Remote Survival: 3 Micro-Habits To Boost WFH Productivity
You can boost your productivity with these three habits when working from home.
We won’t deny it. There's a huge amount of pressure on women in the workplace. Even as some workplaces return to the office, working from home is still part of the hybrid job description. For others, WFH is the “new normal.” Additional stressors add to this equation, but productivity shouldn't be one of them.
When working efficiently at home, many tend to seek out dramatic and overly optimistic changes in an attempt to remedy procrastination and a lack of motivation. Unfortunately, there’s no one major quick fix to improving your productivity when working from home.
Committing to a single big change is almost always an unsustainable endeavor.
A technique that’s proven to be an effective long-term approach is to adopt multiple micro-habits. In embracing an array of small changes in your daily life, you’re likely to experience the powerful benefits of their combined effect.
Small habits, when repeated and integrated into daily rituals, have the potential to affect great change in your sphere of work or online academics.
“Small habits, when repeated and integrated into daily rituals, have the potential to affect great change in your sphere of work or online academics. #WFH #workadvice #productivity”
An appropriate combination of micro-habits will establish a foundation of productivity for a sustained period of time. After a month or two, these habits will be comfortably integrated into your life, and the associated productivity will become the default.
These three micro-habits are easy to implement and go a long way towards easing the pressure so many women feel when working from home.
Maintain a dedicated and uncluttered workspace. The establishment of the communal office space was inspired by the wide variety of practical benefits that come with working alongside your fellow co-workers.
Unfortunately, in the age of COVID-19 this is simply not possible. Try to make working from home as enjoyable and productive as possible. Bearing in mind that there are, in fact, a multitude of benefits that come with remote work.
It’s of paramount importance that you establish a workspace that’s solely dedicated to your work. Although a study or a quiet dining room table is ideal, it’s a luxury that we cannot all afford. If this is the case, we recommend setting up a desk in your living space, but if possible, away from your bedroom.
You will come to associate this space with work and productivity. In this way, you set up a positive feedback loop of productive associations which, in turn, breed productivity.
According to WebMD, women who described their home environments as chaotic and cluttered experienced higher levels of cortisol than those who described an organized home space.
“According to @WebMD, women who described their home environments as chaotic and cluttered experienced higher levels of cortisol than those who described an organized home space. #WFH #workadvice”
Clutter makes it difficult to find what you need—wasting precious time—and can also distract you from your work. When you declutter and maintain a clean and organized space, you will naturally feel more in control and focused. This will ultimately boost your at-home productivity.
Stay hydrated. For many years, the physical dangers of dehydration have been well-known. However, the mental impacts remain largely undiscussed. Dehydration significantly impacts your ability to process information, as well as your quality of sleep. This ultimately influences our performance the following day. Researchers analyzed and streamlined the findings of 33 peer reviewed journals and found conclusive evidence that dehydration negatively affects your ability to problem-solve and concentrate.
Plus, your coordination and rapid reactions are also negatively affected. This makes it easy to recognize the correlation between staying adequately hydrated and being able to focus and work efficiently, thus boosting at-home productivity.
A strategy that’s proven to be incredibly effective in increasing your water consumption is to fill a 2L bottle of water and put it on your desk at the beginning of the day. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, 11 and 16 cups of water is the daily recommendation for women and men, respectively. Some of these cups can take the form of herbal tea or fruit-infused water—but sugary drinks are best avoided.
“Stay #hydrated. A strategy that’s proven to be incredibly effective in increasing your water consumption is to fill a 2L bottle of water and put it on your desk at the beginning of the day. #productivity #wellbeing”
Sip on it throughout the day and ensure you have consumed the entire contents of the bottle before you go to sleep. This allows you to easily track your water consumption, while also motivating you to hydrate consistently throughout the day.
Write it down. Writing ideas down is an excellent way of freeing your mind from the constant whirlwind of worries, to-do lists, and multiple other considerations. Not only this, a nightly to-do list lays the foundation for a productive and stress-free day tomorrow.
A nightly routine of making a list for the following day is a powerful productivity strategy. It lays out exactly what needs to be done, without you scrambling to remember it all in the morning when the pressure is on, and deadlines looming.
Studies have shown that busy schedules affect sleeping habits, and you can mitigate this with a little bit of advanced planning.
If you write everything down, you’ll know exactly what you need to do, and when. With a clear plan of action you’ll sleep more deeply, which ultimately helps you to be productive the following day.
“Studies have shown that busy schedules affect sleeping habits, and you can mitigate this with a little bit of advanced planning. If you write everything down, you’ll know exactly what you need to do, and when. #microhabit #WFH”
Other forms of writing can also be greatly beneficial in clearing your mind and building on interesting thoughts and concepts. Journaling has proven to be good for mental health, and can help you manage anxiety, cope with depression, and reduce stress. It’s an excellent way of expressing yourself and to gain control over your emotions.
Jotting your thoughts down also ensures that they don’t escape your memory. Perhaps your greatest ideas come to you in your moments before sleep, or on your errand runs. We tend to convince ourselves that we will remember these thoughts. However, this is unfortunately not always true.
If you consistently journal your ideas, you’re guaranteed to act on, or find joy, in at least a few of the things that find their way onto your pages. This increases the likelihood of concretizing what would have remained abstract, lending depth to your home, professional, or academic life. Even if you choose to journal solely about your emotions, you’re freeing up space in your mind to be productive during at-home working hours.
“If you consistently #journal your ideas, you’re guaranteed to act on, or find joy, in at least a few of the things that find their way onto your pages. What would have remained abstract can concretize, lending depth to your home, professional, or academic life. #professionalgrowth”
If you’re distracted by a personal drama or you feel anxious, it’s helpful to express those feelings on paper. In dedicating some time to active processing, you’ll feel less distracted by these emotions, and your productivity during working hours will skyrocket.
Making these small changes can make a huge difference to your daily life and give you the boost you need when working from home. Micro-habits are the catalysts for major shifts in behavior.
Kelly Lowe is a passionate writer and editor with a penchant for topics covering business, productivity, and entrepreneurship.