[Eran]

Users who spend a lot of time working from a computer, ideally from home, do you optimize your work room to increase productivity? Stuff like removing all distractions (visual and auditory) or breaking up your tasks and keeping a timer. Small things like keeping enough water, taking regular breaks, visualizing your goals, keeping blue lights on and sometimes binaural beats help me focus.

I'm about to start spending more time at home on my computer, and I have a separate smaller work room, so any advice to make me feel comfortable and more focused in that space are appreciated :)

[InspectorGadget]

I fully WFH but to be honest all I need is my cat and a whiteboard. Best thing I did was put a massive whiteboard on the wall behind my monitors. I use it for everything, quick notes, priority task tracking, leave tracking.

Ofcourse I have actual documents for some of that stuff but I find having it somewhere i always look is way more helpful.

[RangoWorld]

Users who spend a lot of time working from a computer, ideally from home, do you optimize your work room to increase productivity? Stuff like removing all distractions (visual and auditory) or breaking up your tasks and keeping a timer. Small things like keeping enough water, taking regular breaks, visualizing your goals, keeping blue lights on and sometimes binaural beats help me focus.

I'm about to start spending more time at home on my computer, and I have a separate smaller work room, so any advice to make me feel comfortable and more focused in that space are appreciated :)

I have tried a lot of stuff. In my experience everything is additional or secondary. The first thing is to act.

Now things that have helped me and might help you:

- Make a calendar for yourself and block out times.
- In the morning go through your tasks for today and make / refine the tasks list. Try to make it into manageable chunks that can be slotted into short time windows.
- Run timers like Pomodoro technique so you work for a certain period and then take a small break to stand/walk and drink water.
- Play music. Find whatever works for you.
- When reading something. Go Fullscreen (F11) and turn on DND mode. So you don't get any notification and aren't distracted by even thr taskbar.
- When you are preparing for your day take 5 minutes visualizing yourself completing those tasks and then visualizing yourself achieving that bigger goal which you are working towards.
- At the end of the day go through your list and name 3 things you were greatful about in your life that day. (It could be as small as had good feels drinking that coffee today).
- Keep a whiteboard or paper with you. Try to do all the stuff you can do analog, analog. There's no reason to spend unnecessary time in front of a screen when something can be done as effeciently in an analog way.
- Allow yourself break and integrate fun things and hobbies.

You don't have to follow these all. I don't follow everything at once. These are just stuff which has helped me from time to time. Take whatever is beneficial to you and leave the rest.

[Eran]

I fully WFH but to be honest all I need is my cat and a whiteboard. Best thing I did was put a massive whiteboard on the wall behind my monitors. I use it for everything, quick notes, priority task tracking, leave tracking.

Ofcourse I have actual documents for some of that stuff but I find having it somewhere i always look is way more helpful.

I always feel more organized if I write everything down compared to putting it on a computer. If not a whiteboard I will try notes, thanks for the tip!

I have tried a lot of stuff. In my experience everything is additional or secondary. The first thing is to act.

Now things that have helped me and might help you:

- Make a calendar for yourself and block out times.
- In the morning go through your tasks for today and make / refine the tasks list. Try to make it into manageable chunks that can be slotted into short time windows.
- Run timers like Pomodoro technique so you work for a certain period and then take a small break to stand/walk and drink water.
- Play music. Find whatever works for you.
- When reading something. Go Fullscreen (F11) and turn on DND mode. So you don't get any notification and aren't distracted by even thr taskbar.
- When you are preparing for your day take 5 minutes visualizing yourself completing those tasks and then visualizing yourself achieving that bigger goal which you are working towards.
- At the end of the day go through your list and name 3 things you were greatful about in your life that day. (It could be as small as had good feels drinking that coffee today).
- Keep a whiteboard or paper with you. Try to do all the stuff you can do analog, analog. There's no reason to spend unnecessary time in front of a screen when something can be done as effeciently in an analog way.
- Allow yourself break and integrate fun things and hobbies.

You don't have to follow these all. I don't follow everything at once. These are just stuff which has helped me from time to time. Take whatever is beneficial to you and leave the rest.

Thanks for the lengthy reply. Like you said yourself, I could have the perfect atmosphere but without acting nothing good will come.

[Liquidicey]

Keep everything clean and organized, and light a candle on your desk is the secret. That always keeps me in a good mood while I'm at the computer for long periods.

[Syndicate]

I would definitely create a calendar and a schedule for your work. It's helped me greatly keep focused on my task at hand :)

[banonkiel]

Having a device (or even a profile) set-up just for work helps a lot.
Create a daily To-Do List, this definitely helps with procrastination.

My first item on my daily to-do list is "Write the To-Do list", Once I finish I cross it off and just like that you already done progress.
Instead of writing big tasks (Create entire Project), even when feasible, divide them up into smaller items which are easier to finish (Create structure, add dependencies, etc), Don't make them too small that you end up writing a 100 items for a single work-task though lol.

[RootRXXT]

nah, i thrive under chaos, my scattered brain doesn't like a clean work space.
Switches, firewalls on my desk, some personal nik naks etc

[InspectorGadget]

I always feel more organized if I write everything down compared to putting it on a computer. If not a whiteboard I will try notes, thanks for the tip!

