Do you live in a home filled with family members or roommates? If so, you likely find it a little difficult to work from home and be productive. For many remote workers, opportunities to conduct daily job-related activities outside of the traditional office make for very productive work days. For many others, however, homes full of distractions make the completion of tasks a huge challenge. What can be done to overcome interruptions at home?
Here are four steps to becoming the most productive at-home worker ever:
1. Create a morning routine and stick to it.
It’s easy to take a lackadaisical approach to work when you don’t have an office to report into. However, it doesn’t help your productivity when you haphazardly approach each day of work. It’s important to be dependable and organized. Even though you may not work alongside co-workers, it doesn’t mean no one is relying on you to do your part. Creating and sticking to a morning routine means that your colleagues, co-workers and clients can depend on you to be available throughout each work day.
“Starting your day when working from home can be challenging,” acknowledges MoreBusiness.com, “Especially when you’re tempted to work from the comfort of your bed, but getting up and performing a daily morning routine can help build solid habits and get you in the right mindset to work.”
2. Take scheduled breaks.
In some cases, you can be your own worst distraction. We’re talking about burnout here. It’s understandable that some work-from-home professionals like to zip through their days in order to get as much free time in the afternoons and evenings as possible. But is that truly the most productive way to handle your professional responsibilities? Working without taking a break can cause your mind to get overwhelmed and frazzled. Taking breaks actually helps you to maintain focus.
“The most common misconception about remote work is that it enables slackers,” points out Brittany Harker Martin on TheConversation.com, “Successful remote workers are driven by the outcomes they are trying to deliver, and research shows they are not always exemplars of work-life balance. Taking scheduled breaks not only keeps your mind fresh, but it also signals to others that wellness is important.”
3. Keep your phone at a distance.
Sometimes, it’s not family members who distract us. We see our phones flash and immediately become intrigued to pick them up. The notifications we get on our phones can often take our attention away from the work we’re doing. Although many of us may need our phones for work, those who do not should actually keep their phones in another room.
“As weird as it may feel to be without your phone, these little devices are one of the biggest reasons for distraction at work,” insists MoreBusiness.com, “If you can leave it in another room for at least a few hours at a time, you’ll be able to zone in on the work you’re doing without things like social media notifications stealing your attention away.”
4. Secure a Virtual Terminals service.
With Unity Payments’ Virtual Terminals, you can transform your computer or smartphone into a full-fledged credit card terminal. That way, you can process credit card and debit card payments in-person, online or on the road! To learn more, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca.