7 habits
to develop
to stay productive
when you work
from home

Working at home is not a reason to lose good habits. Quite the contrary. Unconsciously, you associate with work the clothes that you usually wear to work. These clothes put you in a frame of mind that favours productivity.

To get the day off to a good start and get yourself in work mode, get dressed as if you were getting ready to go to the office.

Working from home doesn’t have to be synonymous with isolation and working in solitude. Between emails, instant messaging services and the social media, there is no reason not to maintain regular communications with your team to find out how projects are going, ask questions or just show up for work, even remotely.

If you regularly work from home, you should reserve a space in your home to work. That will you leave you less inclined to mix business with pleasure. And it will prevent your professional stress from creeping into your private life.

If you don’t have enough room at home to create a work space or if you have too much trouble disciplining yourself in the comfort of your home, don’t be afraid to go outside or to a coffee shop to work. Studies have shown that ambient noise can even get the creative juices flowing.

For those who telework exclusively and who want a specific place to work outside the home, more and more organizations are renting office space in common work areas. This method of co-working is generally less expensive than renting an office alone and allows you to see people every day.

One of the greatest virtues of teleworking is total peace. If you choose to isolate yourself, there’s nobody to bother you and you are free to do your work interruption. In this context, it may be easy to convince yourself to work continuously to succeed in making the most of this benefit. However, trying to do too much will probably not play in your favour. To stay productive, don’t forget to take regular breaks.

There’s a thin line between a productive break and procrastination. That’s true at any time of day, but lunch hour is especially dangerous. When you’re at home, you could be tempted to prepare an elaborate meal. However, the time spent cooking can easily encroach on the most productive hours of the day.

To make sure that meal preparation doesn’t eat into your work day, consider preparing dishes the day before or even in the morning, before you start to work.

Commit to accomplishing a realistic quantity of work and give yourself a cut-off time for completing it. That will help you to better structure your time. As you see your cut-off time approaching, you will be motivated to finish the work you’ve committed to completing. More importantly, this will allow you to establish a clear boundary between your professional time and your personal time.

Most of all: take advantage of cloud technologies

Several tools and work applications are now offered in cloud version (online). This allows those who choose to telework to remain connected with their team and their employer. Being connected to the same software as your co-workers will facilitate collaboration and communication between you and maximize your productivity.

Opting for cloud computing also allows you to access your work documents at any time and from anywhere. All you need is a computer, telephone or tablet and an Internet connection. You will have a consistent work environment at all times, regardless of the tool you are working with.

To help you make a better choice in terms of cloud computing solutions, we recommend that you read our article on the topic: Security, accessibility, functions: how to choose a cloud computing supplier

In short, to keep productive when your work from home, you have to develop productive habits and an optimal work routine. What works for other people may not work for you and vice-versa. The important thing is to find the approach that suits you the most and make full use of it.