Due to the coronavirus, people are always working from the home office. At Basic thinking, this is the norm. That’s why we want to present you with five tips and routines for efficient work and more productivity today – directly from practice.
Many people imagine working from home as paradise. What could be nicer than working from your own four walls? What can be so difficult about that?
The Top Rule In The Home Office: Self-Discipline!
After more than three years in the home office, I can say quite a lot! Of course, having your workplace at home offers many advantages. But if you think it’s easy, you’re wrong.
The most important characteristic for the home office is, therefore, self-discipline. If you cannot pull yourself together and achieve set goals without direct interpersonal pressure, you will have massive problems after a short time.
Tips And Routines For More Efficiency And Productivity In The Home Office
So that it doesn’t get that far for you in the first place, we would like to present you today with five simple and at the same time practical tips and routines for working in the home office.
Before we get started, we would like to add a brief note: Of course, the following points are individual notes. We do not claim completeness and look forward to additions in the comments.
Get Dressed!
Many people associate sweatpants and baggy shirts with working at home. But the essential tip for newcomers is: Act as if you were in the office. Get up generally in the morning and put on regular clothes.
Of course, you can leave the tie in the closet. However, anyone who goes to work in overly relaxed clothing will quickly lose motivation because the other associations with jogging pants are more in the direction of relaxation. That’s not necessarily beneficial.
Get Up And Rely On Regular Working Hours!
A second common misconception concerns working hours. The home office does not mean that you are constantly taking breaks or that you can constantly interrupt your work for small things such as shopping or a shopping spree.
Again, don’t let the temptation arise in the first place. We have found that many employees cannot cope if they lack precise rhythms at Basic thinking.
That’s why we would like to advise you as a second tip:
- Develop a routine.
- Get up at the usual time, have breakfast – or not – and start working at the usual time.
- Take your break if you would take it at the office and finish on time.
Because of course, the temptation to visit the cafe or go for a walk is excellent. However, many people forget that for every hour you waste doing this, you have to work longer in the evening.
Sit Down At Your (Writing) Table!
Probably the biggest temptation in the home office is your bed. Put your laptop on your lap and curl up comfortably: We all probably succumb to this habit at some point. I used to do that from time to time in the early days.
However, if you want to work productively and efficiently in the long term, you should sit down at your desk. And if there isn’t one, at least it should be the kitchen table.
But if you think that it’s all about comfort, you’re wrong. Anyone who has worked in their apartment for a long time knows that it is not always easy to separate work and private life.
This also applies to working in bed. The longer you stay in bed with your laptop, the harder it is for you to switch off in the evening and gain the necessary distance – and without it, it is not possible.
Banish All Distractions!
And while we’re on the subject of mixing work and private life, the next tip follows. Create a workspace that is as distraction-free as possible.
Make sure you can close the door behind you. This applies during the day to block out distractions from other rooms and in the evening to effectively gain distance.
Of course, it is not 100 percent possible to create peace, especially when there are children in the household. But for a productive work environment, you should also make it clear to your offspring and your partner that disruption should be the exception.
Almost more importantly, however, is minimising digital distractions. That means: Try to banish your smartphone from your desk for the first few days. If used for business calls, you should disable push notifications for other apps.
After all, we all know how easy it is to lose yourself on WhatsApp, Instagram and Co. when you don’t feel like doing a task.
Equip Yourself With Sensible Equipment
At the current time, it is not possible to reliably predict how long the corona pandemic will occupy us – and to what extent in detail. Your living room or kitchen table is a suitable workspace for a few days or weeks.
However, if the measures drag on for several months, it is essential to make further improvements at the crucial points. Exceptionally, if your employer orders you to work from home, you can certainly apply for financial support from them.
The most important criteria for more productivity in the home office:
- A stable and fast Internet connection
- A headset or other solution for comfortable telephoning
- A big screen, because a laptop is unportable in the long run.
- An (ergonomic) mouse.
- A large deck offers you enough space for your work and your documents.
- A reasonable chair.
We hope that we can help you with these tips, tricks and experiences from our everyday life. If you have any questions, you can always reach us here via the comment function or social networks.
Also Read: Home Office: How Companies Develop Sustainable Concepts
