Blog - How to remain productive and motivated when working from home

Over the coming weeks we expect more and more businesses to enforce remote working practices in response to COVID-19. In order to maintain business as usual the remote workforce must ensure productivity whilst being outside of the office environment.

We have put together some advice on how to remain motivated during a time of uncertainty.

Maintain regular hours:

Whilst working remotely it is still vital to maintain a good work-life balance to keep motivated. Setting clear working hours and sticking to them helps remote workers know when to call it a day.

Keep a routine:

If you are required to work remotely for an extended period of time it is important to maintain your routine. This includes creating a morning routine like waking up at the same time, getting dressed for work and making a cup of tea. The morning routine should be the same and end with you sitting down to work.

It is also important to have an end of the day routine. Even simple things like shutting your laptop down and clearing away your workstation will help you signal the end of the day.

Create the right environment:

Creating the right working environment at home is important, sitting in your pyjamas on the sofa probably isn’t the best way to remain productive. Creating a positive working environment can include:

Setting up a desk at a proper table
If possible, use a room that is different from the room you will have a break in
Putting on office chatter sound effects to create a buzz in the room

Set goals and objectives:

During the extended period of uncertainty setting goals of what you would like to achieve will help keep you on track. By building a realistic picture of everything you want to achieve during the day it will not only maintain your focus, but it is a good way to keep distractions to a minimum.

Schedule breaks:

Without taking breaks from work throughout the day, mental well-being and overall work performance begin to suffer. Whilst working remotely it is important to schedule breaks throughout the day and stick to them, this will help you re-charge for the rest of the workday and remain productive.

Utilise digital capabilities:

We are fortunate enough to live in an extremely connected world. It is important that whilst working remotely that you do not become isolated from your colleagues. By utilising your company’s digital capabilities be it the cloud, skype for business, zoom, Microsoft 365, etc, you can keep in contact with your colleagues. We suggest that companies employ a business as usual approach to meetings – if you have a weekly team catch-up, utilise technology to make sure this still happens. It is essential that the workforce remain connected and communication is key to this.

We understand this will be a time of uncertainty for employees and businesses as we are required adapt to the changing advice from the Government. As a business we are continuing to follow Government advice and will keep the situation under review.

In response to the current situation, Altum Consulting has implemented a 24/7 service and are leveraging our digital capabilities to ensure we can still supply our clients with qualified accountants across all levels during a time of limited movement/contact. Over the last few weeks, we have prioritised meeting and registering quality candidates that can be mobilised at short notice with resources to facilitate working from home if required.

Please get in touch with us if you would like to discuss a plan of action.

24/7 Contacts: