3 Productivity Tips from Tile

In recent years, many people have had to get used to remote work. Being out of the office has plenty of perks, but it can also bring new challenges. For example, a lot of people find it hard to focus when they work from home for various reasons, which can lead to a lack of productivity. In this guide, we'll go over a few key remote work tips you need to know!

1. Set a Daily Routine

One of the reasons that you might find it hard to focus and concentrate on your work at home is the fact that your schedule is no longer so tightly controlled. When you have to go to the office, you know that you need to get up at a certain time, get dressed, and leave the house in accordance with your schedule. 

With remote work, schedules tend to feel much more flexible and fluid, and if you don't have set times and specific working hours, you can fall into bad habits and start taking longer breaks randomly throughout the day. 

A simple way to get around this issue is to set yourself a daily routine, and stick to it! Program an alarm to wake you up at a certain time each morning during the week and plan out how you want to spend your day, with set hours for work and other moments where you can rest and take it easy. Separation is key.

By having a schedule, your remote work life should start to feel much more structured and organized. This is essential for getting back in the groove of working well and being productive, but it's still important to give yourself a little break now and then, which leads us on to our next top tip...

2. Schedule Short Breaks   

Having a schedule is important for getting the most out of your daily working hours, but work isn't the only thing that you should schedule; you also need to find time throughout the day to take little breaks and give yourself time to rest and relax, as needed.

One of the issues that many people have while working from home is that they may feel tempted to take breaks too often or find themselves getting easily distracted by things around the house. You might just randomly decide to look at social media on your phone, for example, or stroll to the kitchen for a mid-morning snack whenever you feel like it. Or on the flip side, you may find yourself not taking any breaks at all and overworking yourself!

Taking random and unpredictable breaks can ruin your remote work rhythm. So, instead, try to schedule set moments throughout the day where you can stop work for a little while. Some people use the Pomodoro Technique, which involves working solidly for 25 minutes and then giving yourself a five-minute break. Others simply assign times throughout the day to take their breaks.

Find a method that works for you, and make your breaks count. For example, if you've been stuck to your computer screen working hard for a while, use your break to stand up and move away from the screen, letting your eyes get some much-needed rest and giving your body and muscles the opportunity to stretch.

3. Have a Dedicated Work Space  

A lot of remote workers find that their work and life balance gets disrupted when they work from home, and a big part of this is the fact that they're surrounded by all the comforts and familiar sights and sounds of home.

If you have a TV beside you or the kitchen in your eyeline, it can be hard to focus on your working duties. That's why our final top tip is to make yourself a dedicated workspace, or a place in the home which is designed exclusively for your remote work.

By setting up your own home office space, you'll be able to immerse yourself more completely in the working mindset needed to stay focused and be productive. This will also be helpful in terms of separating your work life and your home life while working remotely.

So where should you set up? Well, you don't necessarily need a big fancy house and your own home office. All you need to do is find a space that is quiet and ideally separate from other parts of the home where family members or roommates may be present. Equip the space with all you need, like your desk, documents, and other essentials, and only use that space for work-related matters.