Tips To Help You Focus Better During Your Work-From-Home Day
Working from home has become the norm for millions of people around the globe. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, tons of people were interested in seeking out employment they could do from home. One of the most obvious reasons remote work is so coveted is the fact that it cancels out travel time. Not having to fill up your gas tank or wait on public transportation while commuting back and forth from your job is a huge benefit that comes with working remotely.
Apollo Technical Engineered Talent Solutions says that 30% of surveyed individuals admitted to feeling more productive while working from home. The numbers could be better but for the most part, it seems that remote workers are doing quite well in this day and age. For some people though, an issue that pops up while working remotely is the sweeping feeling of boredom that occasionally rears its ugly head. The New York Post reveals that about 131 days per year are spent in boredom for average adults. We have 365 days within each year, which means people are really only "enjoying" around two-thirds of their life.
Experiencing boredom while working from home is a common predicament, but the good news is that there are ways to combat those negative feelings. There are methods and tricks everyone can try to stay on track while earning a living from home.
Switch up your environment with free WiFi locations
Working from home might instantly become a more enjoyable experience if you decide to switch up your environment. You can do so by heading to various locations to offer free internet connection and WiFi. There are tons of coffee shops and cafés in local areas that offer internet service connections for free as a way to pull in customers and regular clientele.
According to Barnie's Coffee, being highly selective about your café decision is an important first step. You probably don't want to set up shop with your laptop in a location filled with loud patrons, obnoxious music, or a weak Wi-Fi connection. You'll also want to avoid working remotely at a café that doesn't have enough electrical outlets to plug in your laptop, cell phone, and more. If your devices start dying halfway through the workday, it would be a huge inconvenience.
Owl Labs explains that when you're doing your work at a local coffee shop, you should do a little bit of research before making your way. Reading a few reviews from former customers will help you gauge whether or not the location you've decided on is a great fit. If you see tons of negative reviews from people, it makes sense to narrow down your options elsewhere. Owl Labs also suggests utilizing noise-canceling headphones in case the only local cafés and coffee shops in your area are simply too loud to deal with. Another tip they have is to reserve your time at coffee shops for independent work. A coffee shop or café isn't the ideal place to hop on a work call or join a business meeting.
Invest in an under-desk walking pad
There's something brilliantly intelligent about knocking out two birds with one stone. Most people have to work in order to pay their bills. Other people feel they need to exercise in order to reach their fitness goals. Wouldn't it be great if you could combine these two obligations and get them handled at one time? One of the simplest ways to do this is by investing in an under-desk walking pad that you can walk on while getting your work done at home.
The Mayo Clinic says that walking as a form of exercise comes with a slew of health benefits. It helps you maintain a healthy weight or lose body fat, it helps strengthen your muscles and bones, and it lifts your mood in a major way. Runner's World says that work-from-home jobs that force you into a sedentary lifestyle lead to way too many problems from heart disease to diabetes. That being said, using an under-desk walking pad might be the best route to take.
If you feel yourself getting bored while working from home, getting your steps in on a walking pad will help you stay alert and focused. It typically takes walkers around 20 minutes to complete a mile. If you continue walking on an under-desk walking pad for an entire eight-hour shift, you could end the day with close to 24 miles under your belt. It would probably be less strenuous on your legs to walk somewhere between five and 10 miles using the under-desk walking pad, though.
Invite your friends who also work remotely over
There's no getting around the fact that working from home can become a lonely experience. Instead of showing up to an office or work location surrounded by co-workers, you're getting everything handled by yourself with your laptop or computer. When you're not surrounded by co-workers, you don't get to experience those water cooler chats, office parties, or lunch break jokes. There is a great way this is she can be solved though.
According to Atlassian, friendships are often built based on proximity. It's beyond easy to become close friends with the people you're interacting with on a regular basis. For these reasons, work friends really matter. They make a difference in terms of how focused you might be when clocking in each morning. Wired adds that it can become easier to stay motivated while working from home if you strike up plans to work remotely with other people who are in the same boat as you. The outlet suggests using a program called Focusmate that accesses the microphone and camera features.
