With flexible working on the rise, more and more employees are choosing to clock in from the comfort of their own homes. How do you make sure you’re working productively?

1. How do you stay productive
when working from home?
With flexible working on the rise, more and more employees are choosing to clock in from
the comfort of their own homes. How do you make sure you’re working productively?

2. Create a
workspace
The problem with working from
home versus being in the office is
you no longer have a desk
provided for you.
Working on the sofa won’t give
you the right mentality – make
sure to create your own
workstation and pay attention to
things like posture, because this
desk needs to be comfortable for
long hours.

3. Get
work-ready
It’s not enough to roll out
of bed and get started – a
good attitude to work
starts with treating it like a
day in the office.
It will make you more
productive to get up, get
coffee, shower and dress,
and change your mentality
from “at home” to “at
work”.

4. Outline your tasks
Making to-do lists isn’t an
exclusively working-from-home
tip – you should always have a
clear list of priorities and time
frames in which to get things
done.
Apps like Asana or Wunderlist
make it easy to assign tasks, set
importance and dates and check
things off. If you tend to put
things off, you can set deadlines
with your supervisor.

5. Communicate
Working from home can be
isolating, and make you feel
like you’re no longer part of a
team.
It can also highlight tensions
and make the communication
you do have seem strained.
Make sure you keep in contact
through Instant Messaging,
video conferencing and online
collaboration.

6. Have work
hours
Flexible working tends to
mean workers lose track of
time – they don’t focus 9-5
and then aren’t able to let
go at the end of the day.
To keep yourself focused, set
yourself regular work hours.
Make it clear you’re on the
job at that time and don’t
even check email outside of
that time – checking email is
one of the biggest time
wasters.

7. Take a break
Now that you’ve got your
working hours set, make
sure that when it comes to
break you do actually take a
break.
Get up, move around, eat
away from the computer,
have a conversation – but
for the sake of your health
and sanity, make sure it is a
real break.

8. Know yourself
Flexible working often
encourages us to put off
things that are hard, take
breaks, go slow over
projects we don’t enjoy.
Don’t let yourself lose hold
of what you’re doing –
browsing the internet can
get you off task, so even if
you’re only making small
steps make sure you’re
moving forward.

9. Get some quiet
Being at home is great – you
can catch up on the laundry,
spend time with the kids…
If this is your approach to
working from home, it’s time
to stop.
To get your best work done
you need to minimise
distractions and keep things
quiet. Let your family know
that during work hours
you’re not available.

10. Step away from
the screen
There are some fantastic ways
to stay in touch online – IM,
social collaboration, etc. – but
don’t let this be your only
communication.
You need to make sure you
have conversations with co-
workers over the phone and
even pop into the office
occasionally if possible.

11. Finish your
working day
The biggest danger when it
comes to flexible working? Never
signing off.
Make sure that you stick to set
hours, take tech-free breaks, and
then let go of the work at the
end of the day.
The majority of people get to go home at the end of the day. When work is
in your home, it’s important to set defined times when you’re going to
work, and when the time passes, stop. If you don’t rest at the end of the
day, you can throw off your work-life balance.

12. steljes.com/blog
@SteljesBusiness
pinterest.com/steljesbusiness/
What are your tips for more
productive flexible working?
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