Six Tips To Boost Productivity & Efficiency in the Remote Work Era

Introduction

As a remote worker, there’s no doubt that you have more flexibility than your office-bound colleagues. But with this freedom comes a different kind of responsibility: learning how to make the most of your time and be as productive as possible. After all, you may not have an office manager or co-workers around to keep you accountable for staying on top of tasks and meeting deadlines—unless they’re on Slack! The good news is that many of the same productivity tips apply in both situations. Here are six tips for increasing productivity and efficiency when working remotely:

Get your environment right.

You’re going to be spending a lot of time in this space, so make sure it’s set up for success. If possible, try to have an office or designated work area where other people won’t disturb you. If that’s not an option, then at least shut off the TV and close all other windows onto social media sites like Facebook or Twitter (unless they’re helpful). You want to be able to focus on what matters most: your work!

The same goes for phone calls–turn off notifications so they don’t distract from what really matters: getting things done!

Schedule time for what you want to get done.

The first step to boosting productivity and efficiency is to actually schedule time for what you want to get done. You may be thinking, “But I can’t just plan out my day like that! I have too much going on.” But let me tell you: It works. The best way to make sure that your workday runs smoothly is by scheduling blocks of time for specific tasks and tasks within those blocks of time. For example:

• Monday morning-9am-11am: Write blog post about remote work culture/productivity tips
• Monday afternoon-12pm-1pm: Lunch with coworkers at local restaurant

Stay focused.

The first step to staying productive is to stay focused. If you’re working from home or remotely, there will likely be many distractions around you–phone calls from friends and family, emails from co-workers and clients, social media notifications on your phone…the list goes on. The important thing is not letting these distractions take over your day!

If you find that this happens often (especially if it’s an issue in the office as well), try setting aside time during the day where no one can contact you except for emergencies. This could include taking lunch away from the desk or going on a walk outside for an hour at lunchtime with no access to technology whatsoever (and preferably no cell service). You could also use software like Freedom or Quiet Hours so that no one can reach out via email until after 5pm–or even just turn off notifications entirely while working at home so they don’t distract further throughout the day.

Communicate clearly, the right way.

Communication is the cornerstone of any remote team or business. You need to be able to communicate clearly, effectively and efficiently with your employees, as well as other stakeholders such as clients and vendors.

If you’re not used to working remotely (or even if you are), make sure that everyone understands what they should be doing before they start working on a project or task. It’s not enough just saying “do this,” or “make sure this happens.” Be specific about what needs done so there are no surprises later down the line when something doesn’t turn out right because someone didn’t do their part correctly.

The best way for me personally has been using Trello boards with cards containing checklists for each step of my projects; this keeps everyone informed about where things stand at all times without having long conversations via email or Slack chatrooms which can get overwhelming quickly if there’s too much going on at once!

Track your progress and adjust as needed.

• Track your progress and adjust as needed.
• Set goals, and track your progress.
• Use a time tracker to see how much time you spend on different tasks. You can also use this data to see where the bottlenecks in your workflow are, and whether they’re worth prioritizing or if they should be cut out altogether. For example, if you find that every hour of work takes 30 minutes because of social media breaks and other distractions, then maybe it’s worth cutting those out altogether! If not, at least now there’s no doubt about what needs to get done first in order for everything else on your list (including personal errands) come secondarily later down below once more focus has been regained through proper planning ahead of time beforehand so nothing gets forgotten during those busy days when all eyes will be watching closely over shoulders looking out for any mistakes made along the way.”

Break it up if you need to.

Even if you’re used to working on your own, it can be helpful to break up tasks into smaller chunks. If you have a long list of things that need doing and are feeling overwhelmed by it all, try setting aside 15 minutes at a time and focusing on just one thing. Use a timer if that helps keep your focus sharp!

It’s also important not to forget about taking breaks as well–both in terms of how often they happen during the day (every 90 minutes or so) and what those breaks look like for each person. Some people prefer using their lunch hour for an extended break; others might take their lunch at their desk but then go outside for 20 minutes afterward so they can get some fresh air before getting back into work mode again. Whatever works best for each individual will vary from person-to-person based on what kind of work environment they’re most comfortable working under; however there are some general guidelines worth keeping in mind no matter where someone lives:

Remote work can be very productive if you know how to do it right!

In the past few years, remote work has become more and more common. It’s estimated that over 40{b863a6bd8bb7bf417a957882dff2e3099fc2d2367da3e445e0ec93769bd9401c} of American workers will be working remotely at least part time by 2020. As this trend continues to grow, it’s important for us all to understand how we can make the most out of our time spent outside of an office environment.

Here are six tips for boosting productivity and efficiency in the remote work era:

Conclusion

If you’re looking to get the most out of your remote work experience, these tips are a great place to start. Remember that remote work is a very flexible way of working and there’s no one right way to do it. You can use these tips as inspiration for creating your own system or simply pick up one or two ideas that will help you stay productive no matter where in the world (or universe) you find yourself today!