17 Ways to Boost Your Productivity While Working Remote

One way that the pandemic transformed jobs all over the world is by normalizing the option of remote work. As with everything else in life, remote work has its advantages and disadvantages.

But for those of us who resonate most with being able to work from anywhere (including a sandy beach or that chic new coffee shop), the pros outweigh the cons, and any productivity hack comes in handy so we can enjoy this flexibility for a long time to come.

Here are 17 great hacks to start using today. 

Start Early

We’ve all heard the popular saying, “The early bird catches the worm.” Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, it’s always a good idea to get a headstart on your workday. That way, you start with a clear head, a relaxed mood, and fresh ideas.

Waking up in a rush and starting later in the day might make you feel pressured and anxious. As we know, how you start the day influences your mood and productivity for the rest of the day.

Decide on Your Work Hours

If your role allows flexibility, decide on what work hours best align with your needs, and then stick to them long-term. Even if you’re not going to an office, it helps to create a habit out of your work schedule so you can better optimize your time, your workload, and your productivity.

Stay Hydrated

Ever get a headache at the end of the day because you forgot to drink anything other than coffee? You’re not the only one. Our busyness is just one reason that many health experts emphasize hydration.

Hydration improves brain performance, digestion, detoxing, skin and heart health, and better sleep. Most importantly, for the topic at hand, hydration improves focus. So when you start early, make a few of your favorite drinks and savor them throughout the day, whether coffee, tea, matcha, some fruit-infused water, or even a smoothie. But remember to also drink plenty of water.

Meal-Prepping

Another efficiency hack is planning your meals in advance, ideally in the evenings when you’re handling the last errands of the day.

Although this new habit takes some time to get used to, once you get a hang of it, it can save you time and help you eat regularly while also increasing your productivity. That way, you won’t end up either skipping meals mid-work or spending 30-40 minutes preparing a meal, thus leaving less time to decompress on your breaks.

Organize Your Time

Time-blocking your to-do list is a great way to manage your time efficiently. Make sure you have a clear list of tasks each day when you start, and then plan your day accordingly. Don’t forget to include your breaks or lunch time, and respect your own boundaries so you don’t end up burning out if you skip a meal or forget to drink anything other than coffee until 5 p.m.

Change Your Work Environment 

Let’s be honest, working from home can get boring after a while. You fall into a rut and lose motivation because the lines between personal and professional space start to blur. When this happens, it’s great to switch things up by working from your favorite coffee shop, the countryside, or some other lovely location that helps the creative flow of new ideas.

Separate Personal From Professional Space

A common mistake that remote workers make is not setting clear boundaries between personal and professional space at home. Working from your bed or a table in your bedroom, although comfortable in the moment, can blur the lines of workplace and home in your mind.

This often leads to focus issues because you’re too relaxed or to being unable to rest properly because you now associate your bedroom with work. So, try to work from your living room or a balcony, or at least switch up your workspace every other day.

Set Daily and Weekly Goals

If your workload or role allows, try setting daily and weekly goals and focusing on them entirely. This will help you concentrate intensely on a given task instead of getting sidetracked by five different ones in the same day. It’s easier to complete, improves your efficiency, and makes you feel more accomplished and fulfilled at the end of the day—win-win!

Dress Up

It may sound counterintuitive when you’re working from home, but changing out of your PJs or sweats into something more put-together makes a surprising difference. By implementing this habit, you are drawing clear lines between “relaxation mode” and “work mode” at home.

Just as you follow a certain routine when going to the office, it helps to follow a similar routine to maximize your efficiency at home. That way, when you change out of your leisure clothes, your brain knows it’s work time.

Schedule Breaks and Uphold Them

A common reason for burnout while working remotely is, ironically enough, not taking breaks. Some people can work more efficiently while at home or a countryside cottage – but because they’re intensely concentrated on their tasks, they forget to have a lunch break, go for a walk, or have a quick tea break in between.

So, prioritize your breaks and allow yourself to decompress and refresh your mind! Pushing through the workload and skipping meals may help with momentary productivity, but in the long term, it can affect mental health and well-being.

Have a Healthy Morning and Evening Routine

This simple yet practical tip ensures that you have your own back before and after your work schedule. For instance, for a healthy morning routine you can try adding a quick walk, a pilates or gym session, some journaling, or skincare routines.

For the evening, you can try meditating, winding down with some yoga, putting aside devices and simply reading or listening to a podcast, etc. These healthy habits will help you be more focused while working.

Set a Timer for Efficiency

For those who get distracted easily, using a timer can help us stay on top of tasks. You can time-block tasks by the hour or even half-hour, so you don’t lose track of time. It also adds a sense of urgency and can be especially satisfying when you accomplish them one after another.

Just make sure you don’t overuse this hack and pressure yourself too much! It’s useful now and then to boost your productivity, but remember to check in with your well-being and energy.

Remove Distractions

It’s easy to get distracted when every few minutes a notification pops up from a newsletter or an Instagram message on your phone. If this sounds like you, don’t fret!

A few helpful tips include setting a time limit on your device’s apps to prevent getting carried away while scrolling through your feed. If you want a more strict approach, put your devices on silent, or if you want to go all the way, put your phone in a different room during work hours.

Work When You’re Most Efficient

You should customize your schedule after your own needs. If you’re a morning person, plan your tasks around your most productive time in the morning.

If you’re a night owl, try to set some healthy boundaries where you can work in the evening but still have clear boundaries for when you finish work, so that you can maintain a healthy work-life balance and not burn out.

Use the Pomodoro Technique

This technique, called Pomodoro, consists of working for 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break. That’s it! The advantage of this technique is that it creates a sense of urgency, allowing you to work more intensely on the task at hand.

And because you’re taking frequent breaks, it also keeps your energy and mind refreshed and ready to tackle the next task (or pick up the progress where you left off).

If Home, Choose a Workspace

Sometimes, having a dedicated workspace at home instead of toggling it every other day actually helps productivity. Instead of getting bored, some people feel their focus and productivity increase by having the same workspace every day.

If this is you, use this opportunity to spruce up your desk (or workspace) in whatever way pleases you. Minimalist or colorful, full of motivational and sentimental items or clean and professional, it’s up to you. Make it a space that inspires you to give your best every day.

Set Rules for Those in Your Space

This mainly concerns remote workers who are home-based but can also apply to other scenarios with family or relatives involved. To make sure you can work efficiently, it’s important to set ground rules with people in your space.

Communicate clearly what your work hours are and any expectations or preferences you might have. For instance, if you have children, roommates, or a partner who also works from home, make sure you both respect each other’s workspace, don’t interrupt each other, or start vacuuming when someone is in a meeting.