Easy hacks to maximise work-from-home productivity

Imagine this situation. 

You have a looming deadline. And the clock is ticking. You’re trying to accomplish a lot of things at once and yet you are nowhere close to completing the task at hand. Time is running out and so is your patience.

Sounds familiar? If so, you’re not alone!

We all have, at some point or the other, found ourselves in this time-management soup. We have put tasks of high priority on hold for something less important. And when time started to slip out of our hands, we panicked and furiously tried to finish the work.

But where was the focus lost? How did we suddenly run out of time? 

Well, the truth is that time did not really vanish. It was used up on the trivial and rather unimportant work like surfing the internet aimlessly, wandering from one social media platform to another, reading and sharing memes and so on!

But, don’t worry! This happens to the best of us, even the most driven and time-efficient people struggle with this – or what is also called – procrastination. However, just because it sounds Sisyphean, does not mean you cannot overcome it.

Understanding procrastination

Procrastination and laziness are two different things which are often used interchangeably. Procrastination is an active process where you choose to work on something less important than the actual work. On the other hand, laziness is the unwillingness to work.

How to know if you are procrastinating?

It’s quite simple, just look out for these signs:

• If you are taking up too many unnecessary tasks throughout the day
• Taking too much time to check off your to-do list
• Getting easily distracted. For eg, when you leave a high priority task to surf the internet 
• Feeling overwhelmed with work or fear of failure 

How to overcome procrastination

You can easily overcome procrastination using these simple tips:

Step 1: Know WHEN you are procrastinating 

If you are delaying your work for something more important or for a genuine and unavoidable reason then you are not necessarily putting off work. However, if you are putting off work, without any reason, then you might have to revisit your priorities.

Steps 2: Know WHY you are procrastinating

There could be multiple reasons why you are procrastinating. One of them could be poor organisation skills. The easiest way to get organised is by making a task list. 

Another reason for procrastination could be not finding the task interesting enough. In that case, focus all your concentration on the task and try to power through it so that you can move on to the work that you like more. 

Step 3: Know HOW to stop procrastinating

Maintain a to-do list and time yourself: You cannot change a habit overnight. However, you can improve by organising yourself better. Write down your tasks and allot a certain amount of time to each of them. Try to finish the task in the stipulated time. It will not only help you finish your work on time, but also prevent you from burning out.  

Treat yourself: Once you finish your task in the given time, reward yourself with a treat. It will help you remember how good it feels to finish things on time. 

Act wisely: Finish tasks as and when they come. Always think of minimising your task list, not building it up. 

Avoid distractions: While working, try to keep the internet rabbit holes at a bay (remember it never ends with one YouTube video). Another wise thing to do is to control social media use unless necessary. Also, avoid working at a noisy place. 

Identity your strengths: Know what time of the day — morning, afternoon or evening — suits you the best. Finish the overwhelming tasks during those hours. 

Quit Multitasking: Managing several things at once slows down your brain thus lowering your work efficiency. Do not try to control everything happening around you at once. 

Procrastination is a very common habit. Most people are guilty of succumbing to it at some point in their lives. However, if you feel that it is pulling you back from accomplishing your work milestones, start introducing these small but key changes to improve your everyday life.

Let us know how you manage your time at home and stay at your productive best in the comments section below.

[custom_author=Harshita Dubey ]