the week is essential to ensuring you get work done. This is because it helps serve as a measure to keep you on track and ensure that you are getting the work that needs to be done on time and efficiently. However, many employees do not do this, which leads to no direction and a lack of productivity. You must create weekly and daily goals to get you out of your unproductive runt.
You can consider creating a to-do list to ensure that you get various tasks done and meet important deadlines accordingly. In addition, you should create a routine that keeps you productive throughout the day. If you are a business owner, you should consider conducting a SWOT analysis for your products and services. This improves your productivity by giving you a clear overview of what you need to improve your business and creating the right strategies to do so, making you more productive.
4. Poor time and self-management
You may have your goals and schedules in place, but it seems you are still not getting much work done. Well, that’s probably because you do not manage your time properly. Therefore, it is advisable to work around time. Assign yourself a period in which you would carry out various activities. You should also take breaks within the day to relax and rejuvenate. Working throughout the day would only make you less productive, tired and put your health at risk.
Poor self-management is another factor affecting your productivity when you work from home. Unlike at your workplace, you wouldn’t have a supervisor to watch you or ensure that you are doing what is expected of you when you are working from home. This means that if you do not have good self-management skills, where you can ensure you are carrying out these supervisory tasks on your own, you would be unable to get much work done. This affects both employees and business owners. However, by setting attainable goals, following a routine, and creating and following a to-do list can help fix this.
Working from home has been very beneficial for business owners and employees alike. However, many people have spoken about their productivity being reduced as compared to when they were in a traditional working environment. If you fall in this category, you may be victim to one or more of the issues mentioned above. Hopefully, the suggestions above can change that!