Choosing to work from home can be efficient and comes with a lot of benefits. Working from home allows you to save time as you won’t need to spend time being stuck in rush hour traffic commuting or traveling to and from work. This also means you save from paying fares or gas (if you drive). Working from home also allows you to stay closer to your family and loved ones.

I have been working from home for five years now. I have been performing well at work with little need for supervision. It’s no surprise many people find working from home difficult as there are many distractions that prevent you from focusing on work. Compared to an actual office, it might be difficult to get into that work groove. If you can’t find a way to ward off these distractions, then you won’t be able to work efficiently. 

How to  Work Efficiently When at Home? 

Some people think that working from home is not helping them to be productive because they tend to lose efficiency because of the comforts that remote work provides. Motivation is essential to finish given tasks when working from home. And if you want to be a dependable employee delivering when working from home is a must. You should match or aim to exceed the level of productivity that you do in the office.

Here are some useful tips that have helped me in my years of being a work-from-home mom.

Establish Your Own Home Office

Even though you are working in your home that doesn’t mean that you can work anywhere around the house. Technically you can but you won’t be able to work efficiently as you have to deal with all the distractions. For example, if you choose to work in the living room, someone else could be watching TV so it’s easy to get distracted. If you choose to work in the kitchen, you could be distracted by the abundance of chores that need to be done. Not to mention, your cats could be jumping at you at every opportunity trying to get your attention or wanting some food. The bedroom is similarly not a good place for work since this is a space associated with resting. Soon after, you might find yourself lying down and taking a nap. Nothing wrong with taking a quick power nap to recharge but it can quickly become a bad habit.

What you need to do is to have your own home office. Turn an extra room or a corner into your very own office or workstation. Choose an area that has no access to the distractions in the house and is quiet. Establishing your own office or workstation will help you get into the right mindset so you can get work done at home.

If it helps you relax, you can add some plants or some decorations to your own office. I decorate my workspace with indoor plants and picture frames. My husband decorates his workspace with collectible toys like anime figures and video game stuff.

Get a Computer with Good Performance

What kind of computer you want to get depends on the work that you do. For basic office stuff like spreadsheets, a word processing program, and the use of a web browser, you’ll want to have a minimum of 8GB of RAM with a Ryzen 3 or Intel i5 processor. Understandably, there’s more to building a PC than just RAM and a processor but there should be the bare minimum specs you should have for a basic work-from-home set-up. You can choose between a laptop and a desktop. If you take your work on the go, get a laptop.

It’s a lot pricier than a desktop with similar specs, but the portability is the main strength. Desktops are cheaper to build. You can build a more powerful desktop for a fraction of the price of a laptop with the same specifications. The only issue with a desktop is that it is not portable and uses up more electricity. Portability is not much of an issue these days since most people save their work on the cloud so take advantage of that. Another point of consideration, laptops are much more difficult and costly to repair and upgrade.

Secure Your Internet Connection 

Working from home also requires a reliable internet connection. Basic office work doesn’t require a powerful internet connection. But if your job entails making video calls, make sure your internet has enough juice. As a point of reference, Zoom requires 1.5 to 3.0 megabits per second. If you have fiber internet, that should be more than enough but do consider getting a faster connection if several people are using the same connection doing bandwidth-heavy activities like streaming. gaming and downloading large media files. You don’t want to be interrupted when working just because someone in the house is watching Netflix.

Also, connect to your internet using an Ethernet cable. Don’t use wifi. Wifi is not reliable and causes a laggy connection. Always use a wired connection. 

Prepare Your Backups

No matter how hardworking you are, there are things some things that are beyond your control like losing internet connection while you are in a Zoom meeting. If you can afford it, get a second internet connection from a different provider so you can switch to a backup in case things go south on your main connection.

In case of a power interruption, you’re still good for a few hours if you’re working on a laptop. If you are on a desktop, getting a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is an option and will safeguard your PC from unexpected power loss and surges. A good UPS should be able to power your PC for 10 mins or more (depending on how powerful it is). Do note that a UPS is not designed to be a backup battery. Rather, it provides you just enough power so you can save all your work and shut down your PC properly in case of a power interruption. If you want an actual backup for electricity, get a generator (preferably a quiet one so you don’t disturb the neighbors).

