Top 10 Work From Home Productivity Tips
For many people, remote work feels like a double-edged sword that is simultaneously liberating and challenging. Some enjoy increased flexibility in their tasks and hours, and find improved work-life balance. For others, working from home blurs the lines between productivity and relaxation, making the call of procrastination ever more tempting.
Whether you’re a tutor, writer, engineer, coder, virtual assistant, social media manager, or other type of remote worker, here are 10 actionable productivity tips that can help you complete the day’s tasks with ease instead of effort.
1. Cultivate a Dedicated Workspace
Get off the couch and set a dedicated work zone in your house tol help your mind enter and stay in work mode, whether you have the space for a home office, or can only convert a corner of your living room.
A few recommendations: pick a quiet spot in your home, invest in a comfortable chair, and keep the space free of clutter and distractions. That may mean leaving your phone in another room or streaming some stimulating background music while you work.
2. Set Clear Work Hours and Boundaries
Nothing is worse than realizing you’ve somehow extended the work of 6 hours into 10 hours with distractions, procrastination, and poor time management. Try some time-blocking techniques to structure your day, like a Pomodoro session for 25-minute deep work sessions, or habit-stacking that seamlessly leads you into a morning routine from your bed to breakfast to your computer without fail.
If your job allows flexible hours, consider migrating away from the 9-to-5 rhythm. When are you most productive? For some, the morning is ideal, while others find their energy peaks in the afternoon. Let your body’s rhythms guide your day. Most importantly, set a clear time to stop the workday, so that you can continue dedicating time to your passions, personal projects, and relationships.
3. Prioritize Tasks with a Daily Plan
Plan as much of your day as possible the night before, so you can start your morning without wobbling between decisions. Keep a notepad or app ready to schedule your day. A to-do list will track your necessary tasks for the day, from submitting a report to doing your taxes to taking your kid to his dentist appointment. Google Calendar can send you reminders for important meetings, while Trello or monday.com keep you on top of long-term projects.
When you’re trying to figure out how to make it through your list, experiment with techniques like Eat the Frog, which encourages you to complete the hardest task of the day first, or the Eisenhower Matrix, which dictates whether you should do, delegate, schedule, or delete the task.
4. Leverage Website Blockers for Deep Work
Procrastinating is easier than ever, since most distractions: Netflix, YouTube, X, Instagram, Reddit, and news sites are all available through the same digital devices where we work. But you don’t have to fall victim to their pull: website blockers like Freedom can save you from getting sucked into the mindless scroll.
Freedom gives you full reign to build personalized blocklists for any situation at any time of day: you can add social media and streaming sites onto a Work blocklist, and shut off access to messaging apps and X when it’s time to Sleep. When you want to focus on a Creative Session, block off email access. Then, you can set up Block Sessions on the fly or on a recurring schedule, which allow you to add multiple blocklists and devices to that session.
For example, you can set up Pomodoro Session #1 to run on weekdays at 11am, with both your Work and Sleep blocklists activated. You get full customization power for optimal focus.
5. Take Regular, Intentional Breaks
It’s impossible to expect anyone to sit at a desk for 2 hours straight plugged into the highest level of productivity: that’s a quick recipe to burnout. Instead, embrace the science of taking breaks to give your mind and body a rest. Whether you enjoy the 5-minute breaks between Pomodoro sessions, or want to opt for a 30-minute workout to break up your afternoon work block, remote working allows you to take as many breaks as you desire.
Here are some break ideas:
- House chores: wash dishes, sweep your kitchen, repot a plant, or vacuum your living room within a few minutes.
- Cooking: Prep yourself a spicy snack, try your hand at a new recipe, or bake something sweet. While the oven does the heavy lifting, you can probably fit in one more Pomodoro session before you get to enjoy your treat.
- Inner Reflection: Meditate for a few minutes, check in with yourself by journaling your thoughts and feelings, or make a plan of action to achieve your goals or dreams.
