81 Make yourself comfortable.
It is no secret that comfort brings the mind to a better state where concentration is at its finest. You simply cannot expect someone to come up with a breakthrough in uncomfortable situations. So get an ergonomic chair, wear a sweater vest to keep yourself warm or turn up the air conditioning. Anything that can be done to make you feel comfortable while working should be done without delay. It is for the best after all.
82 Stay “electronic.”
If you are a highly mobile worker who spends as much time working in the plane, you are much better off keeping electronic copies of all the files you need. The last thing you need is to shuffle through scores of papers while on a trip. Keeping soft copies of your paperwork also reduces the weight you have to bring along. If you must take down notes for a meeting, keep a small notebook handy. Otherwise, everything should be saved in a flash thumb drive. This may need some getting used to during the first few trips but it is well worth the adjustment you have to go through.
It is no secret that comfort brings the mind to a better state where concentration is at its finest. You simply cannot expect someone to come up with a breakthrough in uncomfortable situations. So get an ergonomic chair, wear a sweater vest to keep yourself warm or turn up the air conditioning. Anything that can be done to make you feel comfortable while working should be done without delay. It is for the best after all.
82 Stay “electronic.”
If you are a highly mobile worker who spends as much time working in the plane, you are much better off keeping electronic copies of all the files you need. The last thing you need is to shuffle through scores of papers while on a trip. Keeping soft copies of your paperwork also reduces the weight you have to bring along. If you must take down notes for a meeting, keep a small notebook handy. Otherwise, everything should be saved in a flash thumb drive. This may need some getting used to during the first few trips but it is well worth the adjustment you have to go through.
Things That Home-Based Workers Can Do
Modern advances in technology have created a new breed of employee – the home-based worker. As the name suggests, they work from the comforts of their own home more often than not as freelancers. New they may be but they also face a few challenges of their own – some unique, others all too familiar. This section is dedicated to tips on how to improve productivity at home offices.
83 Establish a routine.
More often than not, the main problem of working from home is procrastination. There are simply too many distractions lying about. Since you do not have a work schedule, you will have to come up with one yourself. Only by implementing a work schedule can you lessen procrastination and thus improve productivity from home. When the time for work comes, the brain can quickly shift into gear and you will feel more inclined to work. Do this everyday and you have yourself a classic work routine where everything that needs to be done is done as second nature.
84 Find out when you are most ready for work.
Home-based workers are not necessarily working in 9 to 5 shifts. There is no need to stick to this time frame either. Some choose to work in the morning while others wait until nightfall. The important thing to consider here is when you feel like working. It is one important advantage that working from home has. Use this to your own advantage by setting up your work schedule to coincide with the time frame you are most likely at your most productive. Just make sure that it is a fixed time frame you will stick to everyday.
Modern advances in technology have created a new breed of employee – the home-based worker. As the name suggests, they work from the comforts of their own home more often than not as freelancers. New they may be but they also face a few challenges of their own – some unique, others all too familiar. This section is dedicated to tips on how to improve productivity at home offices.
83 Establish a routine.
More often than not, the main problem of working from home is procrastination. There are simply too many distractions lying about. Since you do not have a work schedule, you will have to come up with one yourself. Only by implementing a work schedule can you lessen procrastination and thus improve productivity from home. When the time for work comes, the brain can quickly shift into gear and you will feel more inclined to work. Do this everyday and you have yourself a classic work routine where everything that needs to be done is done as second nature.
84 Find out when you are most ready for work.
Home-based workers are not necessarily working in 9 to 5 shifts. There is no need to stick to this time frame either. Some choose to work in the morning while others wait until nightfall. The important thing to consider here is when you feel like working. It is one important advantage that working from home has. Use this to your own advantage by setting up your work schedule to coincide with the time frame you are most likely at your most productive. Just make sure that it is a fixed time frame you will stick to everyday.
85 Plan ahead of work.
Home-based workers often get different workloads throughout the work
week. This makes it a bit more difficult to plan the day ahead. Nevertheless,
it is best to work based on a schedule even a tentative one. This way, you
have an idea on how to go about the day and lets you accomplish what
needs to done right off the bat. This makes procrastination and confusion
less likely. It also serves as your plan of action which you can always consult
whenever you seem to be lost and in need of guidance.
