In short

1. Create an isolated workspace with noise-canceling headphones
2. Automate routine tasks with AI tools like NOIZ and Motion
3. Use time-blocking to tackle big projects in 15-30 minute chunks
4. Set up separate work accounts for all messengers to avoid distractions
5. Reward yourself with small treats for completing tasks
6. Take several small breaks instead of one long lunch break
7. Pro tip: Stick to your schedule even on tough days – it builds resilience and maintains productivity.

Having experienced remote work, most employees no longer want to return to the office. For them, it’s an ideal work model — comfortable, cost-effective, and emotionally stable. But we know that nothing in the world is perfect. The same is true for remote work — it can positively affect an employee’s physical and mental health but significantly reduce productivity. Ultimately, this limits career growth and potential income.

Why does this happen? It’s simple — everything at home distracts from work, from pets and the coffee maker in the kitchen to unlimited and uncontrolled access to the Internet. Remote work is an ideal space for creativity and procrastination alike.

But things aren’t so bad! You can still get the same results as in the office — top IT companies that have been working remotely for decades are the best proof of this. We have collected the best tips to help you increase productivity at home. So, here are the secrets of success in a comfortable environment.

Create a Daily Routine to Maximize Productivity

As boring as it may sound, routine is important and sometimes even vital. Having a steady routine will help you organize your thoughts and activities better. A simple example is that if you know there will be a break in an hour and you can watch the latest blog post on YouTube, you will be less tempted to do it right then and there and get lost in time, forgetting about work.

Here are the main efficiency tips for establishing a routine:

Create an Isolated Workplace

If you don’t go to the office, the office comes to you! Seriously, to be more efficient, you sometimes just need to organize your workplace properly. Ideally, it should be an office in a separate room. But let’s be realistic — not everyone can afford this. In such cases, it’s enough to assign a separate desk, remove everything unnecessary from this corner of the room, and create the appropriate environment. No matter how trite motivational posters, anti-stress toys, and other attributes of office life may seem, they still work.

If conversations, humming appliances, and noise disturb you at home, pick up noise-canceling headphones such as AirPods Pro. Today, it’s not such an expensive pleasure, and their effect can really make a difference. Also, keep your workplace tidy. Creative chaos is great, but it can encourage you to start cleaning instead of immersing yourself in workflows.

Automate Everything You Can

Remote work is the perfect environment for experimentation. In most cases, no one cares how you accomplish tasks as long as the result meets expectations. So, you can use new technologies to find ways to be more productive.

Of course, in the context of automation and optimization, generative AI models like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Jasper are the first to come to mind. But artificial intelligence can perform other tasks as well. We recommend paying attention to the following simple and functional services:

And one more efficiency tip. Don’t put off automation for later — it will be an ultimatum of procrastination. Set aside a clear period in which you will perform automation tasks — start with 30-60 minutes a day, but never miss it.

Create Separate Means of Business Communication

It is a bad idea to use a common account in messengers and social networks to communicate with colleagues on work-related issues. Just one click away, you will have an endless amount of distractions — from the latest news to communicating with an old school friend you’ve been meaning to write to for a couple of years. It’s one of the reasons why companies use special messengers like Slack.

But you can also use familiar apps like Viber, WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger. The secret to being productive at home is to create separate accounts that don’t have anything superfluous. Keep it simple and minimalistic — work only. For this purpose, you can get a separate phone or request a business communication tool from the company’s IT department.

To reduce the number of distractions, mute your personal account notifications during working hours or turn off your phone. On your computer, you can restrict access to specific applications during certain hours of the day in Windows and MacOS. The same applies to Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers, which allow you to temporarily block entertainment sites.

Use Time Blocking as the Best Working from Home Tip

One of the problems typical of remote work is the stupor arising from large-scale tasks. They can seem overwhelming, and you waste time trying to think through all the concepts and find the best approaches. To promote efficiency, it’s best to break down those overwhelming tasks into small, bite-sized steps.

