Here are five actionable tips on how you can work at home more effectively.

1. YOUR SCHEDULE CAN BE YOUR OWN

A lot of the work that can be done remotely nowadays can also be done on a flexible schedule. For example, if you’re a web developer or a content creator, you can most likely do your coding or writing whenever it suits you as long as you meet your deadlines. So, night owls, rejoice! You can still put in your eight hours without starting at 8 AM and drop the children to school as well as pick them up. The KEY however, is to plan your day and ignore with any interruption which will take more than 2 minutes to resolve.  This “two-minute rule” is an efficient way to deal with interruptions.

2. TALKING OF INTERRUPTIONS AND DISTRACTIONS…

You need some to break the day, rest your brain and rest your eyes.  But YOU plan them, not other people.  Take them when YOU feel tired, or need a rest or a coffee.

If others try to intervene in your planned day, politely ask them to come back tomorrow, or not at all.

3. GET UP AND DO SOMETHING

If you do need to work specific hours, you’re sure to still have some break time—time you can use however you’d like! From nipping to the shops to getting some housework done! Even if you have just 10 minutes, you can do something that just wouldn’t be possible in a traditional office: bust those samba moves, play a few tunes on your guitar, or take a refreshing power nap. You’re guaranteed to come back feeling more refreshed than you would after 10 minutes at your desk surfing Facebook.

4. YOU CAN ACTUALLY HAVE ENJOYABLE AND EFFECTIVE MEETINGS

I bet you don’t know anyone who enjoys meetings. (No amount of free coffee and donuts can make up for having to sit in a stuffy conference room next to the pen-clicking guy from sales!) When you work remotely, you’ll not only be able to choose your breakfast and your seat, but you can also be much more effective. With just a few clicks, you can have 10 people on a video call that’ll probably last just 15 minutes instead of 45. And you can use the chat function in the video call to quickly share docs (forget making copies or having everyone search their emails) or to add important comments without interrupting anyone.

5. YOU CAN AVOID OFFICE POLITICS

There’s the old saying about relatives that “You can’t choose your family,” and the same goes for your co-workers. You might not be best friends with everyone when you work remotely. But, because idle chatting and time just hanging around the kitchen area isn’t possible, remote workers tend to skip the gossiping and posturing that happens in traditional work settings.

I’ve been a big fan of working from home for many years, starting with every other Friday. Sometimes I would be on the phone for every minute; other times I could concentrate on a paper.  Even though I was going into the office for most of the week, I find that when I work from home I’m able to get a lot more accomplished, and those who worked for me, and thought that they could have a quiet day were swiftly disabused of that, such are the joys of telephones, emails and instant messaging.

Whilst writing this article I have thought of the obvious reasons that spring to my mind but I also did some research online, I find that there are a lot of reasons why it’s good for businesses to allow employees to work from home. Here are some of the best reasons I’ve found for letting your employees work from home at least once a week:

1. PRODUCTIVITY

One Stanford study found that employees who work from home are 13 percent more productive compared with their in-office counterparts.  One of the most effective ways employees can stay productive is by taking regular breaks throughout the day to decompress for a moment and come back refreshed and ready to focus.

2. WASTE LESS TIME

Cutting out a commute can be both a huge morale booster and a huge time saver that could be utilised in exercise or quality time with family.  Employees will also waste less money on gas or public transportation and of course it’s better for the environment.

3. YOU’LL BE HAPPIER

Everyone seems to be talking about work-life balance these days, and there’s no better way to improve the work-life balance of your employees than to let them work from home.  Happy staff mean generally mean they are the best versions of themselves and have less time off for sickness or mental health issues and let’s not forget that working from home also stops the spread of COVID-19.

4. IT’S EASIER THAN EVER

You can be connected to the office every minute of every day if you want to, thanks to the internet. The concept of working from home might have seemed outlandish 20 years ago, but this is the 21st century. You can find access to wifi almost anywhere, and tools like GoToMeeting and Zoom make remote communication a breeze.

5. YOUR OFFICE BE ANYWHERE AND I MEAN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!

And you’re not tied to your home, either. That doesn’t mean your only other location will be the coffee shop around the corner: You can take care of your job while traveling (passengers only if you’re in the car, please!), enjoying your garden or the great outdoors in general (thanks to long laptop battery life and tethering to your phone), or even listening to your favourite band at a live concert.

All you need is power, a signal, your laptop and a comfortable place to work from.

6. YOU’LL SAVE MONEY

Of course, you’ll see an immediate difference in your bank account when you don’t need to bear the costs of commuting. But you’ll also find savings in other areas. You won’t have to force yourself into a suit and polished shoes anymore if that’s not your style—no more separate wardrobes for work and for the rest of your life! And you can also save on food costs since you’ll easily be able to whip up your own lunch and coffee if you work from home.

