Hey everyone, Megan here from MeganMinns.com
and today I'm gonna share with you,
5 ways to be more productive while working from home.
(upbeat music)
I started working from home in 2015
and I know first hand how big of an adjustment it can be.
It can be hard to stay focused,
there are so many distractions around the house.
Your home may not be set up to work from home properly
and overall it can just be a bigger adjustment
than you might expect,
if you're transitioning from working in a corporate office,
to working from home.
But whether or not you've been working from home forever
and you just need to find a few ways
to make things feel better,
or if you're about to transition into
a working from home job,
these five tips are going to be very helpful,
because like I said,
I've been doing this since 2015 and I have learned a lot.
And I'm excited to share my tips and tricks with you.
Tip number one is to improve your ergonomics.
I have found that most tables and desks and chairs
that you already have in your home are not actually suited
for working and sitting in for long periods of time.
And if you're just sitting in your old desk,
in a very standard desk chair,
chances are that after working from home for a few days,
you're already gonna start to feel some aches and pains
and discomfort while you're working.
So what is ergonomics?
Well Merriam-Webster defines ergonomics
as an applied science
concerned with designing and arranging things people use,
so that the people and things interact most efficiently
and safely.
Basically to me, ergonomics is your body is unique
and so your working setup needs to be unique.
Your desk height, your keyboard placement,
your desktop, like your monitor height,
all of that needs to be customized
to fit you and your body.
And if you neglect ergonomics,
then chances are you're gonna feel
really physically uncomfortable over time.
So like I said earlier, you might get backaches,
you might get neck strain,
your elbow might just start hurt,
you might get carpal tunnel.
There are a lot of physical ailments that can come up
when you aren't taking ergonomics into consideration.
So here are a few things to keep in mind
when designing your workspace at home,
to make sure that it's ergonomically friendly
and suited to you.
First of all, is your chair,
you need to make sure that your chair is comfortable,
so you should look for something with cushioning.
You wanna make sure that it gives you
plenty of back support.
I wouldn't recommend working, you know,
on a bar stool for long periods of time.
So make sure you get good back support,
and make sure it allows your legs
to be at the proper angles.
So, if you have shorter legs,
you might need to lower the chair
or get an adjustable chair
or potentially even have a foot stool.
Lots of different options,
but ultimately just make sure you have chair
that you can adjust to fit your specific leg length
and body structure.
Next thing is your keyboard.
Your keyboard should placed in a way,
so that your arms, like, it's hard to show you
where I'm at right now, my desk.
But your arms and your elbows should be at a 90 degree angle
and your lower arm here, including your wrist
should be completely flat while you're typing.
So if you're ever typing and your arms are kinda down
or up, or your wrists are at an angle,
all of that can lead to some damage over time
and injury.
So you really wanna make sure
your arms are at a 90 degree angle
and your wrists and your entire arms are straight and flat.
Definitely don't use those wrist cushions,
I used to use them in a corporate office.
I thought you were like supposed to,
I thought it made things better.
But it actually put your hand at the wrong angle
and can cause issues over the long run.
You also wanna make sure your computer screen
is at the right height for your eyes.
They say when you're looking at your monitor,
whether it's a laptop or a screen,
you should be looking at the top third of the screen,
so if you're looking any lower or higher,
the monitor is not at the right height for you.
So you need to make sure you adjust it,
either by getting an adjustable monitor
or maybe putting it on a riser,
which is really common, especially in laptops.
You're definitely gonna need it to be on a riser,
otherwise you're gonna be looking down
and getting a lot of neck strain.
Now ergonomics is a big topic
and I'm actually gonna link
to a few different resources beneath this video,
that can go into much more detail
on how you can find out what exact distance
you should be from your monitor, the height for you.
There's some great tools out there
that can really tell you more about
how to customize your desk to suit you and your ergonomics.
So, I'm gonna link to those below this video.
Tip number two is to remove distractions.
I found that working from home
makes it really hard to avoid distractions,
between seeing the dishes pile up in the corner,
household chores, errands you wanna run,
pets and family members possibly interrupting you
or even the mailman interrupting you.
There are just distractions all around
and it's really hard when you're working from home
to avoid those.
So there a few things you need to do
intentionally and proactively
to help avoid getting distracted while working from home.
First let's talk about how to avoid digital distractions.
Notifications are your enemy
when it comes to staying focused.
So definitely when you're sitting down
to do some focused work,
make sure all notifications are off.
You don't see any red dots on any apps,
whether it's on your phone, your computer.
No popups come up.
You need to go completely non-notification
while you're working.
So if you need to take this to the extreme,
you might wanna even consider
going into do not disturb mode or airplane mode.
So that you really have that focused time
without interruptions.