You and your other remote friends will be able to keep up with each other with the help of video conversations. If you don't want to invest in a service like that, you can also stay in the loop with other remote friends using Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, FaceTime, and other options. Modern technology leaves the door wide open to solve communication problems. If you do plan to invite your remote friends over to get work done together in one place, you simply have to make sure everyone is capable of staying on task without getting too distracted by social conversations.
Split up the day with fun breaks
Human beings are not robots, and we were never intended to treat ourselves as such. Since there's nothing robotic about mankind, we definitely need to split up our workdays with fun breaks. When working from home, it's easy to get carried away and lose yourself in the shuffle. Figuring out when to clock out and take personal breaks can feel slightly challenging when you want to prove your efficiency on the job.
The Wellbeing Thesis explains that taking breaks is beneficial because they help you create a positive relationship with productivity. Taking breaks regularly and often can potentially boost your performance. If taking frequent breaks helps your work assignments turn out better, it's important to start incorporating them. Without a healthy number of breaks sprinkled throughout the day, you could start feeling burned out. Michigan State University notes that workers who return to work after taking a break end up experiencing an increased level of focus.
People who force themselves to do multiple hours of work straight through without any time off might end up feeling groggy and fatigued. Adding fun breaks to split up your obligations will make a huge difference. Some of the fun breaks you might consider adding to your schedule include scrolling on social media for 10 minutes, ordering yourself something delicious to eat on a food delivery service app, watching half of an episode of your favorite Netflix show, taking your dog for a quick walk around the block, striking up a quick phone call with a loved one, or listening to a short playlist of upbeat songs.
Put your phone on Do Not Disturb mode
If you're interested in remaining as focused as possible during your workday, you might want to utilize the Do Not Disturb button on your phone. According to The Outline, the Do Not Disturb button is helpful in a way that goes beyond your work hours. You can use it when you're on a first date, trying to get some sleep, or at a movie theater. When you utilize the Do Not Disturb button, it silences any incoming notifications or vibrations coming your way.
The only way you'll know that someone texted you or commented on your social media post is if you unlock your phone and go searching for those updates. The Sweet Setup adds that you can schedule two automatic time blocks when Do Not Disturb mode will pop up on your phone each day. This way, you don't have to remember to manually set your phone to that status.
Whenever you're getting ready to start your shift working from home, the Do Not Disturb mode can help you stay totally focused and on track. It's easy to lose focus of what's important when you're working from home if you keep seeing Snapchat messages and TikTok likes popping up on your phone screen. Prioritizing an important work assignment will instantly become easier to accomplish if your phone isn't constantly buzzing and lighting up every five minutes. The best part about using the Do Not Disturb button is that when you're finally done working and you're ready to grab your phone, you'll be pleasantly surprised by all your unopened notifications patiently waiting for your attention.
Play music in the background, ideally classical
Staying focused while working from home might come down to creating a simple playlist. If you choose to play classical music in the background while you're getting your work done, it can help you stay as focused and sharp as ever. According to Take Lessons, some of the "brainy" benefits that come from listening to classical music include a boost in creativity, a bump in productivity, and a lift to your overall mood. Classical music even helps improve the quality of your sleep after you've clocked out of work for the night.
When you listen to classical music, it helps boost your memory and reduce your stress levels. These are some super important factors to take into consideration when you have a job working from home. The Welsh National Opera explains that listening to classical music lowers levels of cortisol in the body. Cortisol is the stress hormone that is naturally released in your bloodstream when you're dealing with anxiety. It's not surprising at all that work assignments and obligations might lead to anxiety inside many people.
If you have too much cortisol being released, the best thing you can do is work on reducing your stress levels by listening to some lovely classical music. If classical music really isn't your cup of tea, there are other great sounds you can listen to in the background during your workday that will keep you focused. White noise is a great option, as it doesn't have any melody at all. You might also consider rainfall, waves crashing, wind blowing, or other nature-centered soundtracks.
