Top Tips to Ensure you're Working to your Full Potential from Home!

If you own your own home business or are now working from home, you will want to find ways the maximise your efficiency and keep yourself working to your full potential . Working from home can result in your feeling disengaged from the company you work for, or cause you to feel lonely and / or unmotivated. However, there are many ways you can post your enthusiasm and find ways through those through periods. In this post I'm going to share four ways to help you combat these issues, to ensure you succeed whilst working from home.

Dress the Part

Even if no one is going to see you all day, psychologically, it is better if you dress the part. This is because the whole process of getting ready and dressed will put you into work mode and can definitely give you a little spring in your step to start the day! There's nothing worse than sitting in your pyjamas for a long work day - you definitely won't feel productive this way. You will most likely have many face-to-face meetings virtually anyway, so making sure you're dressed correctly is best practice.

Create a Home Office

Ideally you will want to have a room dedicated to work, or at least a dedicated corner of a room to call your home office, which is free from distractions. You may want to put your personal mobile away while you're working too, maybe in a different room to help stop the temptation of looking at it! Decent home office desks are a must; try to position your desk so that you're near a window to help with natural light. Be sure to check the desk and chair you have are suitable for extended hours of sitting, as you do not want to end up with a long lasting injury or pain from bad posture. 

Have a Structure to your Day

Try to keep to your regular working day schedule as much as possible - if you used to wake up, shower, and then have breakfast by a certain time, try to stick to this routine (although you may be able to benefit from those few extra minutes in bed). It is far better to have a regular structure to your day, as you will be able to work more effectively. Getting up whenever you want to eat or stretch your legs would not happen in the office environment, so try not to get into bad habits at home. BUT do make sure to take regular breaks for lunch and getting some fresh air - you'll need it!

Stay in Regular Contact

If you are in a situation where you are working remotely, ensure you maintain regular contact to stay connected with the company you work for. This can be done in a variety of different ways, for example a daily call, or an open instant messenger chat with one or several of your colleagues, where you can quickly throw a question is another. Zoom meetings are a great way to see colleagues face-to-face, and although you don't have to be on screen, it can be good to see some familiar faces. The more connected and in touch you can be, the better you will feel.

This is a collaborative post.