Do you enjoy working from home or are you desperate for the day it is time to return to the office?

Whether you’re pro work from home or not, I’m assuming you’re looking for work from home productivity tips to maximize your effectiveness. Good news! You’re in the right place.

I’m an environmental educator at a local agency in Virginia. I reinforce science curriculum standards for students and teach people how to be better stewards of the earth by respecting our waterways. Now, I’m doing all of this virtually. 

Not only am I doing this virtually, but I’m also doing this virtually at home with my husband and our 13-month-old son. 

And you know what?

I LOVE IT! 

I recently chatted with my neighbor and told her how much I’m loving working from home with my family and she gave me one of these looks…

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But honestly, I really am enjoying it. As a new mom, I’ve had the privilege to watch every one of my son’s milestones. In addition, we’re able to sit down at the dinner table as a family every night with a hot, homecooked meal.

Holding Yourself Accountable When Working From Home

Being at home has been such a blessing, but it’s not always easy. Distractions are real and so are deadlines.

Even though I’m working from home with a toddler, my job is still important to me. Despite the fact that Baby Boy is very busy and curious. It is still my responsibility to be attentive and productive on the job.

I hold myself accountable to be the best employee I can be. Yes, I have an obligation as a mom, but I also have an obligation as an employee.

It is my responsibility to not only work from home with my son, but also be a productive employee producing quality work.

Why I Love Working From Home?

Besides the pandemic of course, here are the best reasons to work from home:

No commute

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I’ve talked about the impact of our daily commute to work on the environment in a previous blog post. Annually working from home, just half-time, would be the greenhouse gas equivalent of taking the entire New York State workforce off the road.

Research suggests there is no easier, quicker, and cheaper way to reduce your carbon footprint than by reducing commuter travel.

When working full time, I spent anywhere between 1.5 – 2.5 hours in the car every day. This included my commute to drop off my son in the morning.

Now that I am working from home, I fill up my gas tank about once a month. Of course, our current pandemic also plays a large role in my lack of travel.

Regardless, less time in the car means less carbon emission and more time to do other things that bring joy and value to my life…like spending time with my family.

Spending more time with family

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A study found that 59% of people do not want to return to the office after the pandemic.

Want to know the number one reason people do not want to return to the office?

They want to continue to spend more time with their family. In fact, over 30% of people listed spending more time with family as the best part of working from home.

Getting dressed is optional

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Getting dressed helps frame your mind for the day. It is not only motivational to get moving, it makes you feel good!

That being said, I’ve been known to wear a button-up top and sweatpants for Zoom meetings. Sometimes you just have those days.

When you’re working from home you have much more flexibility to work comfortably depending on how you feel that day.

Getting my time back!

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Not only does your commute disappear when working from home, you suddenly have pockets of time you never had before.

I am able to empty the dishwasher in between Skype calls. Or defrost the container of leftovers in the freezer for dinner that night. I never forget my lunch and the shift between work life and home life is instant.

These may seem like small details, but they’re pockets of joy!

Being healthier

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I finally have time to work out again! Since returning to work after maternity leave, I couldn’t fathom squeezing in time to go to the gym. Workouts were reserved for weekends.

Now, I can regularly schedule working out because I have more time in my day. I can work out on a lunch break, before work, or directly after work.

I’m in control of my work environment and my schedule

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I know there are a lot of moms who are in similar situations. We work full-time but now find ourselves under the obligation of keeping our house in order and being productive at work at the same time.

To help you conquer working from home, here are 18 work from home productivity hacks.

This blog may contain affiliate links. If you choose to take action (and I hope you do!), I will earn a commission. I have chosen these products because they are awesome and helpful, not because of the small commission I will receive. Thank you!

Effective Work From Home Productivity Tips:

1. Take breaks often

Taking breaks gives you time to step away to reset and recharge.

According to a recent study, taking breaks increases job satisfaction increases productivity, and improves well-being.

I find that when I take breaks often I come back with a clear head and a fresh perspective.

2. Get Bluelight Glasses

This tip will help you increase your productivity by increasing your comfort.

Spending more time on the computer means your eyes are more strained than they would normally. Eye strain leads to

• Blurry Vision
• Discomfort
• Dry eyes
• Eye fatigue
• Headaches

These glasses are cute, trendy, and helpful! They block harmful blue rays from your eyes to help your eyes relax more and strain less.

3. Make to-do lists to stay organized

There are many organization and time management tips you can incorporate into your work from home lifestyle.

Let’s be honest, working from home has its own set of distractions – your kids are asking for another snack, another solicitor has rung the doorbell, and the oven timer is beeping for food you’ve been cooking for dinner!

The same benefits we love about working from home are sometimes our biggest distraction.

Organization is imperative to remain productive when working from home.

I have a personal planner and a work planner. I use these planners to help organize my to-do-lists for the day and stay on task.

4. Stick to a routine

Routines help decrease stress and anxiety by providing a structured plan for the day. If you have an idea of what you’re doing each day at a certain time, it takes away the constant need for decision making and allows you to focus on more important tasks, like staying productive while working from home.

Decision fatigue is a thing! Decision fatigue takes place when you’re mentally burnt out from the number of decisions you’ve made and end up taking the easiest route.

By the end of the day, we’ve made over 30,000 decisions! Making constant small decisions leaves your brain too exhausted to make more important choices later.

Combat this by creating a routine that is consistent and practical to leave your brain more freedom to accomplish tasks at work.

5. Set up your work area in a functional way

Making sure you have a workspace that is functional to accomplish your job is a key to success. Although we’re all tempted to work from our beds every now and then, having a dedicated, functional space helps to dramatically improve work from home productivity.

Here is an awesome infographic to help you set up your work area in a functional way.

