The realization that working from home will simply be the norm for office jobs is probably setting it about now. While you might have been getting away with the old “laptop on the couch” thing at first, you might notice that gets old pretty fast. If you’re looking to up your work from home game, you’ve come to the right place.
Here are some of the biggest tips for working from home that you might have never even considered.
Keep Your Office Work-Only
Organize your space, and get your home office together. If you don’t have a home office, get one. Clear a room, get a desk and a chair, and set up your work files in there. The easiest way to lose productivity while working at home is by being distracted by home stuff while you’re trying to do work stuff. This is why an office with a narrow focus on work, exclusively, is such a huge help.
Clear your office of potential distractions. You won’t need a TV or video games in your work office. Some posters, a few knickknacks, and maybe a snack or two wouldn’t be out of order. But a full entertainment system, or your favorite books, might be a bit too tempting to keep within reach while you’re working.
Get a Second Monitor
A second monitor is a huge boost to your productivity. You can have your team’s chat on one screen and your work on another. Or, you can continue working even during meetings, without looking like you’re blowing your co-workers off. The possibilities a second monitor opens up are endless.
A second monitor is the sort of thing you don’t know you’re missing until you have it. It’s like realizing you’ve got a third eye you’ve kept closed your whole life. Once you see how much it opens up for you, you’ll never want to go back to working with just one monitor.
Create a Routine that You Stick to
Treat your job like a job, even if you’re doing it from home. Wake up on time, make breakfast, and get ready for work. When you “clock in,” make it work time. Keep your home stuff out of your workspace and focus on staying productive and getting it done.
If you let home stuff bleed over into work, you’re just begging for work stuff to bleed over into the home.
When you have a hard line between your home and work life, it makes managing working from home much easier. Trust us on this one: these tips will make your work life significantly more enjoyable.
