We’re living in 2019 and the whole trend of working from home is well-accepted by most corporates today. And why wouldn’t it be? It helps us save on travel time, spares us the pain of having to get dressed early in the morning and is a great way to be more relaxed while you are performing your professional commitments. And the best part about working from home is that it affords professionals something that is becoming increasingly rare these days: work-life balance!
The Work From Home Scene In India
In the metros, this is almost an unavoidable trend. If you consider Bangalore alone, the sheer amount of traffic jams would discourage anyone from ever stepping out of their homes. Cities that have a higher number of IT offices are probably where the work-from-home trend is more rampant. And most companies do permit a standard number of work-from-home days each month.
In India, professionals opting for work-from-home usually make themselves available online during the working hours. Everything else pretty much remains the same. Barring the only difference that the person isn’t physically present in the office, everything else is pretty much the same in terms of volume and quality of work.
The Downside Of Working From Home
As per recent studies, every single person had only one complaint about working from home. And that is more distractions when compared to an office environment. It makes sense. If you are at home, there are a plethora of factors that could easily distract you. Professionals who have young children and opt to work from home to divide their time between childcare and their jobs have raised this point more so than the others. Not that it is a bad thing to be distracted by pressing reasons at home. It’s just that in the midst of all these distractions, your productivity might take a bad hit.
So if you are working from home, it may take you much longer to complete a task that you would otherwise do much faster in an office environment. You may also be more prone to errors when there are a million distractions around you.
How To Be More Productive When Working From Home
This probably is the most trending question of the year ( we’re kidding). But jokes aside, yes, this is a question that a million professionals across the world ponder about. And thankfully, we have some solutions. So the answer to the billion-dollar question of whether working from home can be more productive than working in an office is a big fat YES!
Here are some things you can try to increase productivity while working from your home office.
1. Have a dedicated spot
This helps a lot. Over time, your brain gets trained to enter work-mode the moment you sit down in your home office. IF you work on your bed one day, the couch the next and then the dining room in another day, it might not only be inconvenient, you’ll be met with a fresh set of distractions each day.
Pic a spot in your home that is least noisy and well removed from the busiest part of the home ( which is usually the living room or the dining room). If you have a small apartment, try to set up dividers. Curtain dividers will do. No need to get anything super expensive or fancy.
2 The right set up
If you have the budget for it, set up a proper office at home. A basic one will do. A sturdy study desk, an ergonomic office chair, and one storage option to file things away neatly is all you need. Check out Guarented’s range of office furniture for some inspiration and budget-friendly options.
And like we mentioned, your brain will get trained to turn on the work mode the moment you sit down at your home workspace. This automatically boosts productivity in some people.
3. Brain Breaks
Since you are anyway setting up your home office, use this opportunity to personalize this space and make it as motivational as you can. Hang up posters with info that’s work-related, or general inspirational words or even pictures that are close to your heart.
Some people also recommend indulging in a hobby between breaks. However, to prevent yourself from ‘overindulging’, you need to keep them handy BUT out of sight. Like tuck your musical instrument or your puzzles and other hobby items in a drawer in your desk.
4. Reduce the noise
This is probably the hardest to do especially if you are working in a home with young kids and pets around. The best way to cut out the noise would be to lock yourself in a room. But that won’t always work if you’re also looking after the children and pets. The other option would be to wear headphones. That should cancel out some noise and afford a more quiet working environment. This is something that works in office environments too if you know what we’re saying ;). Headphones are great to block out verbose colleagues.
5. Declutter
And last but not least, keep things tidy. Declutter often and thoroughly. Old pens, documents, stationery and all of it must go immediately. You’d be surprised how great you feel after you’ve chucked unused things. Make it a point to Kon Marie your workspace every two weeks.
Got More Tips?
Share them with us in the comments below and help out all the professionals who work from home!