If you are home based and full time freelancer to a company, or you been asked to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic per the local government instruction so as to help slow the spread of the virus, you might be quite relax and new experience. Think of the benefits such as saving on commuting time and expenses, avoid all sort of traffic congestion, and being in a comfortable environment, at home, free and easy. Anyhow the home environment has numerous distractions that can make it easy to procrastinate and not get your work done on time. Whether you are new to working from home or are a long-time remote worker who struggles with staying on task some days, these evidence-based strategies can help you reduce procrastination and stay productive.
- Design a work schedule
The home environment lacks the structure of a office environment where there are timed breaks and clear start and finish times. Creating a schedule tailored to the work you want to get done can add that missing structure, reducing the procrastination that tends to take place otherwise. So make a plan for your work that has clear and realistic goals that you can expect to achieve within a given time frame. If your goal is to do translation for a ten-page report, break that task down into smaller and more manageable steps that are less overwhelming. Therefore, understandable, by organizing your larger task into several smaller ones also provides opportunities to experience small successes, which can accumulate and help keep you motivated and productive.
- Break time
Whichever way you organize your work-at-home schedule, pre-determined to include reasonable breaks. Plan interval for meals as well as short breaks to re-energize body and refresh mind. Should be careful be not ignorant, short breaks checking personal email or social media can turn into indulgence on procrastinating in the form of cyberloafing as well as cyberslacking if you fall short of personal discipline.
- Imminent Tackle Uncertainty
If you find yourself struggling to start or finish a work task, it may be because you’re unsure about what needs to be done to complete your work. When you are working at home, it can be harder to get quick answers to reduce this uncertainty. People tend to procrastinate on tasks that are unclear or confusing and when they are not sure about what they are supposed to do. This is because such tasks can create feelings of uncertainty that are unpleasant, and that arouse feelings of self-doubt and self-criticism. Procrastination is more likely to occur when people experience unpleasant feelings related to a task that they can’t tolerate or manage.
- Clear system guidance
Before you start a new or unfamiliar work task, briefly check to ensure you have clear guidance about what needed. Generally we don’t always know what we don’t know, post-initiation of the task would eventually triggered you to realize that you’re missing important information or are unclear about what’s needed to final implementation. Better aware of when you experience feelings of uncertainty is the first step towards harnessing this unpleasant feeling thus prior action of pre-emptive understandings to get the information needed is a kind of solid prevention of hiccups. Having a list of key people you can contact, or a list of support tools, in order for quick support can also help in case you find yourself being paralyzed by uncertainty.
- Reduce distractions and discipline
Working at home means having to deal with potential distractions that can take you off task. Setting yourself up to work in a quiet space that is likely to have little or no traffic from family members or flatmates is a good first step. But remote working can also involve being online and having access to a number of digital temptations. Some people are good at turning a blind eye to these distractions and can stay focused without wavering. But tedious work is boring, stressful or causes you self-doubt then watching funny videos become an escape enable you feel relieve at the expense of getting your work done. Controlling how and when you are allowed to go online for non-work purposes can minimize exposure to distractions from your digital environment and reduce the risk of procrastination.
- Prepare and Plan well for interruptions
Even the best-laid plans to set aside time to get your work done can fall apart when unexpected interruptions appear. If you’re not prepared, that call from your mum who just wants to chat can tempt you to procrastinate and throw your work schedule off track. One approach proven to be effective for closing the gap between intentions and actions is reducing procrastination. This definitely enhance our productivity, the alternative key is to make specific else then plans for dealing with interruptions with solid reaction counterplan. This involves first thinking about the possible interruptions you might encounter, and then rehearsing how you will respond. You must know what is urgent and important, what is not urgent but important, what is not important but urgent and what is not urgent and not important.
- The true meaning of work
Many companies perceive a lack of positive feelings about a task can also contribute to procrastination. When you work at home you are surrounded by things that are personally meaningful to you. In comparison, your work can seem less meaningful. This contrast may make it difficult at times to stay focused and productive. Reminding yourself why your work is important and valuable to you can help rebalance the scale to increase positive feelings towards your work and reduce procrastination while working from home. After all, the work assigned to you definitely is important and meaningful, else it won’t assigned to you at first place. Your work has strong repercussion to the company and the clients as a whole.
