Part advice column, part career resource, we are here to answer your questions about job searching, hiring, culture concerns, recruiting, and business in general. If you have a question you want us to answer, submit it HERE. Be sure to tune in every Monday as we answer the questions that YOU want to know the answers to.
Q: I’m having trouble focusing while working from home. How can I stay productive while remotely working?
Many people are struggling with this exact thing right now, so you’re not alone. Staying productive while working remotely is extremely difficult, but it’s also important. Being efficient during a time like this can really set you apart from others and make you stand out for leadership roles, raises, and promotions. So how exactly can you stay productive while working from home during a pandemic?
- Organize your time: Utilizing to-do lists, learning how to prioritize, and figuring out how to troubleshoot issues yourself will all help organize your time and make it easier and faster for you to complete tasks and not lose track of your responsibilities.
- Take breaks: Give yourself time to rest and relax, even during the day. Taking a 5 minute break every hour can actually be extremely beneficial for your productivity. Make sure you’re not skipping lunch and eating snacks throughout the day so your blood sugar doesn’t get too low.
- Stay in contact with your team: Whether this is via email, text, or video conferencing like Teams or Zoom, it’s helpful to stay in touch with your employees, peers, and supervisor during the day.
- Dress for work: It might be tempting to stay in your pajamas all day, but dressing for work is a great way to mentally prepare yourself for the day and keep yourself focused on the tasks at hand.
- Watch for burnout: If you find yourself with little energy, no motivation, and constantly exhausted, you might be nearing burnout, which is the opposite of productive. One way to stave off burnout is to make sure you’re not working longer hours than normal. Just because you’re working at home doesn’t mean you should suddenly be working longer hours. Make sure you’re still working your regular hours and not taking on more than you can handle.
