20 Great Ways to Be a More Productive Telecommuter
We love telecommuting. It allows us to get more done in less time and set our own schedules. However, telecommuting isn’t perfect. There are some drawbacks.
We’ve found the biggest challenge in telecommuting is achieving a clear separation between work and home life. Poorly managed, it can cause a serious decline in motivation and productivity.
Here’s the tips we’ve found work effectively for successful telecommuting with minimal distractions.
Focus
1. Choose a quiet workspace. The strongest argument for working from home is that you’ll be more productive without all the distractions of the office. To make that work, you’ve also got to get away from the hustle and bustle of home or family life. Constant interruptions from roommates, spouses, or kids is probably the single biggest threat to successful telecommuting.
2. Turn off the TV. Yep, when we said choose a quiet location, we didn’t mean on the couch in front the TV. Seinfeld reruns can wait until your work is done.
Let others know about your work schedule. Set limits with your family, friends, and neighbors regarding when it’s okay to interrupt you. Even though you’re working from home, you’re still working. You may find some of the people you know have a hard time adjusting to that concept.
3. Get a ritual. When getting ready for your work day, follow a ritual similar to what you would do if you weren’t working at home—take a shower, put on some clean clothes, eat breakfast. This will help you transition from home life to work life so you’re mentally prepared for your workday.
4. Punch the clock. Even though you work at home, you should still arrive at work at a scheduled time. Working crazy hours will play havoc with your home life, and is likely to harm your work productivity as well.
5. Set limits. You’ll be surprised how being at home all the time can make work start to take over the rest of your life. Follow a strict schedule so you don’t start working longer hours than you would if you weren’t telecommuting. When the work day is over, shut your workstation down and spend some time with your family (or yourself).
Get Things Done
6. Plan your day. Decide what needs to get done and create a plan for doing it. We like to pick three tasks that must be completed each day and focus on making sure those are completed, no matter what. Our favorite technique is the Three Lists of Three method.
7. Watch out for procrastination. If you put off work until whenever you feel like it, your work and home life will become blurred, projects won’t get completed, your stress levels will rise, and you could lose your job.
8. Eliminate. Make a list of your tasks. Don’t spend too much time organizing it, just to a complete brain dump of everything you need to do. Next, look at that list and put a check next to everything you absolutely have to do. For the rest, can you delegate them or eliminate them altogether? None of us can do it all alone; decide what is most important and get that done first.
9. Follow your natural rhythms. If you naturally get more done early in the morning or late at night, then adjust your schedule so you’re able to work at those times. One of the great things about telecommuting is that it allows you to work when you’re most productive.
But stick to a schedule and don’t fall into the trap of putting things off, or (more commonly) working all the time.
10. Focus on what matters. There’s always going to be a million little tasks that need to get done. Focus on the tasks that really need to get done and finish those first. Again, pick 3 tasks each day that you absolutely need to get done and work on those. Batch the little tasks and set aside a little time to do them all at once.
11. Work smarter, not harder. Take advantage of productivity tools. LifeDev has a great list. See what works for you, but don’t spend so much time fiddling with your tools that you forget to get any work done.
Don’t Burn Out
12. Simplify. Don’t try to do to much. It’s easy for telecommuters to overload themselves with projects in an attempt to prove to their employers that they’re really working. Know how much time your tasks are likely to take and schedule accordingly. Don’t work overtime unless you’re getting paid for it.
13. Take breaks. You schedule your work time, and you should be scheduling your breaks as well. You’d be surprised how easy it is to lose track of the time and work right through lunch. Take time out each day to rest and you’ll be a more productive employee.
14. Stay Healthy. If you’re not careful, you can find yourself sitting in one spot working for hours without a break. Get up and move around for at least a few minutes every hour. Do some stretches, maybe keep some small freewieghts in your office and do some light wieghtlifting. And there’s no reason to let your gym membership lapse just because you’re working from home. Not only will going to the gym keep you in shape, but it’s also an excuse to get out of the house.
Keep in Touch
15. Let your boss know what you’re up to. You’re unlikely to be getting the best projects or promotions if your boss has forgotten that you exist. Check in frequently and make sure your boss knows what you’re accomplishing.
16. Connect with coworkers Don’t allow yourself to become isolated. Besides being lonely, you could miss out on being part of important projects of your coworkers forget about you. Stay in touch with clients as well.
17. Be accessible. Make sure everyone you work with has your email, phone number, and IM so they can reach you if they need to.
18. Join associations. You’ll be surprised how lonely the life of a telecommuter can become. Joining associations can be a great way to meet people and network. Meetup.com is a great way to meet groups of like minded people. You could even join the American Telecommuting Association.
19. Attend meetings. We know, one of the biggest benefits of telecommuting is that you don’t need to attend all those stupid meetings. But attending the occasion meeting gives you some face time with your coworkers and bosses and helps them to remember you exist.
Maintain Perspective
20. Working at home can be stressful. But don’t forget all the great benefits: you’re getting more done, you’re saving money on gas and wear-and-tear on your car, you’re setting your own schedule and (hopefully) spending more time with your family. Telecommuting can be crazy at times, but don’t let that distract you from all the great things it has to offer.