Working efficiently from home

In the past week we have seen a majority of UK workforce start to work from home amid the Coronavirus pandemic. For some it will be the first time they have ever worked away from the office and with the news and the home environment being a constant distraction it can be a challenge to focus on the task in hand and maintain your usual productivity.

So, what is the secret to this? Here are some top tips to managing your time more efficiently whilst working from home.

To-do lists

Whether you approach your to-do list with an app or even pen and paper you should always take the time to plan the tasks you need to cover. Writing them down the night before sets your day up even better. By planning your day in advance, not only are the tasks fresh in your mind but the jobs you need to tackle first thing won’t seem so daunting.

When it comes to prioritising your list always approach the biggest task first, don’t be tempted to put in 5 smaller tasks first as this approach is just ‘kicking the can down the road’ and the procrastination will only become harder to avoid as the day goes on.

Schedule tasks

To plan further than a to-do list is having a task planner that details your tasks according to their frequency. Getting everything down on paper can help you plan out tasks, clear your mind and set goals leading up to each deadline. For example:

• Daily to-do lists
• Weekly tasks
• Monthly tasks

This is a great of planning the hours you need to commit to your work for the upcoming month, meaning you are less likely to have your work/life balance affected.

Set SMART goals

‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’.

You wouldn’t drive somewhere new without mapping out your journey and the same should be the case for the goals you set for your business.

Having a goal of “making more money” is a great goal but without the plan of how this will be achieved is nothing more than a wish.

Try putting a plan to your goal by using the SMART method. This stands for:

S – Specific – Make your goals clear and well-defined.

M – Measurable – Ensure you can measure your goals and progress.

A – Attainable – Make sure it’s possible and realistic to achieve your goals.

R – Relevant – These goals should be relevant and closely related to the direction you want to take.

T – Time-bound – Goals with deadlines are much more likely to be met.

Set your hours.

Only you know how you work best, if you jump out of bed in the morning and find yourself more motivated at the start of the day then focus your working hours around this. Model your hours around when you are most productive and stick to these hours. Avoid an ‘open all hours’ approach to your work and ensure that when you are not working you are not looking at emails. You will find yourself being much more productive when you are working if you have balanced this out with some much needed ‘down time’.