One of the biggest difficulties in working at home is that productivity is all too often traded for the creature comforts that this type of work allows. Freelance writers, transcriptionists, web designers, at-home service reps, and online business owners all have the luxury of working from home. Being an online essay writer, I'd like to emphasize that increasing productivity is the key to success in this field. By implementing a few changes into your routine, you can be making more money by the end of the day.
Make a schedule
Those who work in an office usually have to adhere to a strict work schedule to avoid punishment. You can't walk in and plop down at your desk anytime you feel the urge to work, and you certainly can't take a break or leave whenever you would like to. Many see this as one big advantage of working at home, but there's a reason the superiors enforce these regulations; Employee schedules not only help in increasing productivity but without them, deadlines would inevitably be missed and the payroll department would be a big mess. The same can be true for those writing at home.
- Set goals: At the beginning of the week, determine how much work needs to be done to make a financial goal or deadline.
- Divide the estimated number of work hours between each day, working around appointments and other obligations.
- Schedule your lunch to last no more than an hour, and one 15 minute break for every four hours spent working.
- Give yourself a day off when you know a break will be needed, but avoid scheduling two days off in a row. It will just make it harder to return to work.
Eliminate distractions
Sometimes, all it takes to cut your paycheck in half is having a television on and your cell phone in reach during the times you should be working. Distractions like this may not seem like much of interference, but if you were to add up every time you responded to a text message or turned around to focus on an interesting news story on TV, you might be surprised how much of your workday is spent being counterproductive.
- When it's time to work, turn off all your gadgets and keep them out of sight. This includes your cell phone (unless you have children in school).
- Don't keep temptations around your workspace: magazines, video games, and books have no place in the workspace unless they're directly related to the work you're doing.
- Make sure your friends and family know your work times so they won't drop by unexpectedly.
- Consider putting small children in part-time daycare or working after their bedtimes.
- Use a separate, quiet, brightly lit room to serve as your office, if possible.
- Don't eat while working. Save meals for your lunch break and schedule your shift to begin after breakfast and before dinner.
Be persistent
No amount of reform to your routine will help increase productivity unless you stick to it. Take your work seriously. You're working at home instead of an office, but that doesn't mean your day has to be any less structured and productive. Increasing productivity can be as simple as enforcing the goals and protocols you have already set in place.
- Don't make excuses. For example, if you earned over your goal during one week, don't take this as a reason to slack off the next. Doing so will leave you at a financial plateau and undermine your potential.
- Once you are consistently making over the goal, increase it.
- Don't give up. You will have inefficient days where nothing seems to get done no matter how hard you've tried. What's important is not allowing these days to change your attitude.
About the author: Nicholas H. Parker is a content editor at the college essay writing service BuyEssayClub. He used to manage the content team at the company he worked for. Currently, Nicholas writes articles to share his knowledge with others and obtain new skills. Besides, he is highly interested in the web design sphere.