6. Put your phone away

Have you ever set your mind on accomplishing a task and then found yourself scrolling on Instagram for hours?

Yup, same here.

Instead of being subject to the constant notifications and charming “dings” on your phone, try putting your phone away or turning on Do Not Disturb.

Removing the distraction of your phone helps to clear your mind for work, allowing you to be more productive.

7. Keep your TV OFF

Similar to my sentiments about putting away your cellphone, keep your TV off.

Yes, we’re working at home. I know the attraction of binge-watching Netflix and Bravo is so enticing, but keep your TV off. There is no way you can be productive at work while also being glued into a movie or show.

8. Set your intentions for the day BEFORE the day starts

One of the quotes I live by is “The success of the next day starts the night before”.

The success of your day starts before you even get out of bed. Making sure to set your intentions for the day and plan what you want your next day to look like is a game-changer.

Here are some ways to set your intentions for the day:

• Daily affirmations
• Daily prayers
• Manifestation
• Meditation
• Reviewing your vision board
• Yoga

Each of these tasks are ways to set intentions for the day and visualize how you want to conquer the day, thus increasing productivity even when working from home.

9. Reward yourself

Met your deadline? Take a 5 minute break!

Rocked that presentation? There’s a glass of wine with your name on it after dinner.

Finally got that bonus at work? Treat yourself to a little something nice.

Receiving a reward sends happy signals to our brains. It tells us we should do more of that thing to feel more happy signals.

Rewarding yourself provides a personal incentive to accomplish tasks and remain productive.

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10. Set your availability

Whether you use Outlook or Microsoft Teams, set up your availability.

To limit unnecessary interruptions, let your team know when you are available for contact.

Schedule in your break time, your lunch time, and your time to work on specific projects.

Your device will most likely send you a pesky little reminder alerting you of the upcoming “task”. This will not only keep you on track, it will ensure uninterrupted time to maintain your productivity.

11. Create boundaries

This working from home productivity tip requires self-discipline. It is important to set up boundaries and stick with them.

To create boundaries, make sure you set limits with yourself. Examples of boundaries include setting a time on when you will no longer check your emails, clearly declaring what time you will answer phone calls, setting up your work hours, etc.

These boundaries also need to be communicated to your friends AND your family.

Work-life and home-life can easily become blended so if you want to remain productive while working from home you will have to learn to set boundaries.

12. Listen to music (or podcasts)

If you’re like me, silence is not golden!

Listening to music keeps me alert, motivated, and inspired. I choose my playlist based on my mood and jam my way into the end of the day.

13. Be prepared for meetings

One of the most impactful work from home productivity tips is to be prepared for meetings.

Before your meeting make sure to read the meeting summary, the agenda, and have thoughtful and insightful contributions to provide. This not only makes you feel like a #boss, it significantly helps with productivity!

In addition, make sure you run effective meetings. Running an effective meeting means the meeting is timely, effective, and has actionable next steps. This ensures you and your team are also productive.

14. Focus, focus, and more focus

Use your to-do-list to prioritize and outline the items you need to focus on first. Focus on what is important!

Personally, I have the tendency to try to do all the things and I lose focus on what is most important.

Remove the distractions that you can control and focus on being productive at work.

15. Set priorities

Speaking of prioritizing…have you set your priorities?

My days are much more productive when I have set my priorities for the day. Setting priorities means identifying what is important for you to accomplish.

Here is how I prioritize:

• At the end of each workweek, I go through my work e-mails and make a list of action items that need to be addressed the next week
• On Sunday (or Monday morning) I use that list to create my to-do list in my planner.
• I separate everything into categories: immediate, before the end of the week, later.

This system helps me prioritize and stay on top of my game, even while working at home.

16. Get dressed

I’ll admit, this is a difficult work from home productivity tip. *see above under benefits of working from home.

Getting dressed has a direct correlation with productivity. When you put on clothes you don’t mind others seeing you in, something changes in your mind.

Just like PJs and lounge clothes signal your brain to relax, getting dressed for the day tells your mind it’s time to work!

You don’t have to put on a full face of makeup, earrings and high heels, but maybe a nice shirt and something other than sweatpants!

17. Keep your workspace clear

A decluttered space bring clarity!

According to this Psychology Today, here is why clutter stresses us and leads to decreased productivity:

• Bombards us with extra stimuli
• Tells our brain that our work is never done
• Inhibits creativity
• Creates frustration
• Distracts us

18. Jazz up your space

We need a clear space to remain productive, but we also need a space that invites us to work.

Try adding items to help jazz up your work space!

Here are some suggestions we’ve added to our office!

Standing Desk Converter: standing while working has a dramatic positive impact on your back. Instead of sitting all day, I’m able to easily stand up to get a boost in energy and also an extra calorie burn.

Floating Shelves: Honestly, I bought these shelves because they were on sale! I had no idea how much I would love them. They’re easy to hang and work perfectly with our neutral, white and grey decor.

Magnetic Poster Hangers: These magnetic poster hangers are perfect for anyone who doens’t want to buy a frame or doesn’t like putting a lot of wholes in the wall. These magnetic posters make hanging wall art so easy! It still lays flesh against the wall and maintains a chic and casual vibe.

Let Me Know What A Comment

Productivity is more than just creating a to-do list and following it. Productivity means doing more of what matters and less of what wastes time. It also means being motivated enough to produce results and accomplish meaningful work.

In truth, I LOVE working from home. Whether you’re in the office or working from home, there will be distractions. For me, the benefits of working from home far outweigh being in the office. The key to being successful, however, is making sure to remain productive.

I hope these work from home productivity hacks were helpful!

Have you ever worked from home? Do you enjoy working from home or being in the office? Have you tried any of these tips to stay productive? Do you have a productivity tip I didn’t mention?