How Entrepreneurs Stay Productive When They Work From Home

Work from home has become the norm as the pandemic continues to go on. Nowadays, work is within the click of a button. Work is emailed to you, work is completed on your computer, work is done in your pajamas. The workflow seems well established at this point. Never before have we had so much access to work and work-related tools. However, how many of us stay productive? Working from home may work for some, but for others, it may be a struggle.

At HIVE, it's no different. Some work well from their rooms, others go to cafes, and many take advantage of the coworking space. Here we'll talk about some tips to staying productive as an entrepreneur while working from home.

1. Plan Your Day the Night Before

Entrepreneurs know that if you want to get stuff done, then the best way is by making sure your planning has been completed beforehand. Planning should be a top priority for any entrepreneur because without it there's no momentum and nothing will ever happen. The work will pile up and the entrepreneur will become overwhelmed. Plan your day, work through it, and if you happen to have time at the end of the day for unplanned work-related tasks, then use that as well.

2. Keep a Work Zone at Home

To keep productivity high, entrepreneurs must know where to focus their energy at any given time. Some entrepreneurs work on their beds, some entrepreneurs work on the couch, and there are those entrepreneurs who work on a workstation. Whatever your method is, make sure the work zone is free of distraction so you can focus more on getting things done.

Having access to a coworking area such as WeWork, or even within your building, like at HIVE can also facilitate the upkeep of a work zone. The ability to access a coworking space to work from home can also open other entrepreneurial opportunities. Having an open area where you can talk to other entrepreneurs or even other house-mates can help keep you on track and make you accountable for your work.

3. Set Routines and Boundaries

To avoid distractions and maintain focus, it is important for us working from home residents to have a clear morning routine as well as an evening one. This will help set your mind up so that when you do get distracted by things like entertainment or other commitments during the day they won't affect what work needs to be done throughout the day.

A great way of staying productive in this type of situation would be establishing a built-in schedule tailored especially towards those who work from home. Another way to maintain accountability for how productive you are is by relying on people around you. Whether that be roommates, coworking friends or other teammates is up to you.

4. Implement Single Focus Time (SFT)

Single focus time is another important factor when it comes to your work ethic. During work hours, you should only focus on work-related tasks and nothing else. This includes social media, game playing, entertainment channels, etc.

SFT also helps work through the morning routine so that by the time work hours come around your mind is already prepped for 100% work mode!

5. Take Small Breaks in Between Tasks

Some entrepreneurs work for hours on end without a break. This can have huge effects on productivity. It's important to work in small increments of time rather than work continuously for hours at a time. Try working for twenty minutes and then taking a five-minute break. Get up, stretch, grab some water or coffee!

Getting up every so often can work wonders for your work ethic and productivity. If you work from bed, it can be a bit more challenging to get up every so often. But make sure you work in low-intensity periods overworking continuously for hours at a time - then work longer when it's necessary.

6. Reward Productivity

Rewarding productivity is not necessary but can work well for entrepreneurs who work from home. It would work the same way as working in increments - work for an hour and watch an episode of your favorite show, watch a short video on social media, etc.

You'll find that when you're rewarded after work it's not very fulfilling or rewarding. You have to work for work. By rewarding work, you're essentially working harder and more efficiently than you otherwise would work on your own!

7. Avoid Multitask or Overwhelming Yourself With Tasks

Multitasking is a big no-no when it comes to maintaining focus on work tasks. It might seem like a time saver but in reality, just creates more work and unwanted work tasks. If you work on one thing at a time it will save you time and headache down the road!

Try to avoid work that can be done later too, like watching an entertaining video on social media or finishing up work after your day is over. If there's work that needs to be done try doing them before other work-related work so that you're not being overwhelmed by work.

8. Use Lists and Productivity Tools

For work, it's important to have a list of work that needs to be done for the day. Having a simple task manager or worklist is great for staying productive. It keeps you on track and saves time instead of trying to remember what work must be finished before the end of the day!

There are work tools that can be used specifically for work like Google Docs, Trello, Evernote, etc. using these apps is also great because they can work across all devices so you don't have to work on the same work tasks over and over again!

9. Establish Accountability with Coworking Friends

If you work from home there's a good chance that you work alone most of the time. This can be beneficial from a work ethic standpoint since distractions will be minimized but working with other entrepreneurs or coworkers is a different story!

Working alongside another entrepreneur or coworker helps maintain work ethic and productivity because they will motivate you to work harder and work more efficiently. It's a lot easier to work harder for work ethic when there is someone else watching and holding you accountable!

10. Enjoy Yourself!

Most entrepreneurs work from home and work alone for the most part. It can be quite lonely and boring at times so it's important to work in a way that will keep you entertained and not get bored. Some work might benefit from television, music, or working with background noise playing while other work tasks may work better without this type of distraction.

It's a lot easier to work hard and work efficiently when you're enjoying yourself. Take work breaks every so often, work at your own pace, and work in a way that allows you to work as productively as possible!

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Having a community like HIVE helps with the load of working from home. You'll constantly have people keeping you accountable. Moreover, since many of our members are entrepreneurs themselves, you can always rely on their tips and continuous ideations.

If you want to learn more about our coworking lounge you can click here. Wanting to join HIVE? Check out our full listing and apply! You can also learn more about HIVE on our Social Media sites. We're waiting for you, what are you waiting for?