Working remotely is fun and game-like until you reach your first productivity block. Dive deeper into your daily struggle against notifications and distraction overloads, as there is no one around to make you feel responsible and acknowledge your work.

However, remote work productivity statistics are a different story. As per Optimize expert analysis, 83% of employees report that working remotely has increased their productivity, even during COVID19. In addition, 68% of HR managers’ report that employee productivity has improved since they started working remotely.

Tips that will help Remote Worker

Is everyone else good at managing distractions in remote workspaces? Or are there certain productivity tips that you aren't interested in while working remotely? Well, in reality one or more of them may be present. Let’s look at them.

1. Maintain Regular Hours

While working remotely, set a schedule and stick to it for most of the time. Clear guidelines on when to work and when to finish the day help many remote workers maintain a balance between work and life. 

However, one of the biggest benefits of working remotely is the flexibility if your job allows it. You may need to extend the day or start early to accommodate other people's time zones. If so, make sure you pack faster than usual or sleep a little the next morning to make up for it.

In addition, you can plan other activities immediately after working hours. This can be anything from a family dinner to a yoga class you don't want to miss. It's best to involve others as it adds responsibility and helps you unplug easily.

You can use an automatic time tracking app like Rescue Time, Tracker to make sure it's on schedule. It also helps you keep track of the most productive and slack hours of the day. You can use this information to your advantage by protecting the times when difficult tasks are most likely to occur. For example, if you tend to be very productive between 9:30 am and 11:30 am, it is better not to schedule a meeting during that time.

2. Create a routine

It's one thing to sit at your desk and decide to start work at a particular time. Creating a routine that puts you in a chair is another. 

When it comes to starting every day, routines can be more powerful than clocks. What does your morning routine indicate that you are about to get to work? It's a good idea to brew your own coffee before working on your to-do list. After jogging, you can go home or get dressed. (Wearing pajamas is a family perk for some, but a bad strategy for others.) Find out what existing habits you have, such as walking around. Then you can get into that new habit of starting your work day.

You could call it a "morning routine," but not everyone who works at home follows a 9-5 schedule. Your routine could be a "first step" routine at another time of the day. Still, look for existing habits you have and start working the next day.

3. A proper home office

What is the best thing about working from home? It is the level of comfort. 

But did you know that this convenience can come at the expense of lost productivity, concentration, and goal setting? 

Work from home is convenient for many, but the comfort of a bed or sofa makes it difficult to resist the temptation to sleep in an unhealthy sleep routine.

Your immediate environment plays a crucial role in your productivity. It also increases transparency only when working remotely.

Sitting at a traditional office desk where people around you silently do their work, and when you're at home, it is a completely different scenario, a messy desk, calls from family members etc. and also notifications from different devices. 

The first thing to do is make sure your home desk or office space is neat and tidy. A confused workplace will add unnecessary stress and distractions. After all, a clear space really means a clear mind. Then try to convey clear boundaries to the people you live with. If you live with your roommate, you can tell them your working hours and ask them not to be disturbed during that time.

4. Keep priorities in check

Are you confident that you usually start with the simplest tasks and build up gradually until you can later tackle the most demanding tasks?

Welcome to the club. 

But before tapping your back, rethink the whole process. 

It turns out that you're wasting your time focusing most on low-priority tasks. By the time you reach a very important and time-consuming task, you've already lost focus and energy, which has a huge impact on your performance. However, this can be completely counterproductive for those who tend to procrastinate. You may try to procrastinate as much as possible and go back to the old principles. 

There are other ways where you can go one step further and study the entire process scientifically. As we have already learned, we can get fairly accurate data on productivity levels during the day. This knowledge can be applied here as well. Instead of procrastinating the moments when you need to tackle the most dreadful tasks and wasting time afraid, you can schedule it during the hours when you are most productive.

5. Maintain notifications

Another important point to deal with is to stay out of the way of business chat.

As humans, we naturally long for a connection and a sense of belonging to the community. And this is especially true for remote teams where people rarely have the opportunity to chat with colleagues or spend time with them. 

Technology has helped fill this gap in connectivity, but it also impairs concentration. Studies show that constant interruptions can have a profound impact on our concentration and productivity. Keeping all conversations in your company up-to-date is important, but consistent pings from the corporate team's chat app can lead to distractions. 

