One way to stay productive at home is to maintain a regular routine. Try sticking with these:
- Make your bed. Remember that famous speech by US Navy Admiral William H. McRaven about making your bed? Try it. Also, take a shower. There’s research out there proving that getting up and getting dressed helps you to get in the right frame of mind and be more productive at home.
- Take breaks. Make sure you’re getting away from your desk to recharge throughout the day.
- Eat. Eat your meals just like you would at the office. Do you normally have a smoothie in the car during your commute? Enjoy your smoothie with your “commute” activities, be it a podcast, audiobook, listening to music, etc. Try not to snack mindlessly all day (unless that’s your normal routine, in which case, snack on!). Rather, take a real lunch break.
- Experiment and give yourself space to refine these routines. Because, well, this is new and different. Learn from what works and use that to build your routine.
- Scheduling matters. Make the last productive behavior of your day scheduling your next day. It may feel like one more thing you have to do, but it will help you and your family’s functioning and alleviate some stress.
Want more remote working tips? See our full list here.