How to stay productive when working from home

Do you find it difficult to work from home? How organised are you? How well can you concentrate? And what about feeling disconnected from your colleagues?

Traditional workplaces can naturally provide things such as a daily routine, regular contact with colleagues and a clearer separation between work and home. When you work remotely, you may need to create some of that structure for yourself.

For many people, remote and hybrid working have become a normal part of working life. While there are many benefits, working from home also brings its own challenges. Here are some tips to help you get the best from it.

Set up your environment

Creating a dedicated workspace can make a real difference to your productivity and wellbeing.

• Create a pleasant workspace for yourself, with natural light if you have it, or sufficient lighting over your desk.
• Ensure everything you need is close by so you don't have to keep moving between rooms, and make sure you have somewhere suitable for confidential items.
  If there are others at home while you're working, make them aware that this is your workspace and you'll need some quiet time to concentrate. This is, of course, more difficult if you have young children or other caring responsibilities, so you may need to adapt your working arrangements accordingly.
• Make your workspace comfortable, and somewhere you'll enjoy spending time. Add a plant or some photographs if you wish.

Give your day a structure

It helps to have a framework for your day, for example:

• A regular time to get up and get ready for work.
• A morning routine, such as breakfast, organising things at home and starting work by a set time.
• Planned breaks for morning coffee, lunch and the afternoon.
• A regular time to speak to your manager or colleagues.
• Dedicated times to speak to customers, clients or suppliers.
• A clear time to sign off and finish your working day.

Go for your goals

Having clear priorities can help when you're working away from your manager and colleagues.

• Make a list of your short-, medium- and long-term goals, together with target dates.
• Be clear about your goals for the week ahead and, where appropriate, discuss them with your manager.
• Set clear, manageable goals for each day.
• List the tasks needed to achieve each goal.
• Schedule time in your diary to complete those tasks.
• Be a top time manager
• Decide when you need to check emails and messages, taking into account the expectations of your role.
• Estimate how long each task is likely to take.
  Organise your day so that your priorities are completed first.
• At the end of each day, prepare your to-do list for tomorrow.
• Use a planner or digital calendar to organise your medium- and long-term goals.

Keep connected

Working away from your manager, colleagues or wider team makes it even more important to stay connected.

Depending on how your team works, this might include:

• A daily check-in with your team to plan the day and share information.
• Regular scheduled meetings by phone or video.
• Informal conversations to ask for help, offer support or share ideas.
• Virtual coffee chats with colleagues.
• A daily check-out to update one another on progress and share information.

These interactions can also help create structure throughout the working day.

Bringing it all together

Creating routines and boundaries can make working from home easier to manage. It can also help to be clear about your boundaries and develop time-management habits that work for you.

If you're finding it difficult to balance working from home with the rest of your life, consider speaking to a professional life coach. A coach can give you space to explore what's making working from home difficult and consider practical strategies around routines, boundaries, motivation and work-life balance.