Now when it comes to environmental distractions,
I have found that wearing noise canceling headphones,
especially the big over the ear ones,
those are the best if you can.
It really helps block out, not only just noises,
but metal distractions.
I find that when I sit down
and actually put on my big headphones
that are noise canceling,
not only does it kind of make the noises go away,
it kind of makes all
of the mental distractions go away as well.
I just mentally, I'm more zoned in on what I'm doing
and less likely to get distracted
if I'm wearing my noise canceling headphones.
Sometimes I'll even put them on and not play anything,
just for the fact of the focus it gives me.
Now if you would like to listen to something
while you have your headphones on,
even if you can't do over the ear headphones,
I really recommend that you listen
to music that's gonna help you stay focused.
Now I love listening to the top 40 hits
or whatever I like,
but I notice that if music has words it,
for me, if I'm trying to focus and create and write,
I'm more likely to get distracted.
Now to each is own here, so if you can do that, go for it.
But for me, I like to listen to either
one of the Spotify focus playlists.
They actually have a genre called focus
and it's full of all types of music.
So, it can be chill beats I think is one,
another ones classical, acoustic, jazz, all types of stuff.
So, any of those playlists, I would give those a try.
Or, my favorite app is actually Brain FM.
I have the iPhone app, I listen to it on my desktop as well
and it's similarly music designed for focusing,
for sleeping or for resting and meditation.
So when I'm working,
I'm literally listening to Brain FM all the time,
it's on in the background
and I actually listen to it when I sleep too.
But whatever you choose, whether it's Spotify,
Brain FM, or another app,
I would encourage you to put on some music
that's meant to help you focus.
Tip number three for being more productive
while working from home,
is to have a plan for your day.
When you work from home, you naturally have
a little bit more flexibility
in how you manage your time throughout the day.
And that means it's even more important to have
a plan of action when you wake up
and sit down to start working.
And the best way to do this in my experience
is to actually make the plan the night before.
So at the end of your work day
or your evening if you wanna do it later,
be sure to carve out five to 15 minutes
where you can sit down and plan tomorrow.
So here is how I like to plan tomorrow,
it's quick, easy, but super effective.
So I like to first look at tomorrow's appointments
and events, actual meetings that I can't move around,
appointments I've committed to, anything like that,
I start there and I put that on my daily planner.
I actually have a free daily planner printable
that I will be sharing with you later,
so stay tuned for more information on that.
But however you manage your calender and your time,
go ahead and make sure you look at
all of the appointments and events
you have for the next day.
Then, start looking at the tasks you have,
you probably have an ongoing task list,
either for tomorrow or for the week or for the month
and take a few minutes
to look at all the tasks you wanna get done,
specifically tomorrow so that you can stay on track.
Now I like to actually list all of those out
so I can see them and then go in and prioritize them.
So pick your top three of all the tasks
you might wanna get done tomorrow.
We all have the habit of listing way too many.
What are the top three?
If you only got those three things done
you would feel great, you would have made huge process
and you would have met all of your needs.
So go ahead and prioritize those three
and make sure you either put them in a different place
on your piece of paper or wherever you're planning this,
or circle them or do something
so you know what those three are.
Now it's time to take your tasks and your top three
and look at your calendar.
So what I like to do is actually pull up,
I use Google calendar, I'll pull that up,
I'll look at my top three tasks,
I'll estimate how long I think they're gonna take
and I will actually drop those on my calendar
like they are meetings.
And then I'll see how much time is left
and start filling in the other tasks
and then you've got to readjust.
So once you're actually doing this on the calendar,
you'll start to see how much time you really have available
and how much you can really get done.
And this allows you, the day before,
remember, we're doing this the day before,
to make adjustments, to realize,
wow, I really can't get everything done
if I have that meeting.
Can I reschedule that meeting?
Or wow, I might need to work late, or, wow,
I'm actually gonna get this all done and feel great.
So, however you need to adjust,
it's going to give you an opportunity
to proactively make adjustments in your plan.
And then you're done,
so that is how I plan the day the night before.
It allows you to wake up, sit down to work
and automatically know, not only your top tasks,
not only what you need to get done,
but have an actual game plan for your hours in the day
and how you're gonna spend them
to make progress on your tasks.
Now I know I kinda breezed through that really quickly,
I do actually have an entire video
where I walk you through exactly how
I plan my day the night before.
So if you wanna check that out,
you can click the link below this video
and watch that video, after you finish this one.
Now, like I mentioned a second ago,
I actually have a free printable for you
that is my daily planner.
So it incorporates writing out your tasks,
your events, your top three, giveS you some journals prompts
and I love it, it's exactly what I use throughout the day.
