Here are 6 answers to the question, “How do you maintain your productivity when working remotely?”
The Pomodoro Technique
Diversify Where You Work from
Embrace Productive Procrastination
Make It So Alternatives Are Not an Option (or at least a Hard One)
Implement Two Week Sprint Reports
Use Trello and Slack to Stay Up-to-date on Your Tasks and Keep Up With Colleagues
The Pomodoro Technique
I’m more productive remotely. I can concentrate better as I’m more relaxed and there are actually fewer distractions than in the busy and noisy office.
Nonetheless, working remotely has its disadvantages. Your colleague is not right next to you to bounce ideas off of in a rapid-fire discussion that is a welcome break from a computer screen. Google Chat and Meet are excellent solutions for that while away.
The Pomodoro technique has effectively helped me keep focus, get deep focus for complex tasks, and avoid wasting time with minor responsibilities like email scanning.
Lilia Koss, Community Manager, Facialteam
Diversify Where You Work from
From my personal experience, the best tip I can offer for maintaining productivity when working remotely is to diversify where you work from. Instead of sticking to one location, like your home office, try changing up your environment to keep things fresh and prevent burnout.
I’ve found that rotating between different workspaces, such as coffee shops, co-working spaces, or even various rooms within my home, helps stimulate creativity and maintain focus. These changes in scenery not only provide a new atmosphere to work in but also help separate personal and professional spaces, making it easier to switch into “work mode” when necessary.
Nick Zviadadze, Founder, MintSEO
Embrace Productive Procrastination
Boost your remote productivity by embracing “productive procrastination.” Rather than avoiding distractions altogether, embrace them strategically. When you hit a mental roadblock on a task, shift gears to a related but less demanding activity. This could involve organizing your digital workspace, brainstorming future projects, or even engaging in a brief creative pursuit.
Remember, the key to productive procrastination is intentionality. Consciously choose activities that align with your long-term goals or provide a tangible benefit to your work. By leveraging these moments of diversion as opportunities for growth and rejuvenation, you can transform moments of procrastination into valuable stepping stones toward enhanced productivity and creativity.
Shumail Shikarpuria, Regional Partner and CMO – UK, Vitruvian Agency
Make It So Alternatives Are Not an Option (or at Least a Hard One)
While it is tempting to search for extra hacks or apps to implement, one of the best ways of maintaining productivity when working remotely is eliminating anything that is not work-related.
For example, let’s say your phone and all the apps on it are the main things that make you less productive. In that case, turning off your phone and putting it in a different room will increase your productivity a lot.
As you keep removing things like this, the only things that are left are working or doing nothing.
At this point, doing the work productively is a lot easier.
Mats Claes, Owner and Head Editor, Top Keuken Tips
Implement Two Week Sprint Reports
We recently implemented two-week sprint reports into our organization, and they have significantly improved my productivity. We track our sprint tasks and specify how much time each item took, as well as how high a priority they are on the list of all tasks.
Typically, I create my sprint on a Thursday before the sprint begins, so I have all important tasks for the next two weeks already outlined, and this allows me to understand how much capacity I have for impromptu meetings, tasks, and miscellaneous admin work.
After each sprint ends, we export a report of everything that happened and understand how much time everyone spent on various activities separated by category.
Gordana Sretenovic, Co-founder, Workello
Use Trello and Slack to Stay Up-to-date on Your Tasks and Keep Up With Colleagues
I’m a big believer that, by embracing technology and leveraging the right tools, you can optimize your remote work experience and save yourself time (and potential headaches).
To stay productive while working remotely, I recommend and regularly use my favorite project management tool, Trello, to organize my workflow and figure out what tasks my team is also working on.
Also, my team at Resume Genius are heavy Slack users — it’s how we stay connected, hold virtual meetings, and send funny emojis! Slack is an excellent app for us because we can integrate it with several apps (along with Trello) and use it as our main communication base.
My work life just wouldn’t be the same without these two tools, so I’m glad they exist and recommend them to anyone who is looking to streamline their remote workflow.
Samuel Johns, CPRW and Career Counselor, Resume Genius
Conclusion
The insights shared by these six experts offer a diverse array of strategies for maintaining productivity while working remotely. By integrating these expert tips into our daily routines, we can empower ourselves to thrive in remote environments, harnessing the flexibility and autonomy they offer to achieve our professional goals with confidence and efficiency.
