Tips to have A Productive “Work From Home” Setup

If you’re blessed enough, you are allowed to work from home together with your regular benefits as a Filipino employee. Kudos to your employer!

I am working from home as a freelancer for 11 years now and in terms of being productive, I am an expert. I can multi-task, blog, homeschool AND I know how my children can help me instead of bugging me while working. Plus, my husband is also working from home at the moment so there’s extra tension 🙈 but we can manage so far. 😄

One thing you guys have to keep in mind is that I don’t accept projects that require me to have meetings/conferences through a video call. Well if I have to.. I only do it at least 2x a year? Very rare. I can’t be productive if I have to take a bath (very rare 😄) fix myself or put makeup on just to have a 30min to an hour video call/meeting. Plus, I don’t want to add more clothes to our piled up laundry basket. My husband happens to have a LOT OF MEETINGS but no video call at all, so that’s one thing you guys have to consider while working. It takes more time if you need to show your face everyday and other people can’t roam around your working area because your webcam is on. So technically both of us are free to roam around because both our webcams are off. Now off to my tips.

1. Have a routine. Never ever say, “Bahay lang naman ako.” and think that you can actually set your alarm clocks late. Ummmm no! Set your alarm clocks as if you are going out of your house, with heavy traffic and a quick breakfast before leaving. Have that routine everyday, don’t break it just because you want to watch ANOTHER TV SERIES.

2. On that note, DO NOT COMMIT TO ANOTHER TV SERIES then ATTEMPT (or pretend) to WORK FROM HOME. Do not act smart and think that you can and are actually working when in fact you are also reading the subtitle of the series plus crying / laughing while you pretend to work. Don’t do that to yourself and your employer. Work WHOLEHEARTEDLY and don’t trick yourself just to watch a series you can watch over the weekend.

3. Don’t stop working JUST to watch a scene in the movie while eating. Eat snacks or lunch while watching a quick YouTube video.. but never ever watch a movie that just started or a series you promise to watch for just 1 episode. Don’t tempt yourself for you might not win at all!

4. Prepare a glass of water and your snacks beside you. Ask your children to refill the glass of water for you. A huge tumbler is helpful to make your drink cold for almost a day. This tip may be simple but less chances to stand up = less probability to be tempted = less time wasted. 😉

5. Time yourself. You want to do a particular task? Time yourself and be strict. Want to do a bit of social media while resting or on a break, check the clock and time yourself. The habit of timing yourself is another way to block your schedule and make sure that you are productive and efficient the whole day.

6. Wash your face BEFORE working. Whatever your timezone is, washing your face or taking a QUICK bath is very helpful to perk you up. Wash your hands, legs and face – it will make you feel fresh and ready for the day.

7. If most of your close family members are with you and there’s no critical issue, put your phone away from you. If you can’t, just block unnecessary calls. A sudden chat may look harmless but it is still a distraction and could be really harmful if it becomes a habit, even if you’re not working from home.

8. Feel sleepy? Need inspiration? Aside from coffee.. SPOTIFY music helps! (Not podcast). Music helps us to feel upbeat and extra happy/inspired. No question about that. Of course a podcast is different because a talking person is definitely a distraction not just to you but to everyone who can hear it.

9. Be transparent. Make reports. I know your boss is nice and they aren’t asking for it but for your own accountability and for reports purposes, why don’t you be transparent and track your own tasks for the day. Include the status of all tasks. In that way, you are accountable to yourself and you’ll feel accomplished after you finish a certain task.

10. Train your kids. Let this be a new norm to everyone in the family. They see you working or on your laptop, train them to not bother you unless important! They see you talking to someone, be quiet. Train them to study and have a list of what they should do while you are working. Let the older brother manage that list and let them be responsible and think on their own – manage their own time as well. If you have smaller kids, this could be a struggle but if you start them as young as possible, work from home will never be your problem. 😉

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24