You’re working from home and need to stay focused. How can you avoid distractions?

Working from home effectively, especially if you've only ever worked in an office environment, is actually a skill that you will have to acquire. At the foundation of this skill is time management. Say hello to your calendar because it is your new "onsite" supervisor. At the beginning of each week, map out your work schedule in one-hour blocks. Then keep track of what actually happened. Your calendar will reveal where you are leaking time and then you can correct for it. The key to success is to actually schedule in break times to take a quick walk, to have lunch, or change the laundry. Then once that time's up, it's back to work!

Maintaining focus amidst distractions is crucial. Crafting a structured schedule provides clarity and accountability. Define your work hours, task priorities, fostering a routine that ensures productivity while embracing the flexibility of remote work.

Super important to create this the day before so that the present you can make logical choices without thinking about having to execute them. Then the next day future you can just focus on getting the plan executed and is not concerned with planning. Also plan the most important and difficult task first!

Our body starts adjusting itself according to the environment and then shows the same type of energy as the environment it gets. For example, when we are in bed, our body remains relaxed. But when we are in the gym, our body feels full of energy. Similarly, if we give ourselves a good space to do work, then we can do the same work with better energy. That is why it is very important to have a workspace. A good and organized workspace increases our energy to a great extent and we can finish the same work efficiently in much less time. Also, we can use the Japanese methodology 5S to manage workspace dependent on five various pillars: Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Set in order), Seiso (Shine), Seiketsu (Standardize), and Shitsuke (Sustain).

Balancing remote work demands focus amidst constant communication. Missing office interactions or drowning in messages is common. Manage communication smartly. Set team expectations, use suitable tools, and establish response boundaries. This ensures productivity without feeling overwhelmed.

Pomodoro technique is great here: 1. do focused work for 25min 2. take a 5min break Repeat up to 4 times before taking a longer break

Many people who work from home stop having the social lunches that they had in the office. Schedule them into your week. It doesn't have to be every day, but having a lunch with a friend or after work social time at least once a week will help you be a more productive and happier worker when you are at your desk. Try a zoom lunch or coffee break if you don't have anyone near you!

Here is a few important things to consider: 1. do one thing at a time and one thing only! 2. Remove distractions, leave your phone on flight mode, close email client, deactivate notifications. 3. Don’t task switch!

The idea of "distractions" can be a myth. Working in an office has plenty of distractions - why pin it all on working from home? Humans are not meant to pump out work constantly for 8 hours, so be gentle on yourself as you adjust to this new way of working. In the end, stressing over distractions or trying to push too hard will actually make you less focused.