My only issue with writing notes is that my mind is a muddled mess, so the ability to wipe away quickly and move what i've written is very nice.

TBH I need to learn to note take via a tablet, that way i get the benefit of a whiteboard (move stuff, easily delete etc) with the portability.

I also set 3 "re-priority" points in my day, the very start, just after lunch and then 1 hour before the end. Oh each of the 3 points, I ensure I've got a list of what my tasks are for the day, i then order them by my priority and my senior leadership priority, any that do not align I make a decision on if my priority is more important or if the company's is more important.

The 3 different points in the day allows me to still focus on tasks whilst ensuring I'm not tunnel-visioned on a problem while another problem gets so big that it then takes priority.

It also means leadership understands that although they may not see me working on their priority, I will be working on A priority somewhere. Although not sure how this would work if you had a micro manager.

---

Having a device (or even a profile) set-up just for work helps a lot.

Chrome for work, Firefox for personal - I'm not sure why but I employ this across every device I have, Chrome I even keep adblock off too as a sort of reminder that it's work and work time and work tasks.

[Eran]

Keep everything clean and organized, and light a candle on your desk is the secret. That always keeps me in a good mood while I'm at the computer for long periods.

Candles always associate me with chill and romantic vibes but I'll give it a try!

I would definitely create a calendar and a schedule for your work. It's helped me greatly keep focused on my task at hand :)

Yeah definitely need to start doing this and planning my days in advance.

Having a device (or even a profile) set-up just for work helps a lot.
Create a daily To-Do List, this definitely helps with procrastination.

My first item on my daily to-do list is "Write the To-Do list", Once I finish I cross it off and just like that you already done progress.
Instead of writing big tasks (Create entire Project), even when feasible, divide them up into smaller items which are easier to finish (Create structure, add dependencies, etc), Don't make them too small that you end up writing a 100 items for a single work-task though lol.

You're right about having small, manageable tasks. I always used to grind incredibly hard at the beginning then fall off hard. I need consistency.

nah, i thrive under chaos, my scattered brain doesn't like a clean work space.
Switches, firewalls on my desk, some personal nik naks etc

Lmao somehow I can relate, there's always chaos in my life xD. But I just can't stay focused if I know it's a mess around me.

My only issue with writing notes is that my mind is a muddled mess, so the ability to wipe away quickly and move what i've written is very nice.

TBH I need to learn to note take via a tablet, that way i get the benefit of a whiteboard (move stuff, easily delete etc) with the portability.

I also set 3 "re-priority" points in my day, the very start, just after lunch and then 1 hour before the end. Oh each of the 3 points, I ensure I've got a list of what my tasks are for the day, i then order them by my priority and my senior leadership priority, any that do not align I make a decision on if my priority is more important or if the company's is more important.

The 3 different points in the day allows me to still focus on tasks whilst ensuring I'm not tunnel-visioned on a problem while another problem gets so big that it then takes priority.

It also means leadership understands that although they may not see me working on their priority, I will be working on A priority somewhere. Although not sure how this would work if you had a micro manager.

---

Chrome for work, Firefox for personal - I'm not sure why but I employ this across every device I have, Chrome I even keep adblock off too as a sort of reminder that it's work and work time and work tasks.

This is something I haven't read before, incredibly insightful! Thank you!

[Juoku]

I work a lot from home with my laptop, the one major thing I can say, the room / area doesn't matter much, you just need a quiet space.
What really matters is your mindset / preparations.

When I work, I turn my phone to "private mode" where it blocks notifications and calls, so only a select few can reach me from my "whitelist".
That's the best productivity advice I can give you, stir clear of distractions, put all your focus on your work and you'll see how you function 100% better than with your phone alone.

[Eran]

I work a lot from home with my laptop, the one major thing I can say, the room / area doesn't matter much, you just need a quiet space.
What really matters is your mindset / preparations.

When I work, I turn my phone to "private mode" where it blocks notifications and calls, so only a select few can reach me from my "whitelist".
That's the best productivity advice I can give you, stir clear of distractions, put all your focus on your work and you'll see how you function 100% better than with your phone alone.

To be honest this is probably the ultimate truth, I'm just overthinking since a part of my income will start depending on how productive I am from working at home next month. Just gotta head in with the right headset 💪

[Juoku]

To be honest this is probably the ultimate truth, I'm just overthinking since a part of my income will start depending on how productive I am from working at home next month. Just gotta head in with the right headset 💪

Yeah makes sense, but it's super fun to work from home, especially when it's freelance work, and like you said, you get paid for the work you actually do.
I think the best advice is for you to focus and leave your distractions out the door while you're working.

[Jamika]

Users who spend a lot of time working from a computer, ideally from home, do you optimize your work room to increase productivity? Stuff like removing all distractions (visual and auditory) or breaking up your tasks and keeping a timer. Small things like keeping enough water, taking regular breaks, visualizing your goals, keeping blue lights on and sometimes binaural beats help me focus.

I'm about to start spending more time at home on my computer, and I have a separate smaller work room, so any advice to make me feel comfortable and more focused in that space are appreciated :)

I spend little time tbh for office work , but i usually do it within any area , dont need special workspace or something

[Undead]

Install a firewall to block all the porn sites :p On a serious note, a comfortable office chair is a must if you're working from home. Also, external keyboard and mouse if you're on a laptop.