How To Work From Home More Efficiently
To develop within your working role, or achieve in business, you need to work hard, and there is simply no way to get around that. And whether you’re working for someone, or for yourself, the most important factor is efficiency, because the more efficient you are, the more productive you will be, the better your work will be, the better you’ll feel, and the better the business will run.
So what can you do to help yourself to work much more efficiently from home? In this article, we’ll take you through just a few of the main factors that you might want to consider in order to achieve exactly that. Of course these can be used when working onsite, in a hybrid role, and are not limited to individual roles but for a workforce too.
Photo by Evan Wise
How To Work From Home More Efficiently in 5 Ways
Table of Contents
Get Organised
First of all, you want to make sure that you are as organised as possible, and that your colleagues are too, if you are part of team. The more organisational prowess you can develop or demonstrate, the more you are going to be able to achieve, and the easier it will be to do so – and clearly this is something that is well worth thinking about.
The question of course is: what can you actually do to get organised, and what are the benefits? Becoming organised, or maintaining a level of organisation is something you’ll have to continually work at. A major step to working efficiently, being organised is actually a factor that becomes much easier throughout the lifespan of your business. But it begins by making sure that every element of your role has a process, and this process has its place, and this procedure is followed each and every time.
How to Get Organised:
Streamlining Processes
How To Work From Home More Efficiently? Streamline your procedures and processes. When you streamline a process, you look at its current state and see if there is a better way to do it. If so, you implement the new process and see its effect. You may need to do this a few times before you find the perfect process, but it can be very effective. The best way to streamline a process is to define it clearly. When you can clearly define a process, you can see exactly where it needs to be improved.
Automating repetitive tasks
One of the easiest ways to improve efficiency in your business is to automate repetitive tasks. Now, this doesn’t apply to every single process in the company, but it’s great for things like sending weekly emails, managing inventory, and other tasks you do regularly. You can automate these tasks using tools like Zapier, IFTTT, or automation software.
photo by Anna Shvets
For example, if you regularly send out weekly emails to customers, you can save time by scheduling the emails to be sent out automatically. Once the emails are created, you must set a few triggers connected to your desired actions. Remember, you don’t want to automate everything, but instead, focus on the tasks that you do regularly and can’t seem to get done quickly.
Utilising technology
Another way to improve efficiency in your business is by leveraging technology. Now, technology can be a broad term, but in this situation, we are talking about leveraging the right software to help you stay organised and make your life easier. Avoid the pitfalls of over-organisation and over-automation by finding the right tools for your situation. Using too many tools can negatively impact your efficiency, so using your best judgement is essential when selecting tools.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is a tricky subject. Many small business owners see outsourcing as a way to reduce staff, but this isn’t the case. Instead, outsourcing is about finding the best fit for a job so that you can get the maximum return on your investment. When you are looking to outsource, you should follow these steps:
- Identify the tasks you could outsource – This doesn’t mean you should outsource everything. Instead, pick the tasks that add any value to your business. For example, if you are outsourcing hr this will add value to your business.
- Create an outsourcing strategy – Once you’ve identified the tasks you could outsource, you need to create a strategy for outsourcing those tasks. You want to ensure that you are outsourcing the right jobs, so you need to think about pricing and how it will impact what you do.
Further Reading: 4 Effective Ways You Can Simplify Your Work Life
Photo by Hans Isaacson
Take Breaks
Encourage yourself and your colleagues to take their breaks, because people actually work a lot more effectively when they are getting enough downtime to relax and unwind.
If in the past, you’ve found yourself not allowing for breaks over the course of your working day simply because you’re conscious that you might struggle to get your work done on time, know that it’s actually so much more efficient to make sure that you’re taking breaks as and when you need to.
Of course, you don’t want to overdo it either, but it’s definitely worth veering on the side of taking more breaks rather than fewer. Keeping energised is likely to prove much more productive in the long run.
Further Reading: How To Relax After A Long Day At Work
Photo by Alexander Nrjwolf
Measure Time & Progress
A big part of being organised and working efficiently includes measuring out the time you are spending on tasks.
Knowing how long each part of your role takes will help you determine where unnecessary time is being lost, and where your process needs to be tweaked. Practicing efficient time management will encourage you to speed up and do things in a much more efficient manner. But only by knowing the ins and outs of your process and your progress, can you actually start to improve it for the better.
Measurement is important, and you’ll want to make sure that it is as effective and as accurate as possible, and that can take some time to perfect. Once it is in place, however, you’ll find it’s hugely beneficial.
Set Submission Dates and ‘Deadlines’
Submission dates, goals and deadlines are really useful, and most people will find that they work a lot better, and harder, when they have a deadline to stick to. And especially in the case where there’s a payment, bonus, or direction that ‘comes from above’.
If nothing else, creating personal deadlines is a great way of keeping a tight ship.
Further Reading: Creating The Perfect Home Office – In 9 Nifty Steps
Photo by Flipsnack
Keep The Working Environment Relaxing
How To Work From Home More Efficiently? Did you know that people tend to work best when they are able to fully relax, So you’ll find it helps to keep your working environment as relaxed and calm as you possibly can.
This means looking at your decor, making sure the lighting is good and checking that the furniture is comfortable and suitable for working at – consider plenty of natural light, if possible, ergonomic desks and chairs, plants that clean the air we breathe and little to no clutter.
Further Reading: Six House Plants That Clean The Air We Breathe In Our Home
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