Productivity apps are useful tools that can help you make the most of each day.

They make it easier to track your time, set priorities, track tasks, schedule breaks, collaborate with colleagues, and much more.

A productivity app might be just what you need to boost your productivity and enjoy the feeling of satisfaction you get after a fruitful day.

In this post, I’ll be sharing the my top 5 apps for increasing productivity.

These apps are simple-to-use, packed with features, and can make a dramatic difference to how much work you can complete each day.

Let’s check them out!

#1 – ToDoist (Advanced todo list)

Using a todo list makes it easier to organise and prioritise the tasks that you need to complete.

ToDoist allows you to create much more sophisticated todo lists that are flexible and easy to manage.

This app is very intuitive to use thanks to its intelligent task processing feature.

You can enter a task like “Start Beta project tomorrow at 12 pm” and the app will automatically add the task to your list and schedule a reminder across all of your devices.

Tasks can be dragged and dropped between different todo lists, which makes organising your projects easy.

There are also additional labels and priority filters, which help you identify your most important tasks in a matter of seconds.

ToDoist lets you assign deadlines to specific tasks and track your progress on each task.

It is also a collaborative app, so you can share lists with other people, assign responsibility, discuss tasks, and monitor deadlines.

The basic version of ToDoist is free with the premium version costing £36 a year for premium features.

Learn more about ToDoist.

#2 – Toggl (Time tracking tool)

Toggl is a powerful time tracking application that is designed to make time tracking easy.

It can substantially boost your productivity and make tasks like invoicing and creating timesheets simple.

The application has a simple user interface and is easy to set up.

You start by creating several categories for the different kinds of tasks you perform.

This might include categories like client work, training, personal projects, and so on.

As you go through the day, you will use a timer to track how much time you have spent on each task.

Once you have finished the day’s work, you can view several reports that show you exactly where your time was spent.

This information will help you understand how effectively you are using your day, making it easier to make changes that improve productivity.

The app also makes it simple to print up reports and timesheets which can be sent to clients — potentially saving you a lot of time on these boring administrative tasks.

There are three versions of Toggle available with prices starting at USD$9 a month.

Learn more about Toggl.

#3 – Trello

Trello is a useful task tracking application with an innovative visual interface.

When you first launch Trello, you are asked to start a new “board” which is a project of some kind.

You might have a board for a large-scale project, one of personal hobbies, and another for chores that need to be performed around the home.

Within each board you can create multiple lists which contain tasks.

Tasks can be multi-step or one-offs and each task can have various details added including its name, description, attachments, due date, and comments.

It’s also possible to make checklists for more complicated multi-step tasks.

The best part of using Trello is the interface.

You can see all of your tasks in front of you and can drag them between different boards.

It’s also possible to change the way you use each board, using them as traditional todo lists, making a time line (goals for this week, this month, this year), or for brainstorming.

This level of flexibility makes it an extremely useful app.

Trello has some excellent collaboration features, which is why this app is a favourite of many businesses.

It is available as a desktop app, mobile phone app and web browser app.

The basic version is free.

Learn more about Trello.

#4 – Slack

Slack is one of the most popular project management apps available.

Its main strength is that it makes communicating within a team simple and helps the team remain productive.

Slack makes it easy to allocate work, set reminders, have meetings, private message colleagues, share files, and much more.

It can even be used to make phone and video calls.

The interface is extremely polished and will be familiar to anyone who has used a chat program in the past.

It is perhaps the #1 choice for teams that want to improve productivity.

Slack is available on Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS devices.

There is also a beta version for the Linux operating system.

The basic version of slack is completely free.

Learn more about Slack.

#5 – Noisli

Workplaces are often very noisey environments that are full of distractions.

Noisli is designed to help by providing relaxing sounds which sharpen your focus.

You simply choose the kinds of sounds you want to hear using several sliders.

You can blend each sound together to create a soundscape that you are comfortable with.

Some of the sounds available include rain, storms, bird noises, trees rustling, and leaves rustling.

There is a white noise feature as well, which has been scientifically proven to increase focus by as much as 20%.

Noisli also features a timer and distraction free text editor.

It is a free app is available online and on iOS or Android devices.

I hope you found 5 Apps To Increase Productivity useful.

For more productivity articles, please bookmark my website.

This post is by TRC Windows (Sash Window Repair Specialists).

Whether you are studying at university, launching your own business or working a 9-to-5 job, it is essential to be as productive as possible.

This can often be a struggle, particularly if you are feeling distracted, stressed, or tired.