And you can use the time-blocking technique to help you do this. It involves breaking up your working day into similarly small slots, for example, 15 or 30 minutes each. Each of them should be dedicated to only one task and one type of activity, such as sending an email, writing a text, or filling out a spreadsheet.

The time-blocking technique allows you to combine things that seem impossible to combine — multitasking with a high level of concentration on one task. Practice shows that it significantly increases productivity and reduces unproductive time. And if you also set micro-deadlines throughout the day, the overall deadline will be less stressful and scary for you.

Allow Yourself Small Rewards for Daily Achievements

You’re not Pavlov’s dog, but you are a living being. Our psychology and physiology are designed in such a way that positive reinforcement serves as a great motivation for us to work harder and more efficiently. Knowing that positive emotions are waiting for you ahead, you will concentrate better on the task and try to complete it faster.

If you want to know how to feel productive at home, create the following positive reinforcements for yourself:

Positive reinforcement goes well with the time-blocking technique described above. You can schedule 5-minute breaks every hour or 15-minute breaks every 2-3 hours. This works even more effectively than taking an hour-long lunch break once a day because you’re always tempted to extend it at home — even for a little longer, at least for a couple of minutes.

Make a To-do List

Get a planner — a paper notebook, a digital tool, or even an account on a cloud platform with the appropriate functionality. Be sure to write down everything you plan to do on a particular day. Don’t rely only on your memory and natural punctuality — they can let you down, especially in a home environment full of distractions.

Try to organize your working day — plan how much time a particular task may take. Sort your tasks by priority, complexity, and estimated time. This also helps you stay organized and avoid procrastination.

Ask for Feedback

When you are a boss, assistant, and colleague to yourself, it’s easy to give up intense work in favor of a relaxed, lazy pace. It’s also a simple psychological rule — if no one is standing behind us, we try to create the most comfortable conditions for ourselves, even if they negatively affect productivity.

To be productive at home, get in touch with your colleagues regularly and be sure to ask them for honest, unbiased feedback on your work. Positive feedback will be a great motivation to further improve your workflow, and negative feedback will be a kind of “cold shower” that will wake you up and remind you to stay organized.

Do you run a small business or provide services as an independent expert? If so, you may not have any colleagues. Then, you should join a professional community in a specialized forum or public/private chat. There, you can get honest and unbiased feedback but be prepared for the fact that it can be a bit harsh.

Don’t Stop Working

…even if today is hardly a good, successful, or easy day. When you work from home, it’s easy to say to yourself: “I’m too stressed, tired, or overwhelmed, I deserve a rest and a little treat.” Actually, there’s nothing wrong with that when you’re relaxing after an emergency. But when such days happen more often than once every 2-4 weeks, it becomes a bad habit.

To be more productive, tell yourself “This is happening here and now, and in the next moment, it will not happen again.” Take a short break for 10-15 minutes when necessary but never close your work documents and in no case turn off your computer. Set a mandatory condition — you have to finish the work by the end of the day, keep to the schedule, or complete all the tasks. Only then will you be entitled to that little treat, if you wish so. 

Boost Your Productivity Gradually and Smartly

And one more important tip for the end. Almost no one is capable of becoming more efficient overnight. Yes, you need willpower to get rid of distractions and dive into your work. But you shouldn’t push yourself too hard and try to break old habits instantly — this will lead to a significant increase in stress levels and backfire.

Instead, you should improve your productivity one step at a time — one tip, one AI service, one technique. Move on to the next stage only when you feel you’ve already formed healthy habits and are ready to continue following them automatically.

It’s also essential that your productivity techniques don’t interfere with your healthy work-life balance. Don’t treat them as dogmas — adapt them to your work style and lifestyle. Choose the solutions that work for you, and don’t look back at others, because there is no one-size-fits-all method that will work for everyone.

Be More Efficient Working from Home FAQ