Working from home is still a novel notion for most individuals, and finding a remote work schedule that works may be demanding.
After all, productivity isn’t innate, but being productive can be learned. Plus, it’s more of a set of behaviors you need to develop and maintain every day. As a remote worker, your expectations and reality may differ significantly.
With a few little adjustments, you can create an effective remote work plan that keeps you constantly throughout the day.
Remote Work Routine
Why is a remote work schedule important? Unfortunately, newbies to remote employment frequently fall into two traps:
Those who believe they can be more productive when not in the office. Then work so much that their job quality suffers. Or worse, they burn out. Those that believe they can’t work as efficiently from home end up scheduling less work, resulting in lower production. Remote workers must carefully plan their workdays to make the most of their time. Scheduling can benefit you in several ways:
Recognize your reasonable professional goals. Schedule them accordingly.
Make sure you have enough time for everything on your list.
Make room in your calendar for ‘unexpected work.’
Get adequate rest, family, friends, interests, and exercise.
Improve work-life balance by being aware of what that means, and make your work more environmentally friendly.
How to plan remote work
1. Schedule non-work hours
First, block out all non-work hours to know how much time you have each day to do your chores. Time tracking is essential when you are figuring it all out. Distinguishing between work and non-work hours can help you disconnect more readily at the end of the day. As a result of not having a lot of time’ to just lounge about or take extended breaks, you get more done in less time.
2. Schedule uninterrupted focus time
There are innumerable distractions when working from home: texts, emails from coworkers, housework, hungry dogs, family members, etc. Therefore, you need quiet attention time to develop a successful remote work plan. The goal is to schedule 50-60 minutes of uninterrupted focus time when you only focus on one subject at a time.
You may set a timer, put your phone on quiet, and dismiss all other tabs to avoid being distracted when working on anything essential.
3. Schedule meetings when you’re least productive
Remote employment allows for greater freedom. So you may plan your time according to your productivity. In this case, if you are a morning person who is most productive first thing in the morning, you may arrange meetings for nights when you can’t work on complex projects.
Similarly, if you are tired and exhausted soon after lunch, plan all your meetings for the afternoon. Nothing beats virtually meeting and catching up with coworkers.
4. Schedule breaks like essential meetings.
Breaks are as crucial as focused hours if you want to be productive all day. Working without breaks all day will lead to burnout and damage your job. On the other hand, taking breaks might be challenging while working on something essential or facing a deadline — sometimes you just have to keep going.
It’s also normal to forget to take a break. Schedule 15-30 minute breaks every day to remind yourself to take them. You don’t have to take all of the planned breaks, but you should attempt to take as many as possible. When you need a break, stretch or go outside for some fresh air.
5. Plan your day like an office
You may choose your own schedule when you work from home, but it doesn’t imply you should work nonstop all day to finish your list. Without adequate breaks, you’ll lose productivity and maybe burn out. So instead, plan and manage your day like an office. Take your morning routine, a great lunch break, and then frequent coffee lunch breaks when you start feeling sleepy around 5 p.m. so you can return to work rejuvenated.
6. Establish home rules
Working from home might be challenging when family members constantly interrupt or surround you. In addition, working parents with kids at home might face additional challenges. So that your productivity isn’t affected, you should discuss what they may and cannot do with your family during your work hours.
7. Self-care during work hours
Working from home may be pretty stressful. The absence of team connection and the mounting workload can soon lead to burnout. That’s why you should constantly prioritize self-care, especially during work hours. Slow down when everything seems to be coming at you at once.
Go outside or spend time with your family. The objective is to get away from the computer and relax. Avoid taking on more than you can manage. When making your to-do list first thing in the morning, it’s tempting to get carried away. So what?
You end up taking on more chores than you can reasonably do in a day, and you feel awful at the end of the day because you realize you can’t possibly finish them all. So instead, set more realistic goals and only take on as much work as you can handle.
9. Avoid the bedroom
When working from home, it’s tempting to work from bed or take an afternoon nap. On the other hand, it can educate your brain to link sleep with stress and work instead of rest. This can make sleeping difficult. Even if you live in a small apartment with no extra rooms, you should set up your workstation as far away from your bedroom as feasible.
If you must take a quick power nap, consider a separate room. For example, we have a power nap room at the office, so I arranged my home power nap room to be similar to the office.
10. Create a ritual
Disconnecting from work and leaving your laptop might be challenging when your personal and professional lives overlap. Create a work closing ritual to prepare your mind to withdraw from work. You can check your emails one final time, tell your coworkers you’re leaving, and plan your day’s tasks.
Remote work requires flexibility and the correct tools. It’s critical to plan your life around a productive remote work schedule. But becoming dogmatic and inflexible might lead to burnout. Remote work is all about flexibility, so be willing to change your schedule without losing productivity.
Keeping track of your schedule with the finest remote work tools might also help. It’s tempting to use all the internet productivity and calendar applications. However, using extra tools will make managing your job data more complicated.
The last thing you want to do is utilize so many apps that you wind up spending time going between them to locate data. So instead, use a centralized platform like a digital workspace that merges all your company apps and data into one uniform dashboard.
Image Credit: EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA; Pexels; Thank you!
Angela Ruth
My name is Angela Ruth. I aim to help you learn how Calendar can help you manage your time, boost your productivity, and spend your days working on things that matter, both personally and professionally. Here's to improving all your calendars and becoming the person you are destined to become!