5 Habits That Will Instantly Make You a More Productive Remote Worker

The flexibility that comes with working from the comfort of your room is an absolute dream! You decide when you want to start your day at whatever time you choose, work at your own pace, and have no boss constantly looking over your shoulder, plus you hardly have to leave your couch!

But alas, every rose has its thorns and the thorns that come with being a remote worker are quite prickly. Whether you’re an employer or employee who’s working from home, you’ll find that little things like procrastination, household distractions, lack of organization, and poor time management among others can overtime affect your productivity.

Luckily, there are easily adoptable remote work tips and habits you can incorporate into your work day to become productive.

1. Maintain a Healthy Sleep Routine 

Just because you don’t have to get to the office before 8 am doesn’t mean you should sleep at 5 am and wake up at noon. Statistics show that adults who sleep for 7 to 8 hours a night have better sleep quality and better health and this in turn boosts mood, creativity, and motivation to work. Adults with irregular and poor sleeping patterns, however, wind up feeling tired most of the time, having a lack of focus, and making mistakes often. Having a good night rest makes you ready for the work day ahead and this boosts your productivity. 

2. Create a Work Space 

Wouldn’t it be bizarre if everyone decided to leave their kitchens and start making lunch in their bedrooms? It’s crazy to consider doing that because we’ve all come to terms with the fact that the kitchen is dedicated to the preparation of food while the bedroom is dedicated to sleep. Similarly, having a room or space in your home set aside for remote work will instantly make you more productive by putting you in work mode. Setting up your computer and other devices in your workspace can help make the space look and feel as professional as possible. 

3. Limit Distractions 

You’re working out of an office— you’re bound to run into distractions of various types! It could be that Netflix show you promised yourself you’d only watch for 5 minutes but you end up glued to it for a little over two hours, it could be your family members trooping in and out of your workspace or even random phone calls from friends and with no boss in sight to watch you, you waste the time that could have been used to work talking on the phone. To be as productive as possible, limit distractions on your phone with the Do Not Disturb setting or turning off notifications or just keeping your phone out of plain sight! Set clear boundaries with family and friends by letting them know specific times you’ll be free and the times you’ll be busy working. You just need to set that discipline for yourself.

4. Plan Work Ahead 

Planning your work ahead of time gives your work focus and direction. It increases productivity as a remote worker and reduces the overwhelming feeling of wondering what to do next. Before starting the workday, list out all the tasks you have to do in order of how they should be done. This enables a seamless flow of work from one task to the next. If you feel you aren’t good at planning or making to-do lists, make use of user-friendly applications such as Trello, Asana, or Notion with features that assist you in planning, organizing, managing, and celebrating the completion of daily tasks.  

5. Avoid Multitasking

This one may seem a tad controversial but avoid multitasking at all costs! Multitasking may give the impression that you’re doing more in less time and being more productive but in actuality, you’re not able to give each task the focus and attention it needs and you end up producing lower-quality services than you would have if you’d just taken the time and concentrated on one. Multitasking also makes you tired faster as you shuffle between tasks.

Remote work continues to be highly sought after as companies are realizing the many advantages they stand to gain by hiring workers from home. This makes it very essential for remote workers to cultivate habits that will make them as productive as possible. Whether it’s by saying ‘no’ to Netflix and keeping your phone out of sight while you work, fixing all your attention on completing a singular task within a certain time frame, or using Trello to help you create a to-do list, you can make your workday focus driven and maintain a healthy work-life balance. 

A productive day for a remote worker shouldn’t be about how much work has been done but rather it should be about forming habits over time that will consistently lead to increasing work satisfaction. Include these habits into your workday and watch as you become a more productive remote worker!