Nowadays, most Estonians are probably working in their home office, whose work style allows it. On the one hand, a home office may seem like a convenient and simple solution, but on the other hand, it also has its downsides. There may be more distractions at work in the home office, such as being at home with young children can be a major distraction or if there is no separate room at home to work, where you can isolate yourself to better focus on work. Also, all the other things that have not been done can occur at home and the homework is the focus. Here are 6 ways how you can work effectively in your home office.

1. Start your workday as if you were going to work in the office. This means following the same routine you would normally do in the morning – washing, eating and getting ready. If you have a workout routine in the morning, you can do your morning workout in the fresh air. A morning routine will wake you up and make you mentally ready for work, regardless working at your home office.

2. Dress as if you were going to work and, if possible, do the work properly while sitting at the desk. Again, dressing appropriately for the job will help you focus more on working. Also important is the work environment, so it is good to work at the desk while sitting in a comfortable office chair. Keep an eye on your body posture and remember to take a break and exercise for at least 5 minutes every hour.

3. Write down your daily or weekly tasks that need to be done. For example, it is good to use Asana, Trello, Basecamp or other project management applications where you can conveniently write down tasks and dates. Such applications are good for teleworking because the entire team can see each other’s tasks and monitor the progress.

4. Stay in constant communication with your coworkers at while teleworking. This contributes better to productivity and creates a sense of teamwork in the home office. Good applications for communicating with coworkers over the internet include Slack, Skype and Chanty.

5. If you have young children at home, give them as much independent activity as possible. It is quite difficult to focus on work at home when you also need to look after your young children. Think of all the activities your children can do while you focus on working. Of course, this also depends on the age of the child, but before you start your day, think of a number of activities that children can do during the day so that they do not get bored. For example, prepare cartoons or children’s movies, computer games, board games, puzzles, drawing or painting supplies for them. Give them something of what they can make something themselves, like modelling clay or legos. Find out all kinds of toys that your child can have fun with.

6. Be careful not to be distracted by extraneous factors. For example, watching TV, thinking about outstanding homework, or other distractions. Focus on work in working hours and plan your homework and leisure in the same way that you plan work. It helps you to organize your days better, and get things done at work and at home.

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