Create a distraction-free workspace at home

Home inspectors who are in business for themselves may work out of their homes to keep costs down. If you’re one of those home inspectors who finds it difficult to concentrate while working at home, consider implementing these suggestions from Hiverhq.com founder Niraj Ranjan, posted on business.com, that are designed to help you stay organized and keep the distractions at bay:

• Create a shell, work from inside it. Don’t let anyone enter here. It’s important to have a separate work space at home where you don’t do anything but work. Spouses, children, even pets can be a distraction so instruct them not to enter during your work hours.

• Keep your calls to afternoon. Use your morning energy to get the difficult and the boring tasks done, but leave some action-oriented tasks, like client calls or video conferencing, for after lunch so that you stay productive during the afternoon.

• Invest in an ergonomic chair and desk. It’s important you feel comfortable in your work zone. Your chair should be comfortable enough to sit in for long periods of time. Poor ergonomics can lead to frustration and fatigue, which will affect the quality of work.

• Use cloud sharing to avoid unnecessary tos and fros. Instead of sending emails to and fro, which will only create chaos, confusion and ultimately cause low productivity, sharing on the cloud is a much more effective way to collaborate remotely.

• Track your work hours and be in sync with company work hours. Set your work hours to be the same as your company/client. Always keep track of the number of hours you are working, more specifically the number of hours you are productive.

• You must discipline yourself. If you’re on a computer all day, it’s easy to get distracted by e-commerce websites or videos. There are productivity tools that make it difficult for you to access those websites and help keep you disciplined.

• Always dress for success. Of course, you don’t have to don a suit or uniform if you’re not seeing clients that day. However, getting dressed instead of working in your PJs helps you distinguish work time from off-work time.

• Plan your meals and personal work ahead. Planning and preparing meals can be time-consuming. Plan meals for the week ahead of time to save time. The same goes for other household work. Those chores should done on your time off.

• Start early, finish early, binge away on Netflix. If you keep your distractions at bay during work hours, you can finish tasks sooner, resulting in extra time for fun.

• Get out of the house to fight slumps. It can become boring working in the same environment day in and day out, especially if there is no colleague interaction. Frequenting a cafe or library may provide a healthy change.

• To save time, declutter your day and your desk. Create a strategy for planning each task to optimize productivity. Keep your workspace and desktop organized. Constantly looking for things is a time-waster.

• Don’t forget to make technology your super power. Put one of the dozens of time management apps out there to good use. Also, be sure your office equipment is working properly and your laptop is fast enough for your needs.

• Use the Pomodoro technique. With this technique, you work for 25 minutes continuously and then take a five-minute break to stand, stretch and relax or have a drink of water. As with time management, apps are available to help you implement this technique.

Do you have any tips for staying on track while working at home? Let us know.