When working from home, it’s easy to get sidetracked by the familiarity of a vacation routine of sleeping, eating and binge watching “The Office” for the 50th time. However, this isn’t a vacation. Here are some tips to stay productive and on track:
1. Keep your work out of your bedroom
Separating relaxation space from the workspace is important for staying focused. Moving into a separate area can simulate a commute and establish a boundary between work and leisure. If you can’t use a separate room, avoid doing work in bed so you don’t accidentally fall asleep or get distracted by the comfort.
2. Get dressed and ready for class
As easy as it is to roll out of bed in pajamas and stay in them all day, (because who are you trying to impress, your dog?) it’s important to establish a normal routine. Although you may go to physical classes in your pajamas, the timeless saying, “dress for success,” rings true when it comes to staying on track in online classes. This doesn’t mean business casual and a full face of makeup. At least shower and change night sweats to day sweats and brush your hair.
3. Keep up with a routine or create one
Maintaining normalcy during chaos is crucial to staying sane. If you always eat at a certain time, take your dog on a walk or go to bed at a certain time, keep it up. Creating a schedule and sticking to it is important, even when there isn’t a quarantine. It gives the day, week, month and year structure and causes less anxiety.
4. Prioritize tasks
Making a list of mandatory tasks and ordering them by due dates helps get things done without getting distracted by other tasks. This doesn’t have to encompass only assignments. The list can include chores in the order of what is most inconvenient to least. These can be in the form of checklists, planners, calendars in your phone, or on a whiteboard or notebook. Use whichever you will remember to check most to stay on track.
5. Control background noise
There will always be distractions, whether it be roommates, pets, parents, siblings or neighbors. It’s important to not let them interrupt your focus. Noise cancelling headphones, earbuds or AirPods can help tune out the distractions. Playing some instrumental, calm music can help to cancel out other noises and helps stay focused on the task at hand. Spotify has a good Study playlist.
Paige Fiske can be reached at [email protected].