Working from home is now becoming a norm, and while remote work is all fun & games, it comes with its own challenges. If you’re new to the concept, you may find it even harder to maintain a work-life balance resulting in stress and unproductivity. Here are our tips for supercharging your productivity while working from home:

1. Plans are nothing; planning is everything.

For people who operate with remote work arrangements, it can be pretty challenging to stay productive and focused throughout the day. Planning out the entire week or even just the day ahead already puts you in a proactive mode and you’ll feel more confident about your working schedule, and motivated to finish your goals for the day!

2. Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock!

Time is money. Setting up timers for certain tasks can help you to monitor your own pace; this way you can manage your time more effectively and prioritize the more important tasks on your to-do lists. This can also give you the push you need to finish a project within a time frame, rather than becoming idle at home.

3. Accountability Buddy

In a remote work environment, the absence of an authoritative figure is both a blessing and a curse; a curse because since there’s no one to essentially report to, you might become too comfortable. We suggest an ‘Accountability Buddy’ who can either be a sibling or a friend who checks up with you regularly, about the progress of your work. This helps you to stay on track and complete your goals because of the accountability factor.

4. Consistency is Key!

Human beings are creatures of routine. Staying consistent leads to habits and these habits eventually positively impact your productivity and performance. If you are working from home and feel like you’re not being productive enough, you have to have a routine set for weekdays so you are wired to work at a specific time.

5. Have a Separate Working Nook.

The essay ‘A Room of One’s Own’ is celebrated as a classic to date because it brings up a great point – you need a space of your own, especially if you’re operating from home. Creating the right environment is essential for productivity as it eliminates distractions and helps you to focus, so avoid working from bed (no matter how great the temptation!)

6. Food is Fuel.

Take advantage of working from home by preparing something fresh and healthy for yourself to eat throughout the day. Working on an empty stomach will reflect on your work so eat well, and drink water regularly.

7. Don’t Overwork.

After you’ve officially completed your allocated hours for the day, the urge to work on a particular project for an hour longer may be tempting, but it can lead you down a slippery slope. Recognize that your body and mind need to decompress and rest, so shelf the task for another day and don’t fall into a pattern of overworking.

8. Disconnect to reconnect!

Turn this into your mantra – as a working individual, you need to understand the importance of taking short breaks during work. It boosts your creative juices and productivity once you refresh for maybe 10-15 minutes and then step back into work. You’ll feel more energized, and breaks can provide you with an outlet for mundane or difficult things.

9. Pat Yourself on the Back!

Did you get through an entire day of working from home and fulfilled all or most of your goals? It’s time to reward yourself and give credit where it’s due. Binge-watch your favorite show, have a snack, go on a shopping spree – whatever you need to do to enjoy yourself because that’ll motivate you to come back tomorrow and do an even better job than before!