6. Maintain Strong Communication with Your Team
Remote work can admittedly lead to communication breakdown between your team: to avoid misunderstandings, stay regularly connected so you’re aware of what needs to get done. Platforms like Notion or ClickUp track work progress, Microsoft Teams and Slack are the perfect messaging platforms, and Zoom or Google Meet facilitate face-to-face meetings.
Feelings of Isolation is another common symptom of remote work. Find your favorite coworker to set up virtual coworking sessions so you can ask questions or occasionally chat, just like being in the office. If you miss the social ambience of the office, Freedom offers Focus Sounds that replicate the hubbub of offices and coffee shops around the world. Better yet, maybe you can set up some workdays in cafes and even meet a coworker there.
7. Optimize Your Digital Environment
Besides using Freedom to block distractions, keep your digital environment well-organized to hop back into your tasks. Organize your digital files for optimized workflow, and try to delete or reorganize files once a week so you don’t find yourself digging for reports one day.
Block notifications whenever possible to reduce interruptions: this includes email! When you’re finally in the flow, the last thing you need is an email notification enticing your attention elsewhere. Even your boss can wait.
Sound plays an important role in your digital environment: noise-canceling headphones can keep you from being distracted by the crying baby in the apartment next door or the sounds of your partner taking calls for their WFH job. The best music is one without lyrics or in a language you don’t know: Freedom Focus Sounds offers stimulating binaural beats by Brain.fm, proven to stimulate your brain activity.
8. Keep Yourself Motivated and Engaged
Keeping your motivation high is key to a successful remote career. Don’t fall into wearing pajamas each day: changing into a slightly more structured outfit will boost your motivation into accomplishing tasks. Heading outside for a 10 minute walk fills you with a shot of vitamin D and replaces the “commute” to work.
Consistently demanding more of yourself will lead to burnout and job dread quickly. When you set goals, make sure you reward yourself for completing tasks big or small. Gift yourself a pop of dopamine with any of the below options:
- Movement: dance to your favorite playlist, do some deep stretches, or break a sweat with a workout.
- Pure Escapism: Crack open a good book, watch an episode of a show, play a cozy video game, or take a walk to a nature-filled spot near you.
- Social Connection: Call a friend or family member to catch up on life.
9. Maintain Work-Life Balance
Overworking is far too common for remote workers: to transition out of the work mindset, consider a small ritual to mark the transition back into your personal life, like making a cup of tea, playing a particular song, or putting on a podcast. Ideally it’s something that feels akin to a reward, so you’ll look forward to closing your laptop each day.
Maintaining a life and identity outside of work is essential for emotional wellbeing and fulfillment. Ensure you dedicate time to social activities that can get you out of the house, like meeting up with a friend to see a movie, play mini-golf, go for a hike, head to the gym, or get dinner. Creative projects like painting, gardening, or home improvements can also feel nourishing.
10. Prioritize Your Well-Being with Microadventures
It’s easy to neglect your health and well-being when there’s always work to be done, but a constant high level of productivity doesn’t necessarily correlate with high wellbeing. Find time in your day or week for “microadventures,” short, local, affordable activities that offer novelty, excitement, and fulfillment.
Stargaze at night, camp in your backyard, try birdwatching or a picnic in your local park, drive to a local farm for some seasonal produce, or keep an eye out for live music on the weekend. These small activities can help you return to your workweek feeling refreshed and ready to take on new challenges.
Enjoy the Freedom of Working From Home
Not everyone gets to enjoy a remote job: take advantage of the greater flexibility and create your ideal day that balances work tasks with quality time for yourself. The key lies in experimenting with multiple strategies, from creating a specific work zone and schedule, experimenting with task techniques, and ensuring you stay motivated and fulfilled with breaks, rewards, and outings that help you come back to work refreshed. Whether you want to focus on work or your workout, lean on tech like Freedom to block digital distractions so you can enter your flow state with ease. Get more productivity tips by checking out the Freedom blog and podcast, and download Freedom today to boost your productivity.