So if you are interested in trying out this daily planner,
again, it's free, you can just click
the link below this video,
enter in your information
and you'll get it right to your inbox,
so you can start using it today.
Okay, tip number four of being more productive
while working from home, take breaks!
That might sound slightly counterintuitive,
we're talking about being productive,
how would taking breaks make you more productive?
Trust me, it does.
In order to really stay productive
for a long period of time,
you need to be able to,
not only give your body a physical break,
but your mind a break as well.
So recommending that you get up and move around,
you know, one to two times an hour at least.
I use the pomodoro method, like mentioned a minute ago
and that actually has built in breaks,
where every 25 minutes, you move around for five minutes.
So, I like to do that but you can come up with a system
that works for you, but at least every hour
get up, move around, get some water, hug a pet, do anything.
But it's important that you take just a few minutes,
a couple times at least an hour throughout the day
to give yourself a break.
One little disclaimer here is
make sure you don't spend your break on your computer
doing social media or doing something else.
You really wanna do a full break,
so I'm talking stand up, leave your desk,
leave your room if you can,
maybe go outside, smell some fresh air,
if you want, go on a walk
if you have time for a longer break.
But just really go do something
that's gonna feel like a complete disconnection
so that when you come back to work and sit at your desk
you're feeling refreshed.
It's really easy to just, like,
go to another room and start browsing Instagram
and maybe you can do that every now and then,
but really it doesn't meet the purpose.
The whole purpose is to disconnect, to refresh yourself,
to give your mind a few minutes
of not trying to work so hard
and allow yourself to come back to work
feeling a little bit more rejuvenated.
My fifth and final tip for staying productive
while working from home, is to change location.
So even thought you're working from home
and that's what we're talking about,
that doesn't mean you can only sit and work
from this one place.
I like to do this whenever I'm feeling stuck in particular,
you know when you're sitting there
and you just can't get into a flow,
you just can't get your work done,
you're just feeling a lot of resistance.
The best thing you can do in those moments
is to change locations.
So, maybe that means going and changing rooms if you can,
or sitting on your couch or your dining table,
or anywhere besides your desk.
Or what it often means for me is actually leaving the house.
So even though we're working from home,
really you're a remote worker, you can work from wherever.
So when I'm having days where I feel particularly stuck,
or I need as much focus time as possible,
I will intentionally leave the house
and go to a coffee shop, a lunch spot,
if I had a co-working place I liked around here,
I would go there.
So, maybe that is what you need to do.
And a little tip for you too, is,
you might wanna anticipate this
when you're looking at your week
or planning your day tomorrow.
I like to really think about this
when I'm planning my day tomorrow.
If I have a day where I have a lot of deliverables
that need to happen, my outcomes are big
and I don't have that many meetings,
I will know in advance
that I need to go work somewhere else tomorrow.
And again, since we're planning in advance,
you know that the night before,
so maybe you can do some prep if you need to.
Like pack your backpack or set our your clothes
or whatever you need to do.
But if you can know in advance, even better.
But it's also something you can do reactively.
So when you're sitting here in the middle of the day
and you're just stuck, go ahead and leave.
I do it all the time,
but for me Tuesday's and Thursday's in particular
are really important days for me to get things done.
I have a lot of meetings on Monday's and Wednesday's,
so Tuesday's and Thursday's
are pretty important days for me.
So those are often days where,
at least once a week, on one of those days,
I am usually working outside of the home
because that way I can just be
as productive as possible in a shorter amount of time.
So, those are the five ways that you can be more productive
while working from home.
And I actually have a challenge for you today,
I want you to do one thing,
doesn't even have to be all of those.
But I want you to do one thing today
to help improve your working situation,
if you work from home.
So maybe it's just finding a new playlist,
maybe it's rearranging your desk.
Maybe it's picking a coffee shop to go to tomorrow.
Whatever it is, maybe it's even planning your day tomorrow,
I want you to do at least one thing today
so that you can take this video and actually have
a better more productive day tomorrow.
So, now you know how to be more productive
while working from home. But if you really wanna take
this productivity to the next level,
you need to have a plan for your day,
just like I was talking about earlier.
So I just wanna remind you again,
that you can click the link below this video
to download the free daily planner printable
that I have for you.
I love this resource,
there's an example of how to use it
and some more instructions in that download as well.
So, I hope you enjoy it. Now I love to hear from you,
what tips do you have for working from home
and being more productive?
I'm sure I left some stuff out here, we're all different,
so I would love to hear from you
in the comments below this video.
Let me know what you do to be more productive
while working form home.
And if you thought this video was helpful,
please hit the like button, subscribe
and share it with your friends so I know
to make more videos like this.
I'll see you in the next one.
(light music) See my lovely acne.
Look at that highlight.
Woo-hoo!
25 minutes, getting faster.
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