6 Ideas for Home-Based Office that Increase Productivity

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Many people prefer home-based office over onerous 9 am-5 pm office jobs. The hectic routine of commuting and working late hours away from home was relieved by advancements in technology. Now people can make money and work from home. A big push in this situation remains the infamous COVID-19 viral disease.

The pandemic has led to many people losing their jobs. However, home-based employees did not only keep their jobs but are more in demand now due to their proficiency in IT skills. Innovative videocam websites like Skype, Zoom, MS Teams, etc., help such employees to get a better hold of their work and helps in reducing communication barriers.

However, as appealing as it sounds to employees, working from home can be harsh. Productivity decreases because of communication, logistic, and retention problems.

In such circumstances, employees, as well as employers, need to maintain a healthy working environment. To keep your performance and productivity high, here are some tips to
follow for your home-based office:

6 Ideas for Home-Based Office that Increase Productivity

1. Prepare a Schedule

Schedules and to-do lists make a huge difference in management and work organization, especially if you are loaded with a lot of them. There are so many ways you can use to ease your life while remaining productive.

● Journal
Keeping a journal is similar to keeping a record. Enlist all the work that is due and schedule it for different days of the week, making sure not to overburden yourself. This will keep you on track and maintain your productivity high, keeping your stress levels in check. Formalizing
your work will create a systematic way of controlling and managing it efficiently.

● To-Do List

To-do lists are another great way of keeping track of the work to be done. This is an efficient way of maintaining short-term duties. Make small to-do lists even if you have a lot of work; making more than one yet, shortlists are a more productive way. You can make a shortlist for the next two or three days, which will keep you from stressing about work as well as optimize your performance.

● Sticky Notes
A super easy and quick for managing work is division. Divide your schedule into small parts and use sticky notes for small tasks. This will improve your efficiency, reduce the workload,
and improve your productivity up to a great extent.

2. Pretend Like You Are In An Office

Working environments matter a lot, especially if you are working from home. If you are distracted by things during working hours, not only your performance will be forsaken, but
your time management and productivity will also decrease.

● Separate Working Space At Home
Having a calm disturbance-free working place is essential. If you work from home, make sure to set up your working essentials in a separate setting where other house members do not come and go often. If you are someone living in a dorm and have a roommate, you can simply set your working hours at the time of day when you have the room all to yourself.

● Relaxing Environment
Work can get stressful. There come days when you are loaded with work which can cause anxiety and work tension. To reduce the effect of excessive workloads, try to keep your working space relaxing and calming. Set up your work in a minimalistic setting, like a well-lit room with sufficient air and light supply. Keep a plant to have a refreshing vibe. Ensure a quiet and still setting, so you can focus better.

● Keep High Motivation
“Early to bed, early to rise.” It makes a vast deal of difference. Waking up early and having a daily dose of caffeine (coffee) can improve your daily performance. Dressing up can also put you in the mood for work. Psychology proves that setting up a workplace can optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of one’s work.

3. Taking Breaks Is Important

Constant working can lead to health problems which will affect your work and life.
Make sure to take a sufficient number of breaks while working to maintain your well-being and efficiency of work. Here are a few tips on how you can spend that break on improving your working efficiency and capacity:

● Get A Healthy Snack
Like a car requires fuel to run smoothly, the human body needs food to function. Healthy snacking can improve your health and hence make your performance better. Use nutritious food like nuts, seeds, fruits, homemade granola, salads, guacamole, etc.; add ingredients like chicken or tuna to make it more filling. Use mild snacking instead of heavy meals as it optimizes digestion.

● Hydrate
Always keep a bottle of water (preferably at room temperature). It helps concentrate on work by reducing stress and increasing hydration in your body. Your mood improves when you are hydrated, which leads to an optimal bodily condition for extended work hours.

● Go For a Walk or Exercise
Physical workout or exercising at home with workout equipment releases endorphins which make you feel good, and therefore, you will be able to work better.

● Nap
Napping is an effective way of regaining your lost energy. Take a 15-minute power nap to relax so you can resume your work in a better mood.

4. Know Your Productive Hours

Empirical research has shown that, on average, a human can work up to 8 hours efficiently and effectively. However, some people can work continuously for 8 hours at their
maximum capacity, while some require a break. Find your productive hours and utilize them wisely.
If you work better at night, schedule your working hours and take a 15 min break after every hour to optimize your performance. For an early bird who performs better during the day, set up your work accordingly.
Some people prefer working in intervals. They are usually the most productive as they divide the workload and keep their optimum at the surface for their finest performance.

5. A Not-So Home Office

A home-based office does not necessarily have to be at your home. A change of setting can help alleviate stress and improve bodily functions leading to a better working routine.

● Coffee Shop
Coffee shops like Starbucks, Barista and The Coffee House provide a great venue, especially for people with home-based office. They are entirely and well-lit, providing you with minimum distractions and a good internet connection.

● Libraries
Libraries are nice and quiet places that are an ideal setting for working. You can easily maintain concentration and focus. If your job is research-related, you can easily find relevant material in a library to help you out. Social conformity places an essential role in this setting as people in libraries are usually working with a complete focus which would influence you (psychologically) to work similarly.

● Public Lounges
Public lounges are unique places for people to interact with each other. Similar to a club, they offer a site for socializing and working in an open setting. Taking your work to a public
lounge will help you get out of your work cubicle and let you escape the monotony of life while performing your duties. Just make sure that your supplies’ packaging is adequate to withstand the moving-here-and-there maneuver.

● Parks and Gardens
Working in the open air can bump your working capacity up a notch. The fresh air can not only contribute to a refreshing working environment but also keep you stress-free with all the greenery around you with the sound of a busy life.

6. Personalizing the Setting

A personalized setting can change your whole mood. Work will start to seem like a ‘fun job’ which will make you a lot more productive than you used to be. A work environment that reflects your personality would make a lot of (positive) differences in your working routine.

• Add colors and textures that are soothing to keep your stress levels low. You can add your favorite themes, including movies, TV shows, and games. It will work out correctly. The more comfortable the setting you make, the more likely you would work efficiently in it.
• Feeling alienated in your home-office can affect your work. Include family portraits, photos of friends, yourself, or old memories of trips and tours.
• Pets are known to make you feel better, and let us be honest, who does not want a fuzzy little doggo hug in the middle of work? You can add a small space for your pet by keeping its bed and food bowl near your table.
• Keep things minimal. Overdoing can often make your setting overwhelming. Keeping the space simple will help you focus on your work better.
• Display your collections or light a scented candle on the shelf to further improve the aesthetics of the space. This will help you feel more relaxed and conserve energy at work.