Whether your work is providing the flexibility to work from home, or you’re building your side-hustle empire from your living room, one thing we all need to actively practice is putting in place tips and tricks that help us unleash our ultimate level of ‘flow’ and maximise productivity.
If you’re someone like me, who gets distracted easily but is a homebody, this is the perfect blog for you. Today, Dreame is going to unpack the top five tips on achieving the best, most productive, version of you!
Tip #1: Use Social Media Blocking Apps
We all fall victim to the black hole of social media. It’s difficult to navigate away from Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and Facebook - especially if you don’t have a boss or colleague looking over your shoulder! In saying this, if you’re reading this article, you have become aware of your unproductive tendencies and are looking for a sound solution. Here’s your key tip #1: use social media blocking apps.
There’s an abundance of useful applications available on IOS or Android that enable you to lock yourself out of the apps that distract you most - pretty neat right? You schedule hours in the day you want to give up access to certain apps, or you can put countdown timers on! With such a large variety of similar apps, be sure to do your research and find out which app is going to work the most efficiently for you.
Now, if you work in marketing, or manage social media as part of your job, you may believe this tip is not feasible for you. However, I beg to differ! The key to unlocking ultimate productivity is to be organised and plan out your day. You can plan out when you need access to your social platforms, and schedule your block-out periods around that. You and I both know the total amount of time you spend on social media is not purely spent being productive, even if it is part of your role. Don’t make excuses, instead, make strategic and simple changes to set yourself up for a productive day!
Tip #2: Plan your Day, and Schedule Breaks!
As alluded to in the above tip, these five tips are useless without putting in the effort and time to plan out your day. How does that quote go… knowledge isn’t power, but knowledge paired with action is?
To ensure you complete all the tasks on your to-do list, and minimise distractions, at the beginning of your day (or even the night before if you’re feeling extra productive) schedule the day’s activities into blocks. You don’t need to plan out your minute to minute, but you should know your focal areas in the morning, mid morning, post-lunch time, and afternoon. This helps you stay focused, and combine tasks that are relevant to one another in each block.
When creating your schedule, be sure to be realistic with yourself - otherwise you won’t stick to the schedule. You can't expect yourself to work three hours without a single 15 minute break - the human brain doesn’t work like that! Be sure to set yourself up for success and not failure, schedule in time to go outside and get some fresh air. Overall, be rational with the work blocks and break blocks, and do your best to stick to it!
Tip #3: Get Dressed!
Sounds simple enough right? Wrong! It’s easy to fall into the trap of laziness and unproductivity, so you must take action and actively put yourself into a positive and productive mind frame. It’s the little things that make all the difference, for example; don’t wake up ten minutes before your first meeting, wake up with enough time to make a coffee and brush your teeth!
It’s enticing to stay in your pjs or trackies all day, but this is a trap and you must not fall for it. Get dressed, even if it is active wear or jeans, as this immediately changes your state of mind and prepares you for the day ahead. Once you're dressed in proper attire and not lounging attire, everything else follows.
Tip #4: Separate your Working Space to your Living Space
It’s essential to separate your working space from your living space. This may be difficult for some who live in a smaller home, but there’s always a way! Instead of completing your work in your bedroom, try to set up a desk in an area that is away from distractions (like your bed and TV).
Although you’re still working from home, this helps signal that you have physically moved to a working area and that you need to focus. It also clearly differentiates ‘joy’ and ‘work’, providing you with the ability to switch on and off of work without having to leave your home.
Tip #5: Always keep a tidy home!
It’s much easier to get distracted when you’re working in a messy area, you may even find yourself procrastinating by cleaning! Your mindset is a reflection of the area that you work in, which is why you mustn't work in your ‘fun’ area, and why you must work in a clean area! A clean space = a clean mind.
Yes, we know, cleaning is something the minority enjoy. BUT, it’s important! No one said you had to do the work… we just said you’re more productive in a clean area. Consider investing in a robotic vacuum so it can keep your house tidy and you can focus on getting the most out of your day.