If you’ve been working from home during the pandemic, you know how many distractions can interrupt your productivity flow during the day. From to-do list items around the house to kids who need help with schoolwork, daily household rigors can rob you of your valuable time and concentration.
Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to easily master all forms of distraction — whether personal or technological — as you try to remain productive throughout your workday.
Take healthy breaks
It’s easy to become so focused on your work that you forget to go to the bathroom, much less eat or take a break to get some much-needed exercise. As you’re teleworking from home, try to schedule some “me” time at intervals throughout the day. Getting outdoors for a bit is always a great idea; listening to the birds singing and gazing on some beautiful plants can bring some newfound serenity.
A short walk can get your blood pumping and can even help you work out problems you’ve been mulling over. If you don’t feel like a walk, consider taking your lunch indoors as you breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the sunshine. You just may find yourself feeling fully refreshed as you head back to your desk for your afternoon work session.
Set aside space for work only
Many people who telework from home often find themselves using their laptop computers in all sorts of spots — including on the bed, on the couch and at the kitchen table. But working anywhere and everywhere can have its disadvantages, including not being able to find supplies easily when you need them.
In addition, you need many of those spaces for other purposes — like eating. Moving your laptop, papers and other supplies to another location and then moving them back again when you’re done with your meal can become tiresome very quickly. Working in a high-traffic area of your home is never a good idea, because you may find yourself continually distracted.
Limit challenging work to specific times
No matter your job, some tasks are more challenging than others — and require more focused concentration. One big advantage of working for home, at least for most people, is increased flexibility in determining when the schedule certain tasks. If you’re not on a tight deadline, you can decide to save your most difficult work for times of day when you tend to be at your best.
Regardless of whether you telework or work out of a traditional office, meetings, video conferences, phone calls and online chats can eat up significant portions of your day — leaving little time to get focused work done. If you can schedule your communications for certain times of day — say, in the hour or two after lunch — you can block off chunks of time elsewhere in your day to stay focused.
In his book “Deep Work,” author Cal Newport explains the benefits of blocking off uninterrupted chunks of time. When we try to multitask — or do multiple things at once — we may think we can concentrate on each one individually. However, research has found that we actually must switch between the tasks, thus wasting time in our teleworking day.
Whatever time of day you’re able to fit it in, though, staying connected with colleagues is vitally important to avoid feeling isolated.
Look for additional ways to connect
Staying connected is, indeed, so important that most people can benefit from seeking additional means of communicating with co-workers. Especially if you’re part of a team in your work, you’ll want to make sure that you communicate frequently to stay in the know and to ensure that superiors understand the work you’re doing from home.
Using a chat app like Slack or Microsoft Teams provides an easy way to seek feedback on your work or ask questions when necessary. If you perform any work as a group, you’ll find such apps vital to staying productive.
The longer you telework from home, the more you’ll find solutions to common distractions. By creating a space just for your work, engaging with colleagues as often as possible, and setting aside time for challenging tasks, you can stay productive as you enjoy the benefits of remote work.