Sip coffee, tea, or matcha
It's incredibly well-known by now that coffee is one of the most popular drinks to sip for people who are trying to feel more awake and alert. Houston Methodist Leading Medicine explains that once you consume caffeine, it instantly gets distributed throughout your body. One of the organs it heads for along with everything else is your brain! Drinking coffee leads to the blockage of your adenosine receptors, which are the receptors you depend on to fall asleep at night.
If you're struggling to focus while working from home because you feel way too tired, a cup of coffee might perk you right up. Healthline explains that matcha is another drink option to try since it's totally comparable to coffee. Matcha contains caffeine, too, but it starts boosting your energy at a slower rate than a cup of coffee might. When it comes to tea, the amount of caffeine you'll consume in a typical cup can vary based on the brand and flavor you're going for.
At the end of the day, coffee, matcha, and tea are three drink options to think about if you want to stay focused while working from home. One thing to be wary of is a midday fog that might come into play if you drink coffee early in the morning. Caffeine crashes typically hit the average individual after about three or four hours. Drinking beverages that are high in caffeine might not be an end-all-be-all option to depend on every single day, but they're great for those dreadful mornings when you really need a boost.
Maintain a healthy diet throughout your workday
Maintaining a healthy diet throughout your workday is one of the best things you can do if you want to stay as focused as possible. If you've been regularly experiencing brain fog after eating meals, it's probably because your food choices haven't been the best. Be Brain Fit explains that some of the worst edible culprits that will slow you down and diminish your focus include dairy products, tree nuts, shellfish, wheat, and eggs.
Is a random bowl of ice cream in the afternoon really worth it? It's better to continue feeling energized and invigorated after eating your food, rather than sluggish and apathetic. If you feel like you want to lie down and curl up into a ball after lunch, you might want to reconsider the foods you're eating during your workday. Harvard Health Publishing adds that there are some incredible foods you can lean on to prevent cognitive decline.
Some of those options include leafy vegetables and berries. If you have to decide between a greasy pizza and a Cobb salad, you probably can already guess which of those meals will put you in a fog and which will keep you feeling motivated. This doesn't mean you can never enjoy a slice of pizza again! After all, everything is totally fine in moderation. If you're trying to stay focused during your workday though, whatever you eat for breakfast and lunch should matter to you on a serious level.
Avoid multitasking
Have you fallen into the trap of convincing yourself that multitasking is the best way to handle a busy workday? The truth is that multitasking could be the reason you don't feel as focused as you should while working from home. According to Life Hack, multitasking dilutes your attention forcing easy tasks to take way longer than necessary. If one task can be completed in 15 minutes, why try to blend in other tasks along the way?
Forbes labels multitasking for what it is: a bad habit. They note that the easiest way to avoid multitasking as a whole is to make it known that you're not interested in distractions, turn off your notifications, and prioritize your challenging tasks first. Some people might be convinced that going back and forth between easy tasks and difficult ones will somehow make the workday flow along in an easier manner.
In reality, multitasking leads to confusion and disorder. It's better to get things done individually so that nothing gets mixed up or lost in the shuffle. If you organize your tasks in a way that reminds you which ones are the most important, it will help you stay completely focused. Habits are tricky because once they've become part of your lifestyle, you have to go out of your way to fight back against them. The habit of multitasking is one that needs to be nipped in the bud for better work-from-home results, though.
Utilize a checklist
Utilizing a checklist is one of the best things you can do if you're working from home and trying to stay focused. The Checker explains that creating a top-notch checklist helps you stay organized so you don't forget any necessary daily steps along the way. Without a proper checklist in place, it can be super easy to accidentally forget tasks that need to be completed. Checkify notes that checklists not only reduce potential errors but also help you maintain consistency.
It might not look too great from your boss' perspective if your work-from-home results are looking totally different and random each day. If you keep an organized checklist that breaks down what needs to be done each shift, you might feel more motivated than before. If your daily tasks are floating around in your head in an aimless and messy way, it leaves you vulnerable to slip-ups and mistakes. When you feel motivated to complete your entire checklist, it helps you stay on track with your level of focus.