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Getting Focused While Working From Home

Getting Focused While Working From Home

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written on March 2019 by Marek Grygier

When working from home it can sometimes be easy to get distracted. You may share the space with other people such as family or roommates, end up watching TV or spend too much time on your phone. Without having the pressures of an office space or anyone else to keep you in check, you only have yourself and your willpower to make sure you stay on track. We’ve put together then some tips and tricks to help you stay focussed whilst working from home.

How to arrange your working space

Making sure that your working space is tidy and distraction free is important to staying focussed. Try not to position yourself near anything that could impact your workflow, such as a TV or a favorite piece of tech. Also, try working from a room that you don’t associate with relaxing and unwinding. It can be difficult to switch into work mode and focus. This can also happen in reverse, making it difficult to relax when you finally finish. It’s also a good idea to make sure that everything you need for work is at hand and available from your deskspace.

Getting focused while working from home

Avoiding disturbances from friends and family

Not everyone has an empty house when working from home. You may have family, friends or housemates who share the same space as you. It’s important then to communicate that you need to set some boundaries when working. Letting them know in a polite way that you cannot be disturbed whilst working is often enough for the message to get across. If possible try and work in a room that no one else uses during your working hours. Sometimes it may be impossible to completely stop all distractions. Consider then getting some noise cancelling headphones or figuring out the best working hours to avoid such disturbances. We’re even running a competition for the upcoming Global Work from Home Day, where you can win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless headphones! Check out more details at the end of the article.

Stay off social media

This one is fairly obvious! Studies show that social media can reduce your productivity by 13% over the day and lead to large reductions in focus.1 Try to keep your phone out of reach, or even try logging out of social media when trying to complete important work. This could also be done for email too. Your inbox doesn’t need constantly checking, and most emails aren’t so urgent that they can’t wait a couple of hours. Getting into the habit of resisting the urge to check your socials is great for improving focus. You can even download apps that help mute your social media, like justmuteit and cold turkey.

Create a schedule

You’re much less likely to get distracted when you set boundaries and expectations on how long you’ll work for and when you’ll get a break. This can be difficult when working from home though. If you have certain times for breaks and a set time for the end of your working day, it’s easier to stay motivated within that time. A busy day without a set finishing time can make focussing difficult.

Take a break to get some exercise

Getting yourself up and active can help improve focus when you return back to work. It could be a full-on workout, or perhaps even just a walk around the block. Getting your 10,000 steps a day has been linked with improved cognitive performance2, and can easily be tracked with most smartphones nowadays. Make sure to try and get some fresh air too. Working from home can often mean that you don’t leave the house so often, so take the opportunity to go outside. It will do wonders for your focus and concentration.

Getting focused while working from home

More tips and tricks on working from home

Making sure you keep your focus is so important when trying to produce your best quality work from home. With the house being full of distractions, it’s not always so easy to do. But by following the tips given above you should be well on your way to staying focussed.

This 10th of April we have the first Global Work From Home Day for employers and employees. You’ll be able to learn more about flexibility in your job and remote work in general. Sign up for the event and receive tips, tricks, help and curated playlists from the Remote-how team: >www.workfromhomeday.org<. Share a picture with #WorkFromHomeDay for the chance to also win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones or a Rain Design mStand360 Laptop Stand!

1https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/social-media-affecting-workplace-productivity-report/story/238716.html

2https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/full/10.2217/ahe.13.20

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