Top 10 secrets to maximize remote work productivity in 2021

Chirag Deol
6 min readMay 13, 2021

While working from home could have many advantages, like, you have enough flexibility, independence, your work schedule. If not planned accordingly, this joy can often turn into a missed opportunity. Keeping that in mind we brought you some secrets to maximize remote work productivity.

Working from home can be very challenging, especially when you live with the family; distractions are present at every step. Performing tasks and submitting them at the right time needs motivation. You lose productivity because of the wrong basics.

You must get your basics right to follow a well-organized routine.

Here are 10 secrets that will help you maximize your productivity when you are working from home.

1. Pick up a separate workspace

The first step towards a healthy work-life balance when working remotely is to separate your workspace from your entire house.

Why?

Because not only it helps in reducing distractions, but it also gets you into the right mindset to be able to work in the first place.

For example, if you work from your bed, it is difficult to focus on your work. That is because that place (your bed) is associated with rest and relaxation and your mind can never focus and concentrate on that place.

Your workspace can be a desk and can also be your study room. Limit professional activities to this place. Your presence at your home workplace will indicate that you are working and that will reduce the distractions further.

2. Make a to-do list

Trust me, writing down all your tasks and goals for a day is the key to good time management.

Creating a list of tasks gives you an idea of your work for the day. It lets you manage the time and increase productivity. At the beginning of a workday, take few minutes to plan your day.

You can break large projects into smaller tasks for different time slots. A to-do list ensures that you complete all the tasks that you are supposed to complete. Creating a to-do list eases and organizes your work.

3. Set a schedule and stick to it

To-do lists won’t be effective unless you follow a schedule. Remote employee productivity requires powerful time management and strict self-discipline skills.

Plan a schedule around your productivity hours, that is when you can be most productive. Normally, these would be the time when your creativity and focus are highest.

Once you have created your daily schedule, follow it for a few days and check if it needs any changes to increase improvement. Then, apply these changes to an updated schedule and stick to it.

4. Set priorities

Reduce mess by prioritizing tasks from the to-do lists that are more essential for the day. Remote employees need to be clear about their priorities.

Workers should be realistic about what they can accomplish and what they can’t.

5. Install Quality Technology

As much as we love working remotely, an unstable internet connection or an outdated system can be frustrating. What if when you are attending a meeting, you lose your internet connection or your voice is not audible to others?

This may make you feel embarrassed in front of colleagues and can miss out on a major discussion.

In such a case, Good internet connectivity is an investment that you won’t regret. However, before acquiring an internet connection, it is better to research specifications, speed, and price.

The rules are simple.

  • Look on various e-commerce websites
  • Do absolute research on all plans provided by the internet providers
  • Study the requirements
  • Ask for recommendations from friends and family

The same applies to a good working system which is an important step to improve your working capacity.

  • Invest in a decent device from a genuine brand with good features
  • Make sure it posses the latest version of the processor
  • Keep it with care

6. Maintain regular working hours

A work-life balance is important when working from home. Your personal life is also important as your professional life. You should always have a routine of your working days and working hours.

You might have days when you have quite a lot of work, in that case, you can either ask your manager for an extension or you can extend your working time for that day as one day can be considered.

But doing this daily will not do justice to your personal life and it can cause you stress as well.

7. Eat & Sleep right

One of the perks of remote work is that you have easy access to the kitchen. When it’s a break you can run to the kitchen for some snacks.

Following a healthy diet is very essential when you are a working person. That means you should eat food that helps you function better. You can include fruits, nuts, juice, and iron-protein-rich foods.

Your sleep schedule often gets unnoticed when you work from home. Your sleep schedule gets disturbed between work and online series watching.

Save your chilling plans for weekends and get started with your healthy routines.

So all you need is the right food and a good sleep schedule to increase workability.

8. Set a Morning & Evening Routine

Staying up late at night can be exhausting for a working person. Sleeping for less than 6 hours can make you feel tiring. A cup of coffee may cheer up your mood for a little time but it is not enough.

Sleep deprivation leads to a loss of concentration and focus. Working on your sleep schedule is one thing that you can do, no other option.

Start your day with Meditation. Yoga in the early morning has always been appealing. It builds focus, improves self-awareness, and reduce stress level.

Here’s what the situation demands.

  • Wake up one hour before your usual working hours
  • Freshen up
  • Drink tea/coffee
  • Lay a mat on the floor
  • Sit on it with legs folded
  • Close your eyes
  • Keep your backbone straight
  • Meditate for 5–10 minutes

That’s it! You are all sorted to kick start your day.

Meditation is also good to end your day with. Excessive workload often leads your mind to a close-down and also makes it anxious.

Once the time passed your working hour the only thing you need to do is put your system away and relax.

9. Take Breaks

When you work from home, your work-time can get tangled with your breaks. This is why taking precise breaks is important.

Don’t drain your brain by constantly sitting in front of the screen. Keep moving around and keep yourself active. Take breaks at definite intervals, walk around, go to the balcony, play with your kids, or maybe pets.

Your brain needs breaks to avoid decision fatigue and maximize production capacity.

  • Add a proper break-time to your schedule
  • Describe how much time duration is assigned to each break

10. Make ground rules for Family

Remote working is often misunderstood by people, especially by people who are not used to it. Today’s generation knows this type of work because either they have experienced it or have seen someone doing it.

On the other hand, the older generation is not so familiar with the idea of work from home. To them, this is so much easier with no strictness. It is your responsibility to tell them how it works.

You have to set some rules. Have an open conversation with them about the nature of work from home culture. Put clear rules for children of what they can do and what they can’t during the working hours.

Wrap Up

To all those who are working remotely, we hope the above-mentioned points help you in gaining productivity. Also, you can tell us what keeps you going while working from home in the comment section below.

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