The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many people to work from home, a factor that has proven to increase productivity, according to a FlexJobs survey in which 51% of respondents claimed to have a better output. How do these people do it?
Working from the comfort of your home has its perks, such as saving money on commuting and workplace operating expenses, but it also comes with an array of complications. For example, it can be hard to balance work and family time, especially if you have kids.
Luckily, there are a few hacks that you can leverage to get the most out of your workday. From specific eating habits to creating a conducive working space, here are six productivity hacks to consider while working from home.
Home Decor for Your Working Space
You probably already have a chair and desk set up that make you miss the comfort of your workspace. A conducive, comfortable, and serene work environment goes a long way toward increasing productivity. The aesthetic value that décor brings to the table has calming and healing properties that will make you want to be at your office all the time (we don’t advise this). Some of the ways to optimize your home office décor are:
- Live plants and an aquarium bring better air and life to the space
- Adding your favorite art to the walls
- Use color psychology to repaint one of your walls
- Ambient lighting
Incorporating some of these décor ideas into your office space will motivate you to keep working even when you don’t want to.
Enhance Your Cognitive Ability
Sometimes factors such as sleep deprivation, unexplained fatigue, and underlying stress can hinder you from performing optimally. The medical community has provided proven habits and products that you can use to get rid of this problem. Sufficient nootropic research has found that brain-boosting supplements like safe nootropics benefit the brain’s performance in many ways, including:
- Boosting the memory
- Enhancing creativity
- inspiring motivation and elevating energy levels
- Increasing focus and attention spans
Be sure to consult your doctor or an expert to help choose the best supplements that will work for you, depending on the specific issues you are looking to alleviate.
Crank Up Some Music
Music creates an undeniable ambiance that adds a light-heartedness to pretty much everything. Backed by research, playing certain music in the background as you work can increase your focus levels, trigger positive emotions towards work, unlock your imagination, and even improve your memory retention. You, however, need to choose your playlist carefully; simply cranking up your favorite partying jam as you work a balance sheet on your computer will not cut it, but it could work if you took a day off to mow the lawn.
Luckily, there are all sorts of producers and artists who make music meant for every type of work and purpose. For example, you might come across a lengthy piano track meant to improve your concentration but not optimal if you are looking to boost creativity. The pivotal thing is to research and create playlists of what works for you depending on what kind of worker you are and what helps you be more productive.
Dress Like the Old Days
37% of one thousand individuals interviewed in a recent poll claimed that their choice of dressing while working from home had negatively affected their productivity. In this era of Zoom meetings, you probably work with your PJ top on and only throw on a collared shirt when it is time for a meeting. Remember that you associate your work with a specific kind of dress code, and it pays to continue with the spirit even as you work from home. Dressing professionally will alert your subconscious that it is time for work, give you a sense of empowerment, and open up your mind to think big to solve the day’s challenges.
Put Your Phone Away
Research by neuroscientists has found that the human brain is not good at multitasking and that people who think they are good at performing tasks simultaneously are deceiving themselves. As such, there is every reason to keep your phone away from your working desk. Imagine trying to chair a Zoom meeting with your employees only for your friend to send you a video of their new puppy. To avoid such distractions, you should leave your phone in another room, disable its internet connection, and put it on silent mode. It is not a bad idea to switch it off altogether if you are not expecting any important calls.
Tweak Your Dietary Habits
Mindful eating habits will go a long way toward better output at work. Some healthy foods include:
- Avocados to improve cognitive ability
- Broccoli to boost memory retention
- Foods packed with omega-three acids like salmon boost oxygen levels in the brain
- Healthy snacks like walnuts enhance alertness while almonds raise energy levels.
Besides choosing to consume only foods good for the brain, there are food habits that you can adopt to optimize your productivity:
- Planning meals ahead to save time
- Have the most nutritious meal of the day at breakfast
- Don’t miss your lunch break
- Eat regular small-sized meals as opposed to full-on meals
- Drink 3-4 liters of water and don’t exceed three cups of coffee per day
Food is fuel for the brain and body, so what you eat will directly affect your work productivity.
Working from home is not easy, especially if you were used to commuting before the Covid-19 pandemic. With the same level of productivity expected of you as before, there is every need to find ways to make your working experience more manageable and more enjoyable. From creating and decorating a designated workspace to dressing accordingly, the above hacks will put you in a better position to achieve your work goals.