3 Tools that will Transform Your Productivity if you're Working from Home

As an entrepreneur, I've spent the past several years working from home when I'm not out meeting clients or delivering trainings.

I think that people who work at an office dream about being able to work from home. There's an attraction to the idea of being able to make your own schedule, stay in your pajamas, sit on your sofa, and grab the foods you love from your fridge.

But now, with the coronavirus influencing more and more people to work from home, employees are finding that...working from home is actually pretty hard!

Your work schedule used to be 9am-6pm but now it could be any time from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed...

There are tons of distractions. Netflix. Youtube and social media (which are typically blocked on company computers) are open for surfing at any time...

It's eerily quiet...you'd be tempted to head to a cafe just to hear people buzz around you if it wasn't for avoiding public communal areas...

Or maybe you're just more conscious of your energy levels. Feeling tired? No one said you can't take a break. Or a nap. Until you "feel" like working again. Whenever that is.

So here are 3 tools I use regularly that have transformed my productivity at home:

1. The Eisenhower Priority Matrix

The Eisenhower Priority Matrix is a great tool to help you organize your tasks by level of importance and urgency. This helps you make the most of your time by tackling the tasks of the highest priority.

But what's the highest priority? Most people assume that you need to start with Important and Urgent tasks as these are tasks that need to get done today.

But actually, the key to using this matrix is to start working on the tasks in the Important & Not Urgent section (top right corner). Why? Because these are the tasks that carry strong weight in reaching your work goals but they're easy to procrastinate on because there is no sense of urgency.

Here are some examples of what to put in each category:

Important/Urgent: Work tasks that are due today.

Important/Not Urgent: Long-term project-related tasks, like writing a proposal, developing a content plan, writing a chapter of a book, etc.

Not Important/Urgent: Replying to emails

Not Important/Not Urgent: Filing paperwork

Every morning before I start my workday, I take a few minutes to list all of my tasks into this matrix and start with the ones in the top right corner. Then, I spend the afternoon working on the tasks in the top left corner, and I finish off with tasks in the lower-left corner. If I still have time and there's anything in the bottom right corner (which is hardly the case for me), I'll tackle that one too.

By the way, you don't have to use this only for work. You can mix your work tasks and your personal tasks (like laundry, for example) if that'll help you better prepare your day at home.

2. Pomodoro

If you're new to the "pomodoro", it's a time management technique where you work for chunks of time followed by short breaks. To use this technique, you decide on a task, set a timer for an interval of time (25 minutes is a good place to start), and start working. When the timer goes off, you take a short 5-minute break.

Psychologically, I find this technique helpful because if you force yourself to sit at your desk for hours it can be easy to lose focus or get distracted, but if you promise yourself you only have to look at your work for 25 minutes, it's completely doable to focus your attention for that interval of time without distractions.

25 minutes on, 5 minutes off is the most recommended interval to try if you're getting started, but you're flexible to pick the best time that works for you. I find for me that 45 minutes on, 15 minutes off works best.

Here's a free tool you can use that I found online - there's many apps out there so find the one that works best for you.

3. Brain.fm

I love the Brain.fm app! One thing I mentioned in the introduction of this article is that it can get eerily quiet in your home (or if you have kids in your home, sounds can be distracting).

On the Brain.fm app, I like to use the one called "Focus" which plays "Deep Work" music. It's basically music that is not distracting but has this rhythm to it that helps you stick to a productive work pace. Plus, you can select the length of time that you want the music to play for (I like the 90-minute option).

I haven't tried the other options on the app yet but they do have music you can listen to to help you with meditation, relaxation, or even to help you fall asleep.

Here's a link to the website for details and I recommend checking out their free app when you get a chance!

There you have it, 3 tools I recommend for staying productive when working from home. Feel free to test these out and report back how they worked for you. Or, if you have any other suggestions, leave a comment!