With more of us working from home than ever before, we’re faced with a few challenges we never had to think about before. How do you separate work from family and how do you stay productive? Setting up that backyard office in your shed is a great first step, but it is just the first step.
The best way to stay productive while working from home is to create clear routines and approach each day with a plan based on these routines. Sounds simple, but there’s a little more to it than that. Here are 13 tips to stay productive while working in a backyard office.
1| Schedule Tasks
It’s tempting to forget about routines when you work from home, but you have to have at least some structure in your day if you want to be productive. Yes, you can be a bit flexible with your schedule, but you do need to have some kind of schedule for tasks.
When you’re focused and plan your day based on set tasks you can actually increase your productivity. In a recent survey, Flex Jobs found that 51% of people working from home felt they were more productive than they were when working in a traditional office setting.
2| Dress for Success
When I first started working from home I’d stay in my sweats all day. Why not right? I figured if I’m comfortable I’ll be more productive. It didn’t turn out that way. I soon found my productivity slipping.
That’s when I thought I’d try something a little different. I’d shower before heading out to the backyard Office and dress in my business casual attire.
It put me in the right frame of mind to tackle the work day and helped me stay focused. Combining this with a schedule of tasks for the day, I now find it much easier to be productive.
3| Healthy Eating Improves Clarity
It’s hard to focus on anything when you’re hungry, but that doesn’t mean you should just eat anything.
When you’re working from home you have easy access to your fridge and that cupboard full of snacks. You can just reach for a cookie or bag of chips whenever you want.
The problem with snack food is that it tends to make you feel lethargic and that will definitely make you less productive.
An easy solution is to prepare your work day meals and snacks ahead of time, just like an office worker does. Choose healthy alternatives for your planned meals and you’ll find your clarity and ability to stay on task improves.
4| One Thing at a Time
Some people claim to be great at multitasking, but I’ve never seen it work well in reality. We can only truly focus on one thing at a time.
If you want to increase your productivity while working in your comfortable backyard office, concentrate on one task before you move on to the next one. It will give you a sense of accomplishment and that will improve your mental state as well as your productivity.
5| Tap Into Your Creative Spark Early
I used to be guilty of avoiding difficult tasks. It was so much easier to check emails and answer phone calls than to sit down and start on a big project. It’s a common mistake remote workers make every day.
When you wake up in the morning your mind and body are refreshed. That’s the best time to tap into your creative spark and work on those big ticket items. Save the emails until the end of the day if you want to be more productive at home.
6| Turn off Your Notifications and Focus
One of the best productivity tips I ever got from a former coworker was to turn off notifications on my devices while working from home. You don’t need to know what someone had for dinner or what concert they’re planning on attending this summer while you’re working. Those notifications will still be there after the work day is finished.
You might think you can just ignore notifications instead of turning them off, but they’re an unnecessary distraction. If you’re worried about missing an important email, set scheduled times to catch up and make sure important clients know you only check messages at those times. That way you can stay on task and accomplish more.
7| Don’t Forget to Connect With the Outside World
One of the biggest problems I had when I made the transition to a backyard office was feelings of isolation. It’s just me by myself sitting at my desk in my converted office shed. There’s no water cooler chat and no office meetings.
Even for someone like me who’s a bit of an introvert, it can still feel pretty lonely when you work out of a home office all week. The solution to overcoming loneliness is to make sure you connect with the outside world. Schedule video conference calls with clients and coworkers.
Some of the best ideas for my business come to me when I’m talking on a video call with one of my business partners.
I use a video smart display that sits on the edge of my desk, but a tablet or laptop works just fine as well. I just find having a separate stand alone device for these calls allows me to access any information I need on my laptop or tablet while I talk.
As long as you use this type of technology for business during your work day, it can improve your overall productivity. Having another person available as a sounding board for ideas only helps productivity and it keeps you feeling connected with the outside world.
8| Cancel Out the Noise
Most of the time it’s pretty quiet and comfortable working out of a backyard office or any dedicated home office space. You can’t always control the noise around you from neighbors and family though. It might not be possible or practical to ask everyone around you to keep the noise down for 8 hours a day, but you can take control of the noise problem yourself.
I found the simplest solution was to find a good pair of noise canceling earbuds that I can throw in my ears when outside noises become a distraction. If you find lyrics distracting, soothing nature sounds or instrumental music are a great alternative.
9| Clear Separation of Family Time and Work Time
If you have kids that are at home while you work it can be hard to stay productive. Moving your office to the backyard may be a great way to get around this, but you still need to set boundaries.
Make it clear that during regular business hours you need to focus on work. It can be harder with young children, but try to make it easier by spending quality time with them when you take breaks, on your lunch and once the work day’s over.
10| Create a Comfortable Work Environment
It’s hard to be productive if you’re not comfortable. As you create your office workspace make sure you choose a desk that’s big enough for your needs.
If you don’t like the idea of sitting all day, you might want to consider a standing desk. Some people find that working at a standing desk not only helps with their overall health, but it also helps energize them for the day ahead.
For those that prefer to sit while they work, a good ergonomic chair is a must. I remember working in a corporate office years ago and going home with lower back pain every day because of the cheap chairs we were given to use. Now that I’m working at home I have control over the chair and my back pain is a thing of the past.
11| Maintain a Clean Space — Declutter
There are a few select people that seem to be more productive when they’re working in a space with papers everywhere and books piled up in every corner. For most of us, that kind of chaos is counterproductive. If your workspace is cluttered and disorganized it’s hard to concentrate on daily tasks.
A good way to handle creeping clutter is to take a few minutes at the end of every day to clean off your desk and to get things set up for the next day. I find it’s better to do this task at the end of the day. That way you can get right to work in the morning when you’re fresh without having to worry about decluttering your office.
12| Take Breaks and Breathe
Even the most organized and focused people need to take a break once in a while. When you try to push through a task over several hours you end up being less productive. In many cases you find yourself stumbling into a mental brick wall.
If you schedule regular breaks and take time to breathe, you’ll find it helps with your overall productivity. Take a walk around the block or play fetch with your dog in the yard. Whatever you choose, just make sure it’s a complete break from work for at least a few minutes. When you go back to your desk you’ll be in a much better frame of mind to finish the rest of the work day.
13| Sign Off — Tomorrow’s Another Day
It can be hard signing off from work at the end of the day when you work from home. The temptation is always there to open up the laptop at the kitchen table or on the living room couch while you sit with the family. This won’t help your productivity.
If you spend every waking hour thinking about your business and sneaking in a few minutes after hours to update a project you’ll quickly burn yourself off. It’s better to sign off at the end of the work day and spend quality time with your family. When you return to your home office the next day you’ll feel refreshed and ready to tackle the day’s tasks more productively.
