Enjoy this week’s guest post from Julia Briggs for solutions to 5 productivity roadblocks you may be facing if you work from home.
Working from home can be a great opportunity to not only have a more flexible schedule but also work in a more comfortable environment. While this sounds wonderful, it’s not always as straightforward as it seems.
Working from home can potentially be a real problem for your productivity, for a number of different reasons. There are several “roadblocks” that can crop up and stop you from being as productive as you’d like to be and getting those important tasks done.
Here are five potential roadblocks to keep an eye out for and some advice on how to remove them from your work at home environment.
Roadblock 1: Distractions
Your carefully planned day can be ruined by a lot of different distractions. You may not even realize it, but your home environment is one big distraction in itself. This can negatively impact your productivity, the standard of your work and also your focus.
If the people you live with are dependents, you’ll be constantly worrying about attending to your children or maybe another family member that lives with you. Pets might howl until they are given attention, which means you never get anything done. Add to that the TV blaring, your phone ringing, the Amazon guy delivering your packages, all of which will all interrupt your workflow and contribute to a recipe for not achieving anything at all.
The solution: Having a dedicated home office can help with a lot of these issues. Having a dedicated space where you can shut out distractions helps you get things done and lets other members of the household know you are busy working. If necessary, shut the door or at least set ‘working hours’ where the rest of the family know you’re unavailable to them unless it’s an urgent matter.
Roadblock 2: Inconsistent work schedule
One of the biggest problems with working from home is that it can be quite difficult to establish a consistent work schedule. Real-life can get in the way where you end up running errands all morning, interrupt your day halfway to do some cleaning, or visitors drop by, etc.
Not to mention full days that you skip because you book in other things. You probably never end up making up for them, or you make up for that time during the weekend, or at night when you were hoping to relax or have quality family time.
One of the big perks of working remotely is of course that it usually gives you greater liberty and flexibility when it comes to your schedule. The ability to work on your own schedule can definitely be considered an advantage.
However, this advantage can wreak havoc with your productivity. In the absence of the structure and discipline of a regular, traditional work schedule and setting, you may find that your work hours are scattered all over the place haphazardly or you just aren’t focused when you need to be.
The solution: Your work hours don’t need to respect “traditional” work hours (i.e. 9 to 5) but setting yourself a consistent work schedule or at least tasks and goals for the day or week can do wonders for your overall productivity.
Roadblock 3: Wrong frame of mind
This is particularly difficult to overcome when you first start working at home but in short, when you’re at home, you switch into “home mode”. That means you’re relaxed, distracted, and generally not focusing on work. You may not be aware of this unless you’ve experienced it, but there is a definite shift in your mood and frame of mind between home and work.
A lot of people benefit from the commute and professional dress code because it prepares them to focus solely on work for the next 8 or 9 hours.
Both having a dedicated workspace and some type of routine can help you combat this by helping you get into “work mode.”
The solution: Try to implement some changes into your mentality or routine that will help you switch into “work mode”. That can consist of putting on “real” clothes, walking down the hall into the room you designated as your office or keeping a strict schedule or routine. It’s all in the mindset.
Roadblock 4: Substandard internet or equipment
When you work in a traditional office, you rarely have to worry about these things and if there is an issue, there is usually someone to escalate it to. Keep in mind your technology set up can severely sabotage your productivity.
Think about all the times your laptop took a long time to turn on, or your internet was running slowly. Do you have any idea how much time you wasted trying to get your old printer to work?
If you’ve let your security subscription lapse and are targeted by hackers or there is a data breach – it could ruin you if you’re a small business or create serious security issues for both you and the company you work for.
The solution: The latest laptop and the top tier internet package can certainly be expensive but they are often worthwhile investments. The time you waste trying to get these to work or waiting on your local IT repairman is time you could be spending working and making money.
Roadblock 5: Uninspiring surroundings
Not all office spaces are exciting or inspiring. In fact, one reason you’re probably pleased to be working at home is you get to leave that bland cubicle behind. Your working environment certainly impacts your productivity, motivation, and creativity.
At home your surroundings are familiar. They are also not necessarily thought out for work purposes, but the exact opposite. In short, a home designed for general comfort and everyday living is not going to always be a suitable or inspiring work environment.
The solution: Creating a home office is a good idea but not everyone has that luxury. No matter your circumstances, you can make positive changes to your workspace such as setting your desk in front of a window, giving your walls a coat of paint, putting up some inspiring wall art and setting up good lighting.
Bottom line
If you’ve never given working from home a try before, it can sound extremely appealing. After all, you’re in a comfortable environment and there is no commute, meetings, or water cooler chat to distract you.
However, it turns out that there are several potential productivity problems at home. From faulty devices to haphazard working hours and plenty of distractions, a home office can be as frustrating as working in a regular office.
Thankfully, there are ways to improve the situation and even remove these productivity roadblocks from your home office completely.
Why not start by making just one of these changes and see how much more you can get done in your day?
Julia is a writer and blogger who is based at home. She knows how fantastic it can be, but also the importance of setting up a structure that works for you personally. She enjoys working at home, digital marketing, blogging and also gadgets.
The post The 5 Productivity Roadblocks to Remove From Your Home Office appeared first on Melissa Forziat Events and Marketing.