To help you get more work done everyday, here are 3 scientifically proven methods for remaining productive, especially when working from home, as there you have some direct control over your environment.

#1 – Create the ideal work environment

Researchers have discovered that environmental factors can have a huge impact on how productive a person is, including:

Natural light

We now know that working in environments where there isn’t much light or there is an excessive amount of artificial light can negatively impact productivity.

It can cause headaches and eye strain, which will increase cortisol levels (the primary stress hormone).

The solution is to use plenty of natural light, which has been found to actually reduce cortisol levels.

Scientists have found that working in natural light will also:

• Improve your mood
• Ensure your biological clock is functioning well
• Improve concentration levels
• Improve your mental health
• Reduce the risk of vitamin D deficiency

Temperature

Temperature is a very important factor when it comes to productivity.

If the room is too hot or too cold, it will be much more difficult to focus and work efficiently.

Researchers have even found that temperature can affect your accuracy.

One study found that office temperatures below 20 degrees caused employees to make 44% more mistakes.

Personally, I find 19 degrees keeps everyone awake!

For most people, the ideal temperature for productivity is somewhere between 21 to 25 degrees Celsius (70 to 77 degree Fahrenheit).

Try different temperatures to find where you are the most comfortable and efficient.

Colour

The colour of the room where you are working will have a dramatic effect on your mood, emotions, and cognition.

Researchers have found that most office workers prefer blue or blue-green for their office decor, as it promotes a sense of calmness and efficiency.

It helps to counteract any feelings of stress, which are common is busy offices.

Although many of you will have no control over your wall colours, it’s worth raising with management.

Green also reduces stress and anxiety, while promoting harmony and balance.

If you aren’t too worried about stress and want something more energetic, try painting your room orange or yellow.

Whatever you do, don’t stick with white or grey (as per my current landlord’s choice).

Researchers have found that these colours negatively impact productivity by causing office workers to make more mistakes.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the science of designing objects that are efficient to use.

In terms of the workplace, this means creating objects that are ideal for the tasks you perform like sitting, using a computer, or accessing whatever tool you need.

Good ergonomics makes your work space more productive and healthy.

Implement ergonomics by thinking about the objects around you in the workplace and how well suited they are to your daily activities.

The chair is usually a good starting place.

Is it comfortable?

Does it help you maintain good posture?

Is it easy to adjust?

You can then look at desk and whatever other objects are around.

Think about how easy it is to obtain and use the objects you work with each day.

Consider how much each action costs in terms of time and physical requirements.

#2 – Take a coffee (or banana) nap

There is a lot of scientific evidence which suggests that taking a nap during the day is a great way to improve productivity, creativity, problem-solving, and informaton retention.

A “coffee nap” can make napping even more beneficial to your productivity levels.

To take a coffee nap:

Choose the right time

Start by identifying the time of day when you are the least productive.

For most people, this will be between 1pm and 3pm, as it is common to see declining energy levels shortly after lunch.

Prepare your napping area

Make the area where you are napping as comfortable as possible.

Close the blinds, make sure the room is a comfortable temperature, turn off electronic devices, and eliminate unnecessary noise.

Drink a coffee and start your nap

Drink a strong cup of coffee and lay down for your nap.

The idea behind the coffee nap is that the caffeine in the coffee will take 20 minutes to enter your system, so you will feel its effects immediately upon waking from your nap.

If you struggle to get to sleep, try using mindfulness techniques, focussing on your breathing or performing a short body scan upon laying down.

It is important to keep your naps between 15 to 20 minutes.

If you nap for more than 30 minutes you will experience “sleep inertia”, which is a state of impaired cognitive and sensory-motor performance that occurs after awakening from a deep sleep.

#3 – Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness techniques are designed to help you focus on the present moment while accepting your bodily sensations, thoughts, and feelings in a positive way.

This takes your mind away from the negative and persistent thoughts that are triggers for anxiety, stress, and procrastination.

Other scientifically-proven advantages of mindfulness include:

Greater emotional control

You will be able to make better decisions that are not heavily influenced by anger, fear, or other emotions.

Improved memory

Researchers have found that regularly practicing mindfulness can improve a person’s working memory.

Better focus

Mindfulness techniques improve how well you can focus, which is extremely useful in a working environment.

Less stress

Stress is a real productivity-killer.

By using mindfulness to reduce your stress levels, you can spend less time stressing and more time getting things done.

Better relationships

One wonderful advantage of mindfulness is that you can relate to other people more easily.

You will become more perceptive and attentive, which improves your work relationships and productivity.

Thanks for reading 3 Scientifically Proven Methods To Increase Productivity.

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