It should be your priority to optimize your productivity by considering pausing notifications in your business messaging app when you need to focus on your work. You can also go one step further and opt to choose to mute certain channels or DMs altogether and read them during breaks or during non-business hours.

6. Install Quality Technology

A good internet connection is the ultimate tool for remote workers. Poor Internet connections and systems that are out of date can be as frustrating as we love to work at our own pace. 

What if I attend an important meeting from the Facetime app and lose my internet connection? Or is it not clear enough to hear your voice due to network problems? 

However, to buy an affordable network, it's a good idea to thoroughly research its specifications, speed, and price before making a decision.  

The rules are very simple. 

• Thoroughly investigate your ISP plan 

• Look for them on various online sites 

• Study requirements 

• Receive recommendations from friends and other users to buy

The same applies to a well-functioning system, which is a prerequisite for improving your work ability. Occasionally a machine breaks and  work is interrupted, which can lead to loss of momentum. 

Therefore, doing it without using detailed work tools is a big challenge for the smooth functioning of the work.

• Invest in affordable devices from real technology brands with great features 

• Make sure you have the latest version of the processor and operating system

• Please store and keep them with utmost care

7. Interact with the Team

The fusion of work and personal life can be quite confusing. In the office, you are surrounded by people who work in a similar environment to you. 

The opposite is true at home. 

Remote work can be quite lonely, especially if it is isolated. It's not good in front of your family because your work is not interrelated with them. Everyone at home, from teammates to bosses, works differently. As a result, it is often difficult to share information and have everyone on the same page. 

They may all have different working hours, and this can make some bumps on the road. In these situations, communication is the key to navigating these bumps.  

You need to discuss with your manager how the system works, how often you check in, or how often you send messages to contact each other. This rule applies to all other colleagues. Lack of communication can have side effects on your work and can make you feel disconnected as well as make you unproductive. 

To feel connected, you need to know how much interaction you need.
You should act accordingly. Feel free to contact your colleagues. The nice thing about this is that some tools have been designed to fix this problem. There are multiple chat channels and FaceTime applications that you can use to connect with your teammates, hold group meetings, and stay up to date. 

However, you don't always have to talk about your work. Regular chat is fine as long as it eliminates the social isolation of working from home. 

Video Hangouts is a great way to stay connected and enjoy at the same time.  If you're introverted and don't like socializing, join some interactive sessions to get to know your team. This avoids all sorts of annoying problems that your teammates may encounter in the future when they take office. 

You need to be more proactive in maintaining professional relationships. 

Some of the video chat applications available today  

• Google hangouts
• Google Duo 
• Skype
• zooming
• Microsoft Teams

In addition, Zoom's screen sharing feature helps ensure that everyone is on the same page, providing feedback and exchanging ideas. 

If you have enough of any of these apps, you can spend half a day in a video conference with your team. Make sure you are in a bright room to improve the quality of your chat session.

8. Take a few Breaks

When you're in the office, it's really common to wait for a break to relax. However, the structure is different at home. 

You are likely to work in a break situation, but never take a break. In short, the house is where we go after work.  

But when you work from home, things get messy.  Your working hours can be mixed with your breaks. Therefore, you need to determine the break time accurately. 

Always sit in one place while working and do not empty your brain muscles. Stress can go anywhere.  

Just move around and stay active all day long. Occasionally take a break, walk around, play with pets, and listen to music. It purely has scientific reasons, and even the brain needs breaks to avoid fatigue, maximize productivity, and increase creativity. 

You can also take a short nap or practice breathing exercises to be more careful and efficient throughout the day.

• Add appropriate break schedules to planners 

• Include the time allotted for each break 

• Stop working as soon as the clock reaches the specified time 

• You can start a timer on the screen of your device to lock out of your computer during a break.

Conclusion

The more remote work stays here and the faster the routine adapts to the model, the better the overall work experience and success. However, while remote work environments can be isolated, keep in mind that they offer many benefits and opportunities for a productive and engaging workflow and a solid work-life balance. 

Recognizing specific needs and productivity gains is important for creating a routine that suits you. Use the tips in this article to inspire your ideal remote work production strategy.