Working from Home: 5 Productivity Tips

Let’s call it like it is: working from home sounds WAY more glamorous than it really is. In fact, if you work from home often, you know how hard it can be to peel away from the life stuff happening in the house and dig into powerful, meaningful work. With everything that is happening in the world right now, a lot of you have found yourself working from home. Some of you are even trying to juggle working from home with your significant other.

I remember the first week I worked from home. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get out of bed, had Friend’s on 24/7 and decided it was only time to get ready when I knew Aaron was almost home…. Yeah, that didn’t last long because I realized in order to be successful, I actually had to WORK from home. Let’s talk about how you can be more productive working where you live and living where you work. You ready?

HACK #1: GET DRESSED.

Wait… the queen of leggings is saying this? Yeah, I’ll be 100% honest in telling you that I most definitely don’t get ready every day and some days I change out of yesterday’s leggings and into another pair BUT there is something to be said about the power of presenting yourself (even if no other humans see you) and just feeling a little more pulled together and professional. You sit up straighter, you show up in bigger ways, and you value yourself a little more. While an occasional sweatpants day never killed anyone, if you’re finding yourself in lounge wear for the seventh day in a row, I challenge you to hop in the shower, put on some mascara, and pants with a zipper and see what happens.

HACK #2: CREATE A ROUTINE:

One of my favorite things to do is plan out the next day hour by hour the night before. This allows you to wake up and immediately know what your plan is and not fall into a, “doing all the things but really not doing a single thing” morning. Routine turns into habit and habit is directly linked to what we are actually accomplishing.

HACK #3: SET BOUNDARIES.

One of the hardest things about working from home is that work is always accessible to you – so is house stuff. I had to put on the blinders when I started working from home and set mental boundaries around my day. I remember the first month of working from home running errands at 10am, cleaning the house and then before I knew it, it was 3pm and I was just starting my workday. Sure there might be laundry needing to get done but if I were working a 9-5, I wouldn’t be doing laundry over my lunch break and the same should go from home.

Having set office hours can really help you define and separate work and life, I try to have a start and end time and it not only allows me to disconnect more but it also puts a fire under my bum to be productive during the day. While it’s easy to open your computer for “just one more email” try to clearly define your schedule and treat your home as an office during the day and your oasis at night.

HACK #4:CREATE A SPACE YOU LOVE TO WORK IN.

I know, I know, says the girl who worked from her bed, couch and kitchen table the first year… but it’s important to feel inspired when working from home, so creating a space that makes you excited to work is HUGE. Whether you can devote a space inside of your home to an office or you have a little corner where you’ll be working, it’s important to feel comfortable and excited to be there.

It’s tempting to work on the couch or your bed but there’s something magical about sitting at a desk, no TV or interruptions, blasting your favorite tunes and getting it done. When we moved into our home, I was so excited to have an office that I could close the doors on at the end of the night – and a space that felt like a sanctuary during the day. Spend a little time making your space yours and setting yourself up for productive working.

HACK #5:GET MOVING.

When you give yourself breaks from screen time and get fresh air, you get your body moving, the endorphins flowing, magical things happen. Taking that break actually increases your efficiency and helps you do more purposeful work. I love walking Hazel after lunch and making sure that I’m getting in some sort of activity whether it’s Orange Theory, Peloton or pilates. It’s important to honor those breaks you’d likely be taking if you worked at an office so don’t avoid a true lunch break or some 15-minute time chunks where you get up and move your body!

Well, there you have it: my home workers! Working from home presents a whole new list of challenges that many aren’t prepared for. But with a little mindset shift, you’ll be setting yourself up for success in no time!