Discipline and Focus

Remaining focused and productive when working remotely requires discipline and a little structure. Here are some of the key areas where you might apply discipline and structure to make sure you are at your most effective when working from home.

Manage Your Time

When working from home, it is important to protect your working time so you can put in the hours you need to. At the same time, it is easy to continue into your relaxation time and end up working longer hours than you need or want to be. Try putting a sign on the door asking not to be disturbed during your working hours, block out time in your calendar when you need to focus on a piece of work without interruptions, and use planning apps or a wall calendar to plan your weekly and daily time slots. Later in this module, we will look at the kinds of apps, tools and technology available to support you with this in detail.

Get Organized

Working remotely requires you to organize your time, space and materials – both online and offline in your physical environment. Setting up a simple filing system and storing your work materials in a clear and logical manner will save you time and trouble when you need to access a particular resource. You will also need to share documents and files with others, so make sure that they are organized in a way that others can also navigate. There are numerous productivity and file-sharing apps and services available to support you with this.

Stay on Track

As a remote worker, it is your responsibility to manage and communicate your goals and targets. These may be set by your organization or they might be goals you have set for yourself. In a physical office, there are often visible charts or noticeboards where team members can share progress towards their goals. Without this, it is important to find ways to keep everyone up to date on your progress towards a given goal or target. Take time each day to prioritize your tasks and review daily goals, weekly and monthly targets that will keep you on track to meet your goals. Again, there are apps and services available that allow team members to share their goals and their progress towards them.
Check out this useful article which includes some tips on how to avoid burning out when working from home by managing your time effectively: