How to Stay Healthy and Productive When You Work From Home

This is a guest post from Louise D’Allura from Revamp Professional Organisers Pty Ltd

When I worked in the corporate world I could power through the work. I honestly thought not much would change when I decided to start my own business and run my office from home. Little did I know, I would need to explore my own productivity habits.

What shocked me was noticing I was regressing to my uni assignment writing habits – constantly making cups of tea and eating snacks. A great procrastination strategy! I found I struggled to concentrate without the noise, interaction and closing times that comes from working in an office.

If you work from home you know just how hard it can be to stay on task, so I’m sharing some of the habits my clients and I use to boost our productivity and wellbeing when we work from home.

1) Create a Work Space

Do you have a shared space or a dedicated space to call your own?  If you have a dedicated space it is much easier to organise it around the functions you need to perform – computer work, reading, space for project files and reference files.

If your office is a shared space (i.e. a corner of a room), an easy strategy is to use a bookcase to create a room divider and zhoosh it  by covering the back of the bookcase (that faces the room) with wallpaper. Not only have you created a new feature, you’ve created a more defined space.

2) When Do You Work

Knowing your peak times (ie when you have the most energy) is crucial because it means those are the times in your day or evening when you tackle the tasks that require your concentrated thinking and strategizing.  Work out how long that block is and focus on the most important tasks you need to complete.

If your office is in a nook or part of a room, the times you work in that space might be affected by peak times for the room.  If this is the case break down the tasks you need to do and identify alternate locations for tasks when the shared room is busy, eg writing on the deck.

3) Be a Premature Overachiever

Now depending on when your best time of day is, the first part of that peak time needs to be focused on your most critical tasks: tasks that help you make money or save money! Get these tasks finished as soon as you can.

4) Mono Task

Researchers report that juggling your focus between multiple things affects your productivity. Getting in the habit of mono tasking is a great way to approach that  important task you’ve been putting off. Turn off everything – phone, email and give the task your exclusive focus for at least 20-40 minutes, gradually getting up to 60-90 minutes. Sometimes getting out of the house to get that focus time is essential, so try a local café or library (my local has a café!). The goal is just to get away from the distractions in your office – unfinished tasks and all those other to do’s.

5) Eat Well 

Eating well during the day is important to keep your brain functioning at its peak!  If you’re stuck for ideas make a list of lunches and snacks and keep it on the fridge so when you do your weekly shop you can make sure you’ve got those items in the house.  The best foods to fill up on are lots of vegetables and fruit, and sources of real protein (e.g. eggs, real roasts, canned tuna, smoked salmon, canned legumes) and a little bread/ carbohydrates.

6) Move While You Work

Look for opportunities to move while you work. Look for opportunities to get up while you work can you read an article while standing in the kitchen? Can you make calls while walking around the house?  Research shows that even if you exercise on a regular basis, sitting for longer than 6 hours can have a dramatic impact on your health. Don’t think you sit longer than six hours?  Add it all up and be sure to include travel time. It is incredibly revealing!

7) Take Time Out 

When you can take time out and get outside the difference in perspective is amazing. It gives me such insight. I’ll come up with a new idea or find a new way of approaching the task I was doing. Giving your brain a break is a productivity booster.

8) Need to think? Keep hydrated 

Seems obvious but keeping up your water intake is essential for keeping your brain and cells hydrated. Try and avoid drinking tea and coffee all day. Have a morning tea/ coffee, one with lunch then aim to drink water for the rest of the day.

If you’d like more tips visit our website www.TheRevampExperience.com.au and sign up to receive our newsletter and get a copy of our guide The Art of Stress Free Living: Steps to achieve a healthier, happier and simpler life.

Image Credit: Delgoff on Flickr