How to be more productive working from home

Don’t feel guilty about working in your pajamas. When you feel comfortable, you’re more likely to be relaxed. Being relaxed (not stressed) is key to being productive.

Try to wake up at the same time every day. Keep the first half an hour work-free (i.e. by meditating, doing yoga, or making a nice breakfast). This will help fuel your focus later on.

Nobody likes Zoom calls that drag on and on. Make sure every online meeting has a clear agenda with actionable outcomes. Less time will be wasted, and the calls will feel more worthwhile. 

It’s okay to keep your video camera off during meetings with colleagues who know you well. But if you’re less familiar, it’s better to turn the camera on. Most of our communication is non-verbal, so visible body language will help to keep things clearer (and waste less time).

Experiment. If possible, try out different spots around the home to work from. Something as simple as a different chair or lighting can make all the difference in keeping you more focused.

Set boundaries between your work and your life. At the end of the day, you should be able to leave your work behind (ideally in another room, with all notifications turned off). Personally, I like to take a shower and change into different clothes!

Help your family (or flatmates) know when you’re available and when you’re not. (Wearing headphones is a good ‘do not disturb’ signal). Connect Slack with your Google Calendar so that colleagues know when they can ping you and when you’re busy.

Working remotely (especially in different time zones) means more tasks are handled out of sync. This is why Google Docs is so useful: you can work on documents together or apart.

When everyone works from home, there's a risk that responsibilities (and accountability) can crumble. Communication and documentation become far more important. Try to hold “post mortems” on key projects: share honest but understanding feedback on what worked and what didn’t.

Remember to be human. Take breaks, get some fresh air. Use the first few minutes of an online meeting to connect with people personally. As long as you keep an eye on your health and wellbeing, there’s no reason why you can’t be just as (or more) productive at home.