Friday Focus

With the weekend on the horizon, even regular Fridays can pose a challenge to your attention span. We know it’s even harder this week as people increasingly make the switch to a digital workplace. Don’t panic! We’re here to help. Today’s work from home tips will help you focus on doing just that: staying focused.

To start, don’t miss this high tech tip from Alec Biedrzycki at HubSpot: “Make it harder for yourself to mess around on social media. Social media is designed to make it easy for you to open and browse quickly. At work, though, this convenience can be the detriment of your productivity. To counteract your social networks’ ease of use during work hours, remove them from your browser shortcuts and, according to Fast Company, log out of every account. You might even consider working primarily in a private or, if you’re using Chrome, an ‘Incognito’ browser window. This ensures you stay signed out of all your accounts and each web search you conduct doesn’t autocomplete the word you’re typing. It’s a guarantee that you won’t be tempted into taking too many social breaks during the day.” Since you wouldn’t be on social media all day at your on-site working environment, you can also think of this as a way to maintain continuity when transitioning to working from home.

Sara Marie Hall at SUCCESS offers up another suggestion that comes in handy no matter where you’re working: “Declutter. Whether you work in a home office, kitchen or living room, if there’s ‘stuff’ around that reminds you of your household chores, your eyes will go there and you’ll get distracted. Whenever you work from home, claim a clutter-free zone. This will help you stay focused on your workload and remain more aligned with an in-office experience.” Consistency is the name of the game! Remember, too, that if you ever find yourself with “downtime” on-site, a productive way to use that time is to declutter; start with your desk, your inbox, and your desktop. Taking a moment to declutter will help save you time down the line when you need to use a bit of extra brainpower to adjust to your new work routine. 

And it truly is an adjustment. Make sure you’re taking time over the weekend to unwind as well as reflect. Which methods worked well for you? What challenges did you encounter? Know that whatever obstacles you’ve faced amidst this transition, you’re not alone. We’ll be back on Monday with even more tips and tricks to ensure your professional success.

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