Productivity killers when working from home and how to overcome them

It’s a misconception that, if you work at home, you have it easy. You may have dreamt of working at home and not only saving time and money on your commute, but you’d also get to lounge about all day in your pyjamas and work from the comfort of your sofa.

But, as a remote worker, you’ll know it isn’t the laid back and relaxing easy ride it can appear from the outside. Working from home can be intense and many debates exist exploring whether remote workers are more productive or not. Also, despite research showing productivity levels do in fact increase when working from home (an Airtasker study showed that, on average, remote workers worked an extra 1.4 days a month - or 16.8 days a year - than their office-bound counterparts), there are undoubtedly productivity pitfalls the home worker needs to be aware of.

Below are eight productivity killers, along with ideas to overcome them to keep productivity levels up when working from home.

1. Where to start?

Eat a frog (not literally)

It’s the morning. You’re at your desk and you’ve got a whole day ahead of you and a rough idea of what you need to do today. But unless you turn that rough idea into some kind of structure, you’ll end up dithering about what needs to be done first and, before you know it, the day’s gone and nothing’s been done.

So, before you turn off the computer or close the laptop at the end of the working day, make a to-do list for tomorrow. At the top of the list, add that one big, important or laborious task you know that if you don’t tackle head-on first thing, you’ll procrastinate about it all day.

Tackling a big task before other minor tasks is known as ‘eating a frog’ and credited to this Mark Twain quote: “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.”

After you’ve eaten that frog, you’ll feel relief, your list will be easier and you’ll get the  satisfaction of whizzing through and ticking the rest of the tasks off throughout the day, knowing that that task you kept putting off is now done.

2. Irregular hours 

You may have had set hours in the office, or you may have enjoyed more flexible working and set your own timetable. Whichever applied to you, you want to try and replicate these hours at home to make you feel like you’re ‘at work’ (which you are, of course). Without this regularity, it’s possible to put off ‘going to work’ until the very last minute and you end up working through the night to catch up on what you should have done in the day.

Regular hours don’t have to mean 9-5

You may work better with a standard 9am-5pm day but if you haven’t got the luxury of an empty home with no distractions, you might find it better to set your hours around the rest of the household and other commitments/considerations such as housework, child care and/or your family’s working hours.

Regular hours also don’t have to mean a standard 9-5 with an hour for lunch - if you like to start and finish earlier and have a long break in the middle, there’s no reason why you can’t set your hours at 6am-10am and 12pm-4pm. Whatever works for you. But setting yourself core hours will help with productivity, as you’ll think of them as your ‘working hours’.

3. Productivity-stealing screens

Social media

Social media is a huge time-stealer as we all know. Productivity suffers when you check your social media ‘just for a second’ then fall down the rabbit hole of likes, comments and funny cat videos. Website blockers such as the Stayfocusd Chrome extension or the SelfControl app for the Mac are great tools to have if you haven’t got the self-discipline to keep off Facebook, etc. yourself.

Turn off the TV

As for the television, that’s easy - don’t work in the same room. You may tell yourself it’s just there for background noise and you’ve only got one eye on it as you’re working, but it’s too easy to get sucked back into that Netflix box set you’ve been enjoying over the last few nights.

4. No designated workspace

Just as setting regular working hours will make you feel you’re at work, the same goes for a designated workspace. If you haven’t got a place to work, you won’t feel ‘at work’ and productivity will suffer. Ideally, you’ll have a whole room to set up a desk, computer, monitor, printer and everything else you need. The added advantage of having a whole room to work in is that you also get to close the door on your office at the end of the day, leaving work behind.

Set boundaries

If you don’t have the space available to take over an entire room for yourself, carve yourself a bit of space wherever you can and claim it as yours for the duration of your working hours. Set boundaries with your family and ask them not to disturb you while you’re in your office, even if your ‘office’ is a corner of the dining table.

5. People 

You may share your home with others, whether that’s family, friends or housemates. With more people now off work whether because they already work from home, or because they’ve been furloughed or they’re younger members of the household home from school because of holidays or closures, you all need to find a way to work (and/or play) around each other. 

Just as we discussed above regarding your workspace, you need to set boundaries to let the others in your household know that, just because you’re at home, that doesn’t mean you’re having a day off and can be called on to help with chores or to socialise at any time of the day.

If your workspace also happens to be in a ‘public’ part of your home with others having no option but to walk through it at times (for example, your workspace is set up at the kitchen table), a good investment is a set of noise-cancelling headphones to help to block out some of the distractions.

6. Dress for productivity

We all know the stereotype of the remote worker - they’re lazing on the sofa in their pyjamas, tapping away on their laptop, with the television on in the background and a bowl of snacks by their side. They may even still be in bed. They’re definitely not beavering away in their ergonomically designed home office, dressed in a power suit. Neither should they be - save the power suits for the boardroom. Saying that though, if dressing in a power suit helps you stay motivated and productive then go for it, nobody’s stopping you. Conversely, if slobbing about in pyjamas means you work at your best then, unless you’ve got a video conference scheduled that day, nobody’s stopping you doing that either. However, experts have looked into how what you wear while you work from home affects work performance and influences mood, so take a bit of time in the morning getting ready to go to work if you want to be at your best.

7. Diet and exercise

When you work at home, you’ve got your whole kitchen at your disposal, whenever you want it. Your fridge may be full of fresh fruit and vegetables and if so, great. Eating well is good for productivity because the vitamins, minerals and nutrients found in fruit and vegetables increases energy and alertness. We all know those sugar cravings that can hit mid-afternoon and it’s easy to reach for a sugary snack such as a chocolate bar or a biscuit (or six) but that will only give you a quick spike of energy and, as your blood sugar decreases, so will your energy. That sugar crash will leave you distracted, leading to a lack of concentration and productivity.

Take screen breaks and stand up

A lack of exercise will also bring productivity levels down. You might think you’re being mega-productive and hard-working, sitting in front of your screen for twelve hours. But how much of that twelve hours is generating quality work? Getting out in the fresh air will clear your head and energise you, and studies have shown that exercise boosts your memory and improves your concentration.

8. Loneliness and isolation

One of the biggest pitfalls of remote working is loneliness and isolation. Employees who looked forward to escaping from the noise and distractions in the office to the peace and quiet of working from home can soon find themselves lonely and missing their coworkers. Yes, everyone’s connected these days by email and other messaging services but that doesn’t fully make up for personal contact.

At the time of writing, Covid-19 social-distancing guidelines prevent group meetings being held in person but regular voice and video calls can ease that feeling of isolation and bring teams together. For those not comfortable with being on camera, here’s how to enjoy video calls more. 

As you can see, motivation and concentration can wane when working from home, leading to a decrease in productivity. But with a bit of forward planning and self-discipline, output can be just the same, if not more, as when office-based. And if you’re in charge of a remote working team, small gifts or rewards sent to employees’ homes in recognition of their work will make them feel valued and appreciated.