5 Tips for Maximum Productivity While Working From Home

While I’ve been working from home for the last seven years, I’ve found that a lot more people were thrust into this world since last March, and they’re lost. Working from home SOUNDS excellent, but in reality, there is a lot of adjustment that has to take place for one to be productive. So here are five tips for maximum productivity while working from home.

1. Schedule Regular Breaks - This step is imperative when working from home. I suggest taking 15-minute breaks at least 2-3 times during your workday. Make sure you’re not just sitting at your desk all day, as that’s not healthy for your mind or body. In addition, you should attempt to stand up at least once an hour to get your blood circulating. Try setting an alarm to go off every hour so that you can stand up and stretch.

2. Have a Set Schedule - Please don’t go through your day aimlessly and without a schedule. There’s just no way you can be productive this way. There are so many planners out there where you can map out your day by the hour. Even better than that, you can use your Google Calendar or Sheets to create a set schedule as well. The bottom line is, know what you’re doing and when you’re going to do it.

3. Keep a Dedicated Workspace - Most people weren’t prepared to work from home when the pandemic started, so they didn’t necessarily have a workspace at home. I’m here to tell you that you need a dedicated workspace if you’re working from home regularly. This will help your work-life balance big time. It helps to separate the two and gives you breathing room. I’d also advise you to keep the office space out of your bedroom. Trust me when I say that it will affect your sleep even if you don’t think so.

4. Set Boundaries - Make sure that the people in your life know that you’re working and the time frame you’re doing so. Some seem to think that working from home means that you’re not working, which can affect your productivity if you don’t know how to say “no.” Set your work hours and stick to them.

5. Don’t Be Hard on Yourself - Let’s be honest here; working from home isn’t easy. The adjustment from being in the office can disrupt your productivity. However, you must be good to yourself and stay positive despite the adversity. If there’s a moment when you’re struggling, step away from work and take deep breaths. I promise there’s no such thing as perfect, and you’re going to figure it all out in time. Just stick to the tasks at hand and keep trying.

What are some things that you’ve implemented since you began working from home? Let me know in the comments! 

7 Essential Organizational Tips for Small Businesses

There are so many people who think that their business is organized, but wonder why the business isn’t profitable or growing. If you’re currently in a place where you don’t have the money to hire someone to perform a system audit and get your business in order, here are 7 essential organizational tips that you should implement immediately.

1. Keep Up With Customer Support - This is VITAL. Loyal customers are the heart of your business and what helps you to continue expanding. Customer service overall can be a very tedious task, but satisfied customers/clients typically become returning clients. Customer retention is key here.

2. Have a Password Keeper - It’s so important to have an app that holds all of your passwords. NO, I’m not talking about a Google Doc/Sheet, I mean a real password protecting app. My favorites have been 1Password and LastPass. Another word of advice is to make sure that your passwords aren’t the same for every aspect of your business. Allow the password protecting app to develop the password for you so that it’s unique and not easily hackable.

3. Have a Scheduling System - While it’s easy to think that you know what you have lined up for the week, it’s best to utilize things like Google Calendar. Why? Because life happens. If you’re someone who needs meetings scheduled often, using a program like Acquity or Calendly works best. This will keep you from having to constantly offer your available times to people. Set your hours for calls and let them choose.

4. Take Control of Your Time - It’s so good to clock the hours that you’re working daily. This will help you to better organize your day to ensure that your productivity is at its peak. There are plenty of free options available for time trackers, so be sure to utilize them.

5. Schedule Your Social Media in Advance - Having your social media scheduled out for the week takes so much pressure off of you to keep your social consistency up. You should always be scheduling a week ahead so that you’re not working in time.

6. Spend Time Organizing Your Inbox - Having a clean and easily viewable inbox helps tremendously. Start by creating labels that represent the main types of emails that you receive. From there, file items away that are completed to avoid clutter.

7. Keep a Clean Workspace - There is seriously nothing worse than having to work in a cluttered and busy workspace. Try to ensure that you’re keeping your desk area free of anything other than what is needed at that time. Create a space where everything is easily accessible, but not visible.

If you’re reading the above list and know that it’s not something that you can handle on your own, our agency is here to help. Click HERE and fill out the form so that we know what type of virtual assisting service that you need.