Many people have trouble staying productive when working from home. Some people never worked from home before 2020, so it’s even harder for them. Even now, after two years. It’s still hard for many of them. And if you’re one of these people, we get it. Don’t blame yourself. There is always something you can do about it. And it’s not as hard as it might seem. Here’s a short list of tools you can include in your daily routine to be more productive. Especially when you’re working from home.
Alarmy App
Having an alarm clock is obvious. But this is even more powerful. Alarmy is an app that has the same function as the alarm clock. But, there is an important function that makes it even more efficient. You need to scan a certain barcode or take a certain picture to make an alarm stop ringing. This makes you get up and do the action step to make it stop ringing. You can’t just turn it off and go back to sleep. Especially if you’re a little bit more creative. You can put the specific object on the other side of the house. Or you can put it in your bathroom. So you’re already on your feet, and you’re in the middle of the bathroom. There’s no point going back to bed. You might as well take a cold shower while you’re there.
Yoga Mat
Another good thing you can do when you wake up is to have your yoga mat ready. Or any other kind of mat for that matter. The idea is that your workout equipment is ready when you get out of the bathroom. You had your efficient wake-up method. Now it’s time to break some sweat. And you don’t have to exaggerate here. You can take a full workout later on if that’s your way of doing it. But you should do a specific set of exercises in the morning. At least some cardio or stretching to awaken your body.
To-Do List
The next thing you should have before you start working is a to-do list. This is probably one of the most important things you can have. If you already have all your tasks written down, there’s no room for overthinking. You can start working immediately. And you should always create your to-do list the night before. This way you’ll make sure you don’t forget to do anything important. Or you can make a to-do list for the entire week on a Sunday night. Whatever works for you. But you should never leave it for the morning hours. You’ll lose so much energy if you do it. And that is the last thing you want in the morning. You don’t want to waste your focus.
Music
Many people listen to music while they work. And indeed, they usually say that it helps them to get focused. Or it makes their work more fun. It’s a win-win situation either way. But be careful when you’re choosing your music. Especially if you’re doing something that requires you to be fully concentrated. Don’t play your favorite tunes while you’re working. They’ll get you distracted and you won’t be able to do anything. Don’t listen to the radio either. You’ll stumble upon many unnecessary commercials that will steal your focus.
The best music to listen to when you’re working is high-frequency music. This can be ambient music or any other kind of instrumental music. You can find many playlists on Spotify that have these kinds of songs. One of them is called Brain Food. Another great app called Brain.fm is also a very good choice. You can listen to a lot of high-frequency music that’s created specifically for this purpose.
High Protein Food
This may not necessarily be something we can consider a tool. But a healthy diet is a game-changer. Having a specific diet on your working days is very important. And the one that we recommend is the ketogenic diet. This means you would only eat food that’s high in protein and healthy fats. You would avoid carbs and sugar at all costs. This will get your body into a ketosis state. And if you do high-intensity workouts during the week, it will work even better for you. You’ll see the results very fast.
Water
Keeping your body hydrated is the most important thing. Especially if you’re doing a specific diet like the one we recommended. You want to take at least two glasses of water for every 15 pounds of your weight. So if your weight is 90 pounds, you should take at least 12 glasses of water per day. This way, you won’t be hungry all the time and you will avoid unnecessary snacks during the day. And that can be very helpful when you’re doing a ketogenic diet. Your meals will be high in protein and fats, but they won’t be huge. But water will help you because you won’t feel the need to eat more. You’ll feel much better during the day and your skin will be much cleaner as well.
An Extra Hard Drive
Having an extra hard drive is a life-saver. And a time-saver as well. You never know when you’re going to run out of space. Especially if you work as a video editor or something similar. You’ll be working with files that are huge sometimes. And you want to be ready and have everything you need. But not only that. You also want to have an external hard drive so you can back up all your important files. You never know what can happen and it’s much better to be ready. You won’t have to think about it too much and you won’t have to worry if anything goes wrong.
Huge Desk
Having a huge desk can help you work more efficiently. You could have your computer, but it won’t take 50-75% of the desk. You’ll have a lot of free space so you can have your notebooks or whatever else you need. This is especially helpful if you have a few monitors on your desk. There are so many benefits. And you should consider getting a standing desk as well. They usually have a setup so you can move it up and down depending on what you need to do. And they are not that expensive. You can find these kinds of desks for as little as $500.
Natural Light
Having a decent light in your room is always a good idea. Especially if you need to work during the night. A high-quality light will be a lot helpful. But when it comes to working during the day, it can only help you so much. This is why having natural light is very important. Not only you’ll get more vitamin D, but you’ll also feel more refreshed. Especially if you’re working outside. But you don’t have to do that if that’s not your thing. You can work in your room and still have it. But don’t use all the lamps that can recreate the natural light. It won’t work the same. It’s much better if you can have bigger windows in your working space.
Green Plants
Another good thing to have in your working space is green plants. Or any kind of plant for that matter. Just make sure to check if you’re not allergic to any of them. They are always good to have. Especially green ones because they will rest your eyes while you’re working. You don’t need to have them on your desk necessarily, but keep them in your working space. They will produce oxygen and make your room smell more pleasant. And make sure to give them enough water. You’ll soon realize how pleasant your environment is because of them. You’ll probably want to buy even more of them. But don’t exaggerate. You don’t want to make it counterproductive.
Air Refreshers
Keep your air clean and fresh. You don’t want to work in an environment where the air is awful. You can’t do it even if you want to. You won’t be able to concentrate at all. And this is very important. You want to keep your focus high and get rid of all possible distractions. So find as many ways as you can to keep your air clean and fresh. You can get an ionizer that will constantly clean your air. It can be very useful to have one of these if you live in an area where pollution is high. You won’t be able to open your windows to get some fresh air. This is where the ionizer comes in handy.
A good thing to have in your house is an air-refreshing spray. They come in many different options and they are very handy. You’ll have instant results. But don’t only use them. They won’t work if your room doesn’t have any oxygen. It can only make it worse. So make sure to clean your air first. Another good option is to have some scent sticks. Not everyone likes them, but for those that do, they are working like magic. Combining them with an ionizer and spray will make your working space smell like a garden.