It was 2017 when I quit my full-time job as a private school teacher.
After that, I pursued virtual careers that enabled me to work anywhere, at any time.
But as someone whose productivity plummets whenever I constantly change locations, I decided to make our house my main office.
And it’s been like that for more than 6 years now.
In more than half a decade of staying in my own little corner, I learned that there’s an enemy you need to kill.
And that is none other than DISTRACTION.
When I was still a teacher, I noticed that I was way more productive because of greater accountability.
Seeing your colleagues grinding and cramming rubbed off you, so you do the same thing.
Unfortunately, the WFH setup can’t duplicate that kind of environment.
If your personal and work lives happen in the same place, setting boundaries between the two takes enormous discipline.
When I was still a freelancer, the maximum number of hours I could do focused work was only 4.
Even though I had my own workspace, there were still endless distractions that caught my attention every damn minute.
Some obvious distractions were the smell of my mother’s food, our neighbour’s loud chitchat, the vehicles’ noise, and, of course, my phone.
I used to wonder why I only had 4 productive hours tracked when I stayed in front of my computer for 6-8 hours a day.
Well, things are different now since I accepted a full-time role.
Unlike before, where I could work whenever I wanted to, now there’s a standard time for when I should start and end my work.
But let me tell you one thing.
Even though things are a bit structured now, and I’m way more productive than ever before, I still want to improve both my effectiveness and efficiency.
And I know you probably want the same thing, too.
Fortunately, you can find many productivity tips and strategies anywhere on the internet.
You can binge-watch videos on YouTube, listen to podcasts, read books, or invest in courses that will up your game on getting things done.
Or you can also follow me along as I share the simple yet effective productivity strategies that work for me – a WFH worker like you.
Since I started implementing these strategies, I get more done daily.
And when I get more done, I feel accomplished, fulfilled, and productive.
1. Master This Skill
We always have something to do, and life has its way of getting in the way.
Like anyone else, you also have endless things you need to do in all aspects of your life.
The problem is, if you let yourself do whatever you want to do, you’ll likely choose something easy but not necessarily important.
This is where you need to prioritize like your life depends on it – because it does.
Working for a content marketing agency is fast-paced.
During my first few months on the job, I got overwhelmed by the endless notifications of what I needed to do.
And I know the reason why.
When I checked my ClickUp first thing in the morning, I jumped on the first task I got.
Then, I abandoned it when another one popped up.
Because of this habit, I made myself so stressed.
I could have avoided it if I had just learned to prioritize my tasks properly.
Almost 2 years into my job, I can proudly say that I’m now way more organized, productive, and relaxed.
So, if you’re a remote employee or a freelancer working from home, here’s what I suggest you to do:
- Every Monday (ideally Sunday), list everything you need and plan to do for the whole week.
- Now, go through them all and identify what’s urgent and relevant.
- After that, schedule them in your calendar and ensure you take your breaks into account so you don’t burn yourself out.
Now, you already have an overview of what your week and days look like.
This is great, but prepare to move things around if something more important comes your way.
The key takeaway here is that prioritization is the secret skill you need to master if you want to work productively in your home and even outside of it.
2. Try These Productivity Tools
Type’ productivity tool’ on YouTube, and it will give you thousands and thousands of videos you can watch about time management.
In our agency, we use ClickUp for everything, and I like it because it keeps things streamlined.
Plus, it has a built-in timer that you can use to track how much time you spend on a specific task.
As a company that produces an insane amount of content for our clients every week without fail, I appreciate the level of organization our boss and senior team came up with.
It’s clear what content is being worked on, when the deadline is, who’s assigned to it, and where its current progress is.
Outside of work, I like to keep things simple. I only have Notion and my iPad’s clock.
As someone who wants to build a writing project alongside her 9-5 job, I want to keep things as neat as possible.
That’s why I only have Notion at the moment.
It’s where I jot down my tweets and newsletter ideas, and it’s where I see my writing progress.
Every time I work on my personal project, I open my iPad’s timer, set it to 30 minutes, and just write.
If I’m tracking my hours at my job, I also need to track the number of hours I spend on my writing.
Aside from the fact that I get to see the bigger picture, I also get to strategize how I can improve my workflow.
If you’re already using a productivity tool that works perfectly for you, that’s fantastic.
Keep using it.
But if you’re still looking for something, try what I’ve mentioned above.
Or else, you can just search for something better on the internet.
Time management tools are your best friends if you want to become productive.
Make sure to use what’s best for you, ideally something simple and user-friendly.
3. Switch off the Distractions’ Source
I’ve already talked briefly about distractions in the intro, but this section deserves to be expanded.
After searching for the best productivity tools and strategies, I discovered something more effective than anything else.
Curious know what it is?
It’s simply switching off your phone.
When you work from home, distractions are endless.
And whether we admit it or not, a large percentage of those distractions are from our phones.
While I love getting messages from people I work with and care about, the constant distraction prevents me from entering the flow.
So, during my work hours, I only have my Click Up and Slack open so I don’t miss important messages from the team.
I close all messaging apps, like Messenger and WhatsApp.
Then I put my phone on silent so no one could disturb me.
I only allow myself to check my phone during breaks to make sure I get things done first, above all else.
But things are a little different when it comes to my writing project.
Instead of just turning off my notifications, I completely shut down my phone and hid it somewhere in the room.
I mentioned that I use my iPad’s clock, and that’s because my iPad doesn’t have an internet connection at all.
Since writing on this blog is very personal, I want to remove all distractions so I can write with a deep focus for a 30-minute time block.
Final Words
When working on your project, you want to put yourself in the highest form of accountability because you have no boss or client to dictate what and when to work.
If you’re not careful, distractions can easily steal your attention.
Working from home is a privilege, but that privilege also comes with a challenge.
If you don’t want to feel guilty that you waste your precious free time scrolling mindlessly on TikTok or Instagram, then the simple tips we just talked about will help.
See you in the next post! 🙂
Disclaimer: I wrote this blog when I was still a full-time employee. Although I’m working part-time now, everything I shared here is still relevant and helpful for those working from home.
