We know what it’s like: distractions, interruptions from the kids or friends who want to come over spontaneously. At the same time, we want to pursue our work in the home office and complete it in a focused and goal-oriented manner.
In this blog, we’ll give you 5 tips to help you work more focused and purposeful in your home office.
1. Use the freedom for yourself and your work.
Most people find the home office more relaxing! Better time management, the freedom to do something else in between or decide for yourself when and how to take breaks. These are all advantages, but they can also become disadvantages. The phrase “I work from home” associates precisely this relaxed work atmosphere. However, this relaxation can also have a counterproductive effect on the quality of your work. Therefore, we should always be reminded that working from home is just as much work as if it were done in the office.
Of course, the circumstances you face at home are different from those in the office. However, it will help you to do your work at home and not to be distracted by the possible freedoms we have in the home office.
Freedom does not mean free time! It means that you still have the same duties! You can manage your time more freely, but you still must complete the to-dos. One tip to manage your tasks more effectively is, for example, to turn off your cell phone or work from an isolated room. This doesn’t mean you have to completely isolate yourself in the home office. It’s about maintaining concentration and focus.
2. Routines
Building on the previous point, you can incorporate simple routines into your workday that will give you focus for your work. Since humans are creatures of habit, you can use routines to your advantage and steer yourself in the direction you want to go by using simple routines. In terms of work, these can be things designed to increase productivity and enjoyment of your work, such as a short daily meditation. Or even sticking to fixed work hours that you set in advance. This then includes taking consistent breaks. A short walk in the fresh air every day also gives you new energy and motivation that you can use at work.
3. Set partial goals and reward them
By setting low goals, you can keep your motivation and concentration high throughout the day. Think about rewards for achieving your subgoals. Measurable subgoals are more tangible for you and you have several small successes throughout the day. If you divide your working day into several stages, which you then master, this has a positive effect on your motivation. While working, you are more concentrated because you focus on reaching the next goal. Reward yourself with a cup of coffee or by spending time with the kids and family.
4. Not-to-do-list to avoid distractions
Distractions are a big part of many people who work in a home office. The temptations are huge. The TV and couch aren’t far away, the smartphone is next to the computer, and a friend is just texting to come over for half an hour. A not-to-do list can help you minimize your distractions. To do this, write down the things that distract you while you’re working and where you waste a lot of time. After the workday, reflect on how you were distracted at work. This will help you create the awareness to avoid being distracted. Over time, the habit will become ingrained, and you will eventually eliminate distractions altogether.
5. Avoid clutter
Clutter can be an absolute killer when it comes to maintaining focus and concentration at work. Quickly, you slip into the role addressed in point 4 because of it: to distractions.
The motto here is: less is more. If your desk is packed with letters, documents, pictures, etc., how can you concentrate on your work? You’ll quickly lose focus because you’re looking at pictures from last summer’s vacation or documents that have nothing to do with your work. Therefore, put only the things on your desk that you really need to do your work.
+ 1 bonus tip:
Better work-life balance with timeghost
We’ve mentioned it before in several blog articles. A missing work-life balance is a factor that can make our lives difficult, especially in a home office. Work and living room are only a few meters apart. Many people already work from their living room. That’s why it’s even more important to draw boundaries between personal and professional life.
We at timeghost recommend our software to people at this point. Through timeghost you always have an overview of your working hours, see which tasks you have worked on in which projects. The separation between work and private life can be mapped very well with timeghost. The software shows you how long you have been working and on what task and project. The separation of both areas of your life lets you approach your work with more focus.
Try it yourself and register in our project time tracking software 14 days for free.
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