Set guidelines and get more done

Are you struggling to keep your productivity under control? Then follow these 4 strategies for setting boundaries and being more productive when working from your home.

It's finally time to shut off your laptop. Your shoulders and legs have a throbbing pain from sitting over your desk all day.

As you shuffle off to sleep, you grudgingly acknowledge that working from home didn't give you that productivity boost you had been looking for.

But my fellow remote worker, you don't have to do anything until your eyes burn due to blue light, and your hands are numb.

From personal experiences, there are methods to be more productive working at home, without delaying the work you do or degrading your productivity.

This article will introduce you to four research- and experience-backed strategies you can use to be a more productive remote employee.

Sound good? Then let's dive into together.

How can I be more productive when working from home for the first time

Tip #1: Have an area for work that is designated

It may be challenging to set up a home office when you reside in an apartment that is smaller or you have to share your space with two- and four-legged friends or family.

But you don't need a separate room for your workplace at home. You only need an area which signals your brain that it's in work mode.

Space, along with time, technology, and communications  is one method remote workers seek to distinguish their home and work roles.

Other research has found that remote workers maintain a distinction between their work area as well as their house by creating a separate workspace.

Teleworkers are also able to perform their jobs while at their work space and kept equipment as well as other supplies at their homes office spaces.

The idea is that having a set "office space" can help you in a more efficient way to signal your brain when it's time to work or unwind.

The Stack Overflow employee found that having designated workspaces specific space allowed her to unwind from task at the end of each day. an example.

"Before my move in September, my work was done from the living room and found it distracting to have my TV right in front of my workspace. When I moved I was able to find a place which had an office that I could make use of, as well as that lets me segment the time I work from my private time."

The idea of separating your personal space from the workspace does not suggest that your space must be a distinct office or stale and boring. Being creative and thinking outside of the norm can bring huge benefits and help your creativity flow.

The project analyst created their own house office within their living space due to the light and space it provided.

A remote worker also transformed their room into a working space.

However, even the teleworker's configuration isn't enough to win most coveted prize for the best workspace -- this worker set up shop in their hallway.

As you can see, Remote office space can be put up wherever within your home.

The important thing is to locate one. Even if you are able to work without one, having a dedicated workplace space can help you perform more efficiently and establishes firmer boundaries between your working and your personal.

In a group of people of entrepreneurs which races toward burnout faster than anyone else, those boundaries matter.

Naturally, no office is full without the appropriate equipment. We'll look at some tools remote workers may wish to incorporate into their workspaces for increased productivity.

Tip #2: Buy the best equipment and technology to work from home.

So, your office at home isn't as vast, sunlit productivity palace you see other remote workers boasting about.

However, there is a lot of ways to upgrade your home office that you could make to make your space better for your needs.

A chair and desk setup that doesn't place the user in a painful physical place are the simplest tools for full-time remote workers.

Minimally, try to follow these suggestions to improve your workplace ergonomics so that you put less stress on your body while working.

There are dangers to working all day long or all the time, which is why you should ensure your work gear (and timetable) doesn't force you to be seated for long periods of time.

Among the negative effects of the sitting position are fatigue during the day  as well as a lower level of levels of satisfaction at work, as well as musculoskeletal disorders that affect certain areas of the body.

If you have the money for the purchase of a standing desk, ergonomic chairs are an investment worth it. An ergonomic keyboard and mouse and a set of sturdy headphones, as well as a decent light would be helpful additions, as well.

You'll also want to organize your day-to-day tools, like cameras and pens, so that they're easily accessible. So you don't have interrupt your routine to find them.

Don't sweat it if you need to add multiple items to your desk Remote worker desks are available in a range of styles, minimalistic and stylish.

The web-based and graphic designer has a more spartan set up that includes an audio device, a computer as well as headphones, a light as well as a water bottle as well as notebook.

Teleworker Jessica Deen  On contrary, keeps an array of technical tools in her desk .

If you can, decorate your workspace with objects that bring you joy such as pictures of your loved ones or inspirational sayings (if it's something you enjoy). The addition of plants to your workplace can help improve your health.

Plants inside the office improved employees' self-reported levels of focus and engagement at work in addition to other advantages.

Though it can seem frivolous it can be as good for your health as it is for. The employees who participated into the decor of their offices experienced improved health and productivity, one study revealed.

Apart from physical tools, set all the digital tools you may need. You might want to use a tool like Freedom to block distracting sites while you work.

Apps like RescueTime will help you monitor which sites and tasks you allocate the time for every day and throughout the week.

The statistics can help you get more insight into which sites or applications could be distracting you from your time.

They will also assist you to find your ideal working hours to help you set a your schedule to be more suited to your natural energy levels and demands of the day.

You might also want to follow this advice from an entrepreneur and make use of cloud-based storage and virtual desktops, so that you can work wherever.

