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Resilience Series – So, How Do I Increase Productivity While Working From Home?

ICC June 9, 2020 0 Comments

By: Jennifer McKune

It might seem like a while ago that we discussed how to
adjust to working at home, it was slightly over two months, the time has flown
by!  Crazy right!?! I believe we have all
adjusted, for the most part, to working at home, probably just in time for us
to come back to the office.  But if that
isn’t the case and you are still working from home, let’s discuss tips on how
to increase your productivity. 

  • Mindful about communication avenues.
    • Always be mindful of how you are communicating
      things whether it’s an update or asking a question, you need to know what kind
      of communications are effective to make yourself the most productive.  While instant messaging or emailing may be
      appropriate and effective with some people or in some situations, other times
      they can make things less productive. Think about this: instant messaging or
      emailing might feel quick and easy, but the amount of time it takes to
      type/craft, make sure tone or language isn’t misunderstood, and wait for a
      response it would have been easier to pick up the phone to have a quick conversation
      and get the answer or update you needs faster. 
      Just be mindful how you communicate when it comes to increasing your
      productivity.
  • Create structure.
    • Whether or not you like schedule everything out or
      you like to wing it, creating even a little structure in your schedule can help
      you increase your productivity.  Through
      prioritizing and structuring your calendar, accordingly, you can help your
      brain focus on one thing at a time as much as possible, things will come up.  If, however, you are looking down a long list
      of To-Do’s and a whole day to complete them, you may find yourself looking at
      all the squirrels.  By creating structure
      and assigning times to different tasks can allow your brain to only focus on
      the task at hand and becoming more productive. 
  • Allow time to re-focus.
    • You may think that ‘Hey, I don’t have a commute
      anymore and I work more hours a day therefore, I’m already very productive!’  Careful with idea, just because you work
      longer doesn’t mean you are more productive.  Be sure to take breaks and allow yourself to
      re-focus.  This is especially true when
      you are stuck on a problem, walk away, and come back to it when you have a had
      break from it and can re-focus.  While
      create your structure from the last bullet, make sure you schedule a break or
      two!  Giving yourself a break, allows you
      to come back more refreshed and more productive.
  • Create space.
    • This will look different for everybody but it’s
      important when it comes to increasing your productivity. Whether you’re an extrovert
      at home working with kids stuck to your hip or an introvert trying to make a
      tiny apartment a workable environment with roommates, we all need space to
      think and focus.  And no matter how much
      you claim to be a multi-tasker, your brain just isn’t wired that way, so in
      order for us to increase our productivity we need to get rid of the
      distractions for at least part of the time and create space to think and
      focus.  That way you don’t have to
      re-read this paragraph five times to understand what I’m saying.  Get creative about making the space you need
      to be distraction free: consider working at non-business hours (early morning
      or late nights) to ensure you have space to think and focus, consider collaborating
      with your roommate’s schedule to ensure there is time where nobody is on the
      phone and both of you have space to think and focus, and like mentioned before
      with some structure in your calendar you can also create that space you need to
      think and focus.

I hope you find these tips to be helpful as we can become
more productive at home.  What additional
tips and tricks have you learned that you would like to share? Add them to the
comment section below.

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