5 Productivity Tips For Home Workers: Minimize Stress & Work Less
Many home workers deal with loads of stress due to a lack of productivity. Here are some ways to combat that anxiety.
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Since the pandemic outbreak, remote work became the new norm.
And with new COVID-19 variants surfacing often, the remote workforce wonât go away anytime soon. Giant companies now embrace this new at-home norm, including Google, Shopify, Apple, and Meta (Facebook).
Although nearly two years have passed, many home workers continue to struggle with productivity, especially those in leadership and management positions.
The following five tips are solutions to the largest productivity killers in modern organizations, from sole proprietors to corporations with thousands of employees.
1. Check email only three times daily.
From personal experience and talking with hundreds of C-level executives over the past decade, email is the biggest productivity killer.
Everyone wants answers right now, including you and me. How many times have you sent an email and checked incessantly for a reply?
This solution takes discipline. You need conditioning to change bad email habits into good habits. Check emails three times a day, or twice if possible.
Of course, many emails in sales and customer service demand urgency.
However, for ultimate productivity, like when planning business objectives or reports, even employees in those positions should block the most optimal periods of the day for zero email distraction.
My initial check comes around 9:30 a.m. after my âMiracle Morningâ and high-value items are completed, followed by checks at 2 and 5 p.m. If Iâm having a full creative day (writing, consulting), I skip the 2 p.m. check.
Again, this takes serious self-discipline.
Make it a habit.
If youâre worried about emergencies, be proactive, and let your business associates know your email policy and that they can call you if needed.Â
If youâre in full creative mode, keep your phone with an administrative assistant in case of an emergency. The more removed you are, the more quality work you will produce in less time.
2. Eliminate notifications on everything.
Notifications are another big productivity killer. Make sure all phone and computer notifications are off.
Not just silenced â off. Social media, emails, and text messages are the main culprits.
Seeing your phoneâs screen light up or a banner message can break you from serious thought.
According to a University of California Irvine study, the average time it takes to get back to a task after distraction can be up to 23 minutes. Multiply that by five, and add time spent on email.
Adobe estimates that we spend over five hours each day checking both work and personal email.
Eliminating notifications requires serious discipline. Make it a habit, and watch your productivity skyrocket. Keep those noisy notifications off during your off-hours, too. Itâs a game-changer.
3. Schedule days and block time.
Back in 2008, I was exposed to blocking time and scheduling days while reading the late Chet Holmesâ book, The Ultimate Sales Machine.
This was by far the most valuable lesson I learned from that book.
I typically create my entire weekâs schedule on Monday morning, prioritizing high-value items, such as writing, business development, and creating content strategies, for the early mornings when my mind is freshest.
I then move on to tasks that take less creative energy, such as email.
Incredible apps exist for this purpose, but I continue to physically write things down in a daily calendar that has slots for each half-hour of the day. I think more clearly when physically writing.
After making your schedule, dedicate full attention to one project at a time during those blocked hours. Multitasking is a fallacy.
4. Adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Optimal health equals less stress. This motif strengthens productivity. Youâll focus more easily when your body is free of unhealthy distractions.
Some people spend more of their mindâs energy thinking about the lunch break versus the task at hand; a proper diet and exercise keep the mind and body sharp.
Keep a kettlebell and a mini trampoline in your workspace and use them periodically every day. These simple devices make working out easy and fun.
5. Constantly learn for deeper focus.
This last tip is essential. The more you know, the more quickly youâll complete tasks.
Block out personal time to constantly sharpen that proverbial saw, whether that means reading, listening to podcasts or audiobooks, or daydreaming.
The goal is to keep this time free of distractions, which will allow you to deepen your focus. The more focused you are, the higher quality of work youâll produce in less time, and the happier youâll be.
The people who talk about being busy are the ones who donât get much done and who carry extra stress.
Practice productivity habits at home during this time of uncertainty, and keep them in mind in the future. Your business, family, and friends will thank you.
Portions of this originally appeared on Forbes.com