“Am I the only one who felt unmotivated during working from home (WFH) and my work pattern became messy?”

Relax, you are not alone in struggling to adapt to this new work pattern. 

During the current Covid-19 pandemic situation, Work From Home (WFH) has long been implemented to minimize the spread of the virus. Although it means working from home, it doesn’t necessarily make this work pattern easy and comfortable for everyone.

Many of us even find it difficult to manage our focus and productivity because it is far from the formal atmosphere of an office space. If your focus is disturbed, you might actually be able to spend more time lying down or scrolling through social media in the middle of working hours.

Therefore, Tomps has summarized 7 tips for working from home to make you can stay productive and efficient. 

Work Life Balance, Here 7 Ways To Set Your Work Pattern During WFH

1. Emphasize Your Mindset “It’s Time to Work”

Getting used to working in a busy office atmosphere and switching to typing in your room is certainly not easy. The atmosphere of the office usually brings a mindset on productivity, while the home atmosphere brings a mindset of relaxation. 

Therefore, it is important to emphasize the “focus, it’s time to work” mindset when office hours start. You can also adjust the design in the corner of the work area at home which is felt to increase focus and comfort during work. 

2. Why Not Trying To Dress Up and Make Up?

“During WFH, I don’t need to take a shower and can still wear pajamas until the afternoon.”

Beware, this habit can affect your psychology during work so you tend to be easily sleepy and less productive. 

Therefore, try to keep doing routines when you want to go to the office even when WFH. Such as starting with a shower, wearing neat and comfortable clothes, and using light makeup if desired. This can help you to stay focused on work and increase productivity.

This is also supported by research from Harvard University in 2017 which found that the use of facial makeup can actually increase positive emotions and self-confidence which results in increased cognitive performance.

3. Minimizing Distractions

When working from home, you may have more distractions because you are away from formal office situations. If not addressed immediately, these distractions will take away your focus and take up a lot of time that would otherwise be used for work. Some things that you might be able to do to overcome the disturbances that arise are:

• Make Your Gadget Hard to Reach

You turn off notifications or put your phone in a drawer or in a different room. The goal is that you can reduce the habit of reaching out to your cellphone to just check notifications which leads to scrolling social media applications. 

• Turn Off The Television

Have a habit to watch television when you get bored with work? Try to unplug your television’s power cord or work in a room away from the television’s view. This will keep you focused on your work without thinking about the next episode of your favorite series. 

• Finish Your Homework Before Working

A dusty floor, messy clothes, stacked plates, and a leaky faucet can also distract you while working. Working with distracting sights and sounds can make you uneasy and even ruin your mood. So, make sure to finish your homework first before getting ready for work, OK!

4. If Needed, Set The Alarm When It’s Break Time

When working at home, you may think that finishing work until bedtime is not a problem. However, this habit will then lead you to a tendency to be unproductive at the right time. Therefore, try to manage your work time, lunch break, and relaxation. If needed, you can also set an alarm sound as a form of reminder. This will help you to do WFH productively and effectively. 

5. Positive Thinking

Unlike when we exchange opinions with colleagues directly, WFH brings us to switch to online texting as the main communication tool besides telephone and video calls. Of course it will bring many differences, one of which is how to read a message which may be interpreted differently between the sender and the recipient. 

If in a bad emotion, a message that should have a neutral tone can be interpreted negatively by one or both parties. Therefore, it is important for us to think positively while talking to colleagues via text. If you feel there is something that needs to be confirmed, take a telephone conversation or video call if needed. 

6. Create a Routine When Work Time Finished

Still often dwelling on work outside of working hours that can actually be completed the next day? One of the reasons may be that you did not provide a sign-off to indicate the end of work time. Closing office files, turning off your laptop and turning off your office cellphone after working hours are over are some of the ways you can do it. 

7. Use Weekends for Self-Development Activities

“Sunday, it’s time to complete assignments for tomorrow so Monday can be more relaxed”

Oh no, you should avoid this mindset right now!

Weekends are your precious time that can be used for your own good. Instead of completing assignments for next Monday, you can try to take webinars, courses, and other self-development activities that can be useful for self-development and your career. So, don’t waste this precious time, okay?

That’s the review of 7 powerful tips for working from home to make you stay productive in effective way. So, what number will you first start trying to do?

Find more information about project management here with Tomps.id, your project management solution!