Establish a Routine

One of the advantages of working from home is that you can sleep in. However, just like working in an office, you still have to get up early and start your day right. It doesn’t have to be as early as 5:00 in the morning since you don’t need to account for travel time to work. Make sure you wake up early enough so you have time to do your morning routine. Do your morning run. Make coffee and breakfast.

Create a To-Do List

Creating a to-do list sounds so passé but this is recommended because it works. Before you start your work, plan your day. Set your to-do list or check the previous day’s list and add to it. Set urgent tasks as a priority. List your expectations of what you can accomplish for that day. A clear schedule helps you to stay motivated and organized.

Have a Scheduled Break Time

While it is important to be productive, it is just as important that you take a break lest you will feel burned out. You can use the Pomodoro technique.

Working in your home gives you easy access to your kitchen and fridge. Don’t go to the kitchen if it is not your break time yet. Eating too much can make you feel sleepy and make you lose focus. Working from home can be unhealthy if you let yourself do only four things; sit, work, eat and sleep. This kind of routine is not healthy. It is vital to have a fixed work schedule but at the same time, you should not forget about your health. Eat healthy food and get some exercise.

Don’t limit your break to eating a snack. Use this time to give your eyes a break from the computer screen. Stand up and do your stretches or close your eyes and listen to relaxing music. Take a quick walk around the neighborhood or your yard to take in some fresh air.

Dress Up Like A Regular Worker

This may sound silly but don’t work in your pajamas. Dressing up properly gives you a sense of professionalism and better help you get into the working groove. You don’t have to wear your formal or casual office attire. Any nice set of clothes will do. Don’t skimp on the underwear.

Maintain Communication with Your Colleagues

Even though your colleagues don’t see you physically, it’s still important to build rapport. Reach out to them. Chat them up but make sure you’re not being a disturbance. Make your presence felt in the company while staying productive. When you’re on the clock, be online on the company messaging platform whether it’s Slack, Skype, Messenger or Discord.

If you’ve been working from home for years, you might find that you miss the usual office banter which can be tough especially for extroverts so reach out whenever you can.

Stay Away From Social Media 

One of the biggest distractions when working from home is social media. When you work in an office setting, you’re always wary about checking your social media accounts since there are people looking over your shoulder. At home, you are left to your own devices with little to no supervision. Browsing social media networks might eat up a lot of time. A quick check on your phone could easily end up being an hour wasted. Mute your phone notifications and close all social media tabs on your browser. Stay focused. Separate your work hours from your personal hours. If you have to check social media, do it during your breaks.

Maintain Work-Life Balance 

Don’t overwork yourself. Your work is not your life. Your life as an adult is not just about working to make ends meet. Spend time on things that bring you happiness. Relax. Unwind. Get a massage. Spend a weekend out of town. Wine and dine. It is important to relieve your stress to have a healthy mind and body.

Don’t think about work after your work hours. Do what you want to do during your day off. Bond with your family, meet your friends, go shopping, play games, spend time on your hobbies, etc. Don’t entertain work calls during your days off. Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule obviously but you should know which calls you should take or not take.

Don’t just work to pay the bills. Reward yourself. Don’t feel guilty about buying things that give you that spark of happiness.

Establish Clear Boundaries 

Just because you are working from home doesn’t mean you can do the chores at any given moment or run errands. Inform the people around you about what to expect. Let the people around you understand and respect your work schedule. Tell them that they should not call, disturb or talk to you during working hours unless there is a real emergency. Aside from family members, you also need to inform your friends about your schedule. Just because you are home does not mean you can attend to surprise visitors. No spontaneous road trips or anything that will keep you from being productive.

Not many people get a chance to work from home. If you are one of them, take advantage of the benefits of working from home. After all, it is also your chance to prove that you can be a productive, responsible and reliable employee with or without supervision.