10 tips to work more effectively from home

Are you working from home these days? How do you get the most out of your days when you are not in your usual routines, physical work environment and setting? And how do you stay focused when you are surrounded by temptations, distractions, private to-do lists and accumulated housework?

Here is our best tips!

START EARLY
Research shows that people who get up early deliver better results and are more proactive. They are better at predicting problems and minimizing them, which makes them more successful in business, compared to those starting off later.

Getting up early gives you the bonus time you need to start the day in a comfortable way. Maybe you want to take a walk with motivational music in your ears, enjoy a yoga session or update yourself on today’s news? Extra morning time can be absolutely essential to meet the working day with passion, presence and purpose.

DRESS FOR SUCCESS
Of course it’s tempting to stay in comfy lounge wear when no one is going to see you anyway. But psychology studies have shown that the symbolic value of clothing does affect us. This is why we feel more sporty in workout clothes, and thus also more professional in our work attire. In short; you become what you wear!

PLANNING IS EVERYTHING
Once you’re up early and dressed to impress, its time to plan your day in the best possible way. Divide up your day in time blocks. Example of setup;

Meetings – 2 hours
Email – 2 hours
Project 1 – 1 hour
Project 2 – 1 hour

Adjust the blocks for a tighter schedule, and break them up more specifically – as needed. The most important thing is to follow the plan to get everything done.

WORK CLOUD BASED
Make sure you’re working in a business system that gives you full control over your work processes from A to Z. With 24SevenOffice we offer one single login to a completely integrated system that covers all your business needs. You can choose the modules relevant for you; Accounting, CRM, Payroll, Project Management, Time Registration, Reporting and Travel Expenses, to name a few.

FOCUS FRIENDLY MUSIC
Studies have shown that nine out of ten people work better with music than without it. And we all know that music can boost our mood on a general basis. If you work detail oriented and/or with numbers, classical music or instrumental sounds are most effective. When you work to reach deadlines and get to the task faster, upbeat pop music has shown to be effective.

WORK CONDITIONS
Good physical working conditions are essential for a good and productive working day. Invest in good lightening. Air quality is important. Tidy surfaces “open up” the room and give a feeling of calm. Remove any disruptive items.

MOVE AROUND
Making small changes in where – and how – you sit, can give both a new perspective and new energy – try to move around and see the effect yourself. Alternate desk work with leaning back in a sofa with good back support. Phone meetings are a perfect opportunity to go for a walk. Movement yields circulation; circulation yields energy.

SMART BREAKS
A huge advantage of working from home is that you usually get far better quality breaks than at a regular workplace. Ten minutes to clear the dishwasher, a short walk in fresh air, or a hang-up laundry break are good examples of smart breaks; shifting focus, giving the brain a break AND moving your body.

TRACK YOUR TIME
If you are able to work through a full day and get smart breaks, it can be of great help with stopwatch, alarms or notifications, or any aids found in the 24SevenOffice app. You can easily download this in the App Store or Google Play.

By setting the stopwatch in the 24SevenOffice app, you can record the time you spend on a specific task. This gives you a better understanding of what you actually spend your time on, and not least you get “tracked” the correct billable time.

24SevenOffice can also be used in combination with the hour registration tool Busy. By using Busy as an add-on, you automatically get calculated overtime and flexibility, while managing leave, vacation and absenteeism is a breeze.

There are also a number of apps that allow you to block websites or social media for certain time periods, which can be a good solution to eliminate distractions.

KEEP SOCIAL
Working from home can be lonely, so be sure to have one or more phone calls with colleagues during the day for some social contact.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
What does all experts agree on? That physical exercise is important to our health. And the body part that gets most positive effect of exercise is our brain! In other words, an effective training session during the day is a smart investment for your performance as a worker, as well as being a brilliant time-out. Win-win!

Good luck working from home! Curious about trying our cloud based all-in-one ERP system?
Request a demo and see what 24SevenOffice can you for your business.