Productivity in the Remote Office

Laundry, Netflix, and the fridge. Three things listed as what some fear would be common distractions if they worked from home. For some, working remotely takes practice, and for others it’s a cinch. The StormFree team spans the country and each one of us works remotely. Collaboration and communication play a big part in keeping us on track, but like most people (everyone) some days are less robust than others. So, we gathered up some useful techniques to help improve focus and productivity whether you are working from the boardroom or from your dining room table.

Get Focused

With tasks, obligations, and deadlines all floating around in your head, all while the cat is staring at you, it’s hard to focus on what needs your attention the most. These techniques are designed to help you clear your thoughts, gain clarity, and avoid distraction brought on by a chaotic or overwhelming schedule.

Clear Your Mind

This practice is called a mind sweep which uses a list of prompts to help ask yourself what tasks or commitments are on your mind. When something triggers you, record it and move on to the next topic. The list gets very detailed but includes topics such as mental and physical health, commitment to family and friends, social and community responsibility, house and home, career and education, and short and long-term financial planning. The list digs down and should spark whatever it is that’s been nagging at you and causing you to lose focus on....what was it again?

Avoid Cognitive Overload

We’ve been trained to multitask, or to feel as though we should be multitasking. But multitasking between projects, messages, and tasks is not always effective. These interruptions, or cognitive switching, disrupt our flow and can take up to half an hour to regain focus after a distraction occurs. Below are a few strategies to help you stay focused and in control:

• maintain your calendar and give yourself time between meetings 
• designate two blocks of time per day to read and respond to communication 
• turn your phone to silent and don't allow it to be the first thing you look at upon waking
• simplify basic areas of your life such as meals and wardrobe - rather than wasting creative energy deciding what to wear pull a Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs and wear essentially the same thing every day

While you are working, practise these strategies to avoid overloading your brain:

• break complex information or steps into smaller parts and clarify as much as possible
• limit the concepts you address at one time and be consistent in your approach
• build in time to stop and reflect after an interaction or period of learning and try to revisit in your own words
• share your understanding with other team members or seek team support on difficult projects 

Brain Pause

Don’t feel guilty when there are lulls in your productivity. In fact, embrace the lulls — this is actually a recommended practise. There is research that says allowing your mind to wander off actually increases productivity and creativity. So, if you have been reading the same line over and over or if it's taken you twelve minutes to type four words, take a break and allow yourself to be bored. Avoid the common distraction of scrolling through social media and just be. Actually, it is recommended that you perform a task that is so mundane — cleaning is a good one — that it allows your mind to wander. Don’t listen to music or a podcast, just zone out and let your mind go. Giving your brain the space and time could actually produce a great idea or solution. While it might not be considered billable, it's still considered productive.  

Schedule Your Time

Creating a simple daily routine — often a day in advance — will be helpful in achieving the most productivity. When it comes to time management and productivity, everyone has an approach that works well for them. Below are some suggested time-scheduling methods to try:

Ivy Lee Method

• take 10-15 minutes at the end of each work day to write down the six most important tasks to be accomplished tomorrow
• prioritize those six items in order of importance
• when you start your day, concentrate only on the first task and don't move on until completed 
• approach the rest of your list the same way, moving unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day
• repeat this process every working day

Time-Blocking

• plan out your day in advance and dedicate specific hours to accomplish specific tasks
• block out both proactive blocks (priority task) and reactive blocks (responding to emails or ad hoc meetings) 
• schedule your most challenging tasks for the first time blocks of the day
• manage your tasks within a tracking system and work on those tasks at the time scheduled

Most Important Task (MIT)

• determine the top three most essential tasks
• focus on those tasks during the day and don’t do anything else until they are completed
• use this in conjunction with time-blocking, saving initial hours for the most important tasks
• team communication may be considered an important task

Pomodoro

• work in short, intensely-focused bursts, and then take a brief break
• choose a task and set your timer for 25 minutes
• work on the task until the timer ends and take a short break (for example five minutes)
• for every four sessions, take a longer break (for example, 15-30 minutes)

Ninety-Minute Focus Sessions

• work for 90 minutes and then rest for 20 to 30 minutes, repeat
• take advantage of energy peaks and troughs that occur throughout the day as the result of our ultradian rhythms
• correlate maximum energy levels with your task list, which gives productivity a major boost 
• individuals may find a time variance for this cycle

The Five-Minute Rule  

• if a task can be done in five minutes, do it
• if a task can not be completed in five minutes, add the task to your to-do list

We all have our systems and processes that work for us, but give one or a combination of a few of these techniques a try to improve your productivity…and if that includes doing a load of laundry then at least you know you have a fresh black turtleneck ready for tomorrow. Success.