The most well-known cloud storage platforms are Dropbox (our our personal choice), Google Drive (a close second) as well as Microsoft OneDrive , among others :

In terms of efficiency, our third tip could tie all of your productive actions beautifully.

Tip #3: Create a schedule

40% of remote workers said the biggest perk of working remotely was having a an able schedule.

It's also one of the greatest pitfalls, however. It's sometimes difficult to adhere to a strict schedule when working remotely.

One reason is that you no longer have the routine of driving between work and home in order to interrupt your daily routine. It can be hard to leave your computer, and to establish more firm limits between your work and leisure time.

Still, you should try to set a work routine to suit your needs. Research has shown that distinguishing between work and non-work duties could help employees who work remotely detach and recover from their work demands.

That's not to say you should dedicate an unbroken eight-hour block for the work you do (unless your employer enforces strict office hours).

If you are able, schedule your work the time to eat lunch, spend time with your children, errands, and regular breaks. You should also consider optimizing your timetable to coincide with your most productive times.

The director of Segment Marketing at Vidyard told me that they have most of their concentrated work done in the evenings.

Businessman Fred Perrotta organized his day according to a plan that he completed his most important tasks early in the day. After that, he took a 2-hour break and resumed work for a few more hours.

This author  was, on the contrary on the other hand, made use of alarms in order to structure their workday.

It's true that the way you organize your schedule doesn't matter nearly as in the sense of arranging your schedule. In doing so it will ensure that you have enough time to attend to your work that you earn, but not so much time that you are occupied with work for your entire day.

This also allows you to have the space to capitalize on our last tip.

Tip #4: Set aside time for friends and fun

Let's not beat at each other: just because you work at home does not mean that you can do nothing but work at home.

You should still allocate some time to your family members, hobbies, side-projects, or even just for leisure time.

It can be a a welcome respite from your daily grind, and potentially boost your performance and health.

After all, 44% of employees want to work at home, so that they can spend more time with their families.

It's still not unusual for workers who work remotely to have less time with their families after they have gone remote.

For instance for instance, the expectation of being available for work-related duties may cause tension in the relationships of workers with their loved ones in the event that they do not take off during the hours they work.

For that reason, it is possible to establish clearer boundaries between life at work and your non-work time, and what you do and don't permit during your family time.

For instance, this entrepreneur does not allow phones in certain rooms in their home, which means the child is aware that they take priority over their phone.

Social support  or the level of support someone perceives from their social circle could have a slight impact on the mental health of a person. There are many other reasons why good social interaction with families and friends could decrease anxiety, and increase feelings of security.

Furthermore, time spent with family and friends is an excellent chance to try out hobbies and leisure activities that will help you relax.

Engaging in fun leisure activities helped to mitigate the psychological effects of stress, and also lower levels of depression and negative effects, one study found. This was on top of higher self-reported physical functioning and a host of additional benefits.

In that regard, don't avoid certain things if they bring you joy. In this case, for instance, playing video games can prove beneficial in certain situations.

Specifically, experimental participants who were playing a game of casual play during breaks showed more engagement and improved regeneration than people in different groups. The study suggested that playing casual video games could improve moods affected by stress.

A lot of people have discovered advantages of taking time off from work. The director of Demand Generation at Nextiva claimed that time spent playing the guitar helped to boost their self-confidence and gain a new perspective.

In order to ensure that you are following all of your passions it is advisable to limit the number of activities you are involved in at a given time. The freelancer chooses up to three hobbies or side-projects to focus on at a time, for example.

Aside from hobbies, you may want try volunteer work to see if it is something you can do since volunteering may boost your happiness. Engaging in compassionate behavior was also correlated with wellbeing and happiness.

Being more charitable will assist you in dissociating yourself from your work and give you renewed energy and creativity for your work.

Talk about a win-win, right?

Use these four steps to be a more productive first-time remote worker

It's an open secret that working from home may be difficult.

It isn't easy to take care of yourself when remote work. Even seasoned workers struggle with loneliness when remote working. Impostor syndrome is a common issue that rears its ugly head in the everyday routine.

The biggest issue for remote workers is how to work more productively while working remotely from home.

You don't have to live the remainder of your working hours and not fully disconnecting from the work you do. If you want to give your home-based productivity a boost and set boundaries be sure:

Create a designated work zone within your house, regardless of whether it's a separate room or a corner of a room

Gather the work equipment and other resources needed to do your work, so you won't have to disrupt your day in search of specific items.

Set a schedule that aligns to your needs at work and the requirements of your day-to-day activities and levels of energy

You should take time out for relaxing activities to refresh your mind mentally

Why are you sitting around for? Put these tips in practice immediately to start working from home and becoming the efficient remote worker that you've been wanting to become -- and in just a few minutes, you'll be grateful that you took the time to do it.