86 Itemize your workload.
Reading off the work for the day is often daunting and makes you want to not work at all. When this happens, you can always turn to an age-old solution – the to-do list. Having a to-do list lets you organize your work load and checking items off as you go is also encouraging. Online tools that can help you create such a list do exist. Still, you have the option of coming up with one from the ground up. To-do lists have been proven effective at clearing your head and preparing it for work so do not underestimate its power. It may as well be the answer you are looking for.
87 Tell friends and family that you are on work mode.
Working from home is a relatively new phenomenon that some people still fail to grasp. As such, some friends and family tend to downplay the seriousness of your work. “You are not even in an office” as they often quip. Unfortunately, this does not distractions from friends and family which is bad when you are trying to catch up on a deadline. When this happens, it is best to make them aware that you are working and cannot afford to be distracted. Explain to them that you are not free just because you are at home.
86 Itemize your workload.
Reading off the work for the day is often daunting and makes you want to not work at all. When this happens, you can always turn to an age-old solution – the to-do list. Having a to-do list lets you organize your work load and checking items off as you go is also encouraging. Online tools that can help you create such a list do exist. Still, you have the option of coming up with one from the ground up. To-do lists have been proven effective at clearing your head and preparing it for work so do not underestimate its power. It may as well be the answer you are looking for.
87 Tell friends and family that you are on work mode.
Working from home is a relatively new phenomenon that some people still fail to grasp. As such, some friends and family tend to downplay the seriousness of your work. “You are not even in an office” as they often quip. Unfortunately, this does not distractions from friends and family which is bad when you are trying to catch up on a deadline. When this happens, it is best to make them aware that you are working and cannot afford to be distracted. Explain to them that you are not free just because you are at home.
88 Focus but not on social networking sites.
In home offices where internet access is virtually unrestricted, distraction from such sites as Facebook and Twitter is all too common. When not needed, it is best to disconnect from your router or broadband connection. Creative tasks such as designing and writing will benefit greatly from this. You will be amazed at how much time you can recover when you start focusing on the work at hand. Once you are done, you will have all the time you want to start chatting and browsing the internet once again. For now, you have to focus.
89 Track your progress.
With no boss around, it is up to you to check on your own progress. Check the actual work you have done against the current time. Did you take longer or faster than you expected? This should give you a good idea if you are being productive or not. You can track your progress manually or with help from software called RescueTime. This is an online time-tracking software which tells its user how he or she spends his or her time on the computer. It really helps time your tasks so consider it as an investment for increased productivity and better output.
90 Set-up a home office or a separate space for work.
Working out of your bedroom or in front of the TV is no good especially if you want to be productive. As such, you want to devote a separate space for work to make a distinction between work and play. As much as possible, find a quiet space in your home where there will not be so much distraction. Get all the hardware you need and put it in one convenient place for quick and easy access. Having a home office is best but any spot where you can work quietly is good enough.
In home offices where internet access is virtually unrestricted, distraction from such sites as Facebook and Twitter is all too common. When not needed, it is best to disconnect from your router or broadband connection. Creative tasks such as designing and writing will benefit greatly from this. You will be amazed at how much time you can recover when you start focusing on the work at hand. Once you are done, you will have all the time you want to start chatting and browsing the internet once again. For now, you have to focus.
89 Track your progress.
With no boss around, it is up to you to check on your own progress. Check the actual work you have done against the current time. Did you take longer or faster than you expected? This should give you a good idea if you are being productive or not. You can track your progress manually or with help from software called RescueTime. This is an online time-tracking software which tells its user how he or she spends his or her time on the computer. It really helps time your tasks so consider it as an investment for increased productivity and better output.
90 Set-up a home office or a separate space for work.
Working out of your bedroom or in front of the TV is no good especially if you want to be productive. As such, you want to devote a separate space for work to make a distinction between work and play. As much as possible, find a quiet space in your home where there will not be so much distraction. Get all the hardware you need and put it in one convenient place for quick and easy access. Having a home office is best but any spot where you can work quietly is good enough.
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