The 5 Best Tips for Staying Productive While Working From Home
Feb 01, 2021

In the past year, working from home has become the norm for a lot of us. And many employees would prefer to continue telecommuting some or all of the time — even after the pandemic is over.


However, if this is your first time working from home, you might be struggling to be productive. The following five tips can help:


    1.      Create a dedicated workspace.


According to Forbes, studies show that having a dedicated workspace is important to your ability to focus. If you set aside a specific spot in your home where you “go to work,” you’ll likely be less distracted and, as a result, be able to concentrate better. If you have a guest bedroom, consider repurposing it as an office. You can also clear a space at the kitchen counter or dining table for work.


    2.     Keep regular work hours.


Even if you’re in the position to determine your own schedule, it’s helpful to keep regular work hours to ensure you’ll be able to communicate with your team in a timely manner. By consistently getting in the habit of going to work at a certain time and working until a set time, you’ll make it easier for yourself to stick to your schedule. Don’t forget to build in time for breaks so you can go outside for a bit of exercise, as this can really help your overall wellbeing and productivity.


    3.     Stay away from personal tasks.


The Muse advises that one of the best ways to stay productive is to avoid performing personal tasks during work hours. Remember: It’s easy to lose track of time when you’re shopping online or checking your social media accounts — and that can come at the cost of your productivity.


    4.     Check in with your colleagues.


Working from home can be very isolating — but it doesn’t have to be. Find a way to communicate with your team members throughout the day, for example by using Slack or Microsoft Teams. It can also be helpful to have a short standup at the beginning of the day on Zoom or Google Meet where your entire team can get together and discuss your current projects and individual tasks.


    5.     Dress professionally.


It can be tempting to wear jogging pants or even your pajamas when you don’t have to go to an office, but dressing casually can also make you feel less inclined to work. On the other hand, if you wear the same kind of clothes you’d wear to the office, you’re recreating your professional work environment at home. This can help you be more focused and productive — plus, you’ll be more prepared to hop onto a Zoom call if your supervisor or a client unexpectedly wants a meeting.


Working from home can give you a better work-life balance than you’d have if you were commuting to an office every day, but you need to know how to remain productive. If you keep these five tips in mind, you stand a good chance of getting into the habit of creating a work environment where you can be a valuable member of your team and help your company achieve its goals—both of which are great for your career.

14 Aug, 2023
Rephrasing the famous song, “Love is in the air”, let’s talk about change is in the air – and everywhere. We grow. We change. Look at your childhood photos. Watch your kid, your nephew, your niece. The change is there, and it’s incredible. Nature is constantly changing. We wait for summer as the time to enjoy outdoor activities and gardening, for a quick visit to the beach, or simply take time to relax and spend time with family, friends and loved ones. We wait for winter (even if we never see snow falling) to decorate the house for the holidays, pack presents for the people we love and unpack our own. The colour of the leaves changes, the weather shifts, and flowers blossom in their time – the landscape is constantly transforming. The world around us is changing. We travel to other countries and learn new things, cultures and languages. We take on new hobbies. We get new skills. After a couple of minor kitchen accidents (sometimes), we can cook delicious dishes and get compliments from family and friends. We transform our bodies at the gym or simply by creating the habit of walking every day. We meet new people, we sometimes fall in love, we build families, we have kids. And if you step back for a second, you realise you might have met your other half by pure accident. But you took a leap of faith into the unknown. We embrace many types of unknown change, except for the one that can change how we live five days a week – to change jobs. “I am too old/too young to change”, “I’m used to this environment; It’s my comfort zone”, “Well, I don’t get any promotion, and what I do doesn’t change the world, but it’s stable”, “I am afraid to ask for more interesting projects. What if my manager fires me?”. We often don’t want to change because that step requires a vision, courage, external support, and a leap of faith into the unknown. Scary? Yes. But also promising. A step into the unknown? Yes. But it can open a new door. Do your inner values marry what you do? Yes, it is essential. There is nothing terrible about staying in your comfort zone. At some stage of your career, staying put can be an excellent decision. But if you feel that you need a change – talk to Kelly. We don’t mind going the extra mile and support your wish to embrace the change. The one which will give meaning to what you do, feel proud, motivated and fulfilled. Ready for changing? We’ll make sure your talent can truly shine.
10 Aug, 2023
You’ve seen these guys before when a circus came to your city or maybe on TV. They walk on a wire at an impressive height, sometimes without insurance, sometimes with a long stick that probes the void right and left. They walk slowly, trying the wire with their toes first, making small steps, their eyes fixed on the small platform where they plan to land soon. They never watch down. They don’t listen to an audience that applauses or gasps in awe. They are concentrated on keeping their balance. To keep balance. Let’s come down from the wire above the arena or stage. Let’s look closer at balance, where it has its roots and the secrets of keeping it. Is it an art? Or is it a skill? Can you learn to keep balance? Or is it an innate skill that only gymnasts, figure skaters, circus artists and ballet dancers are born with? Want to know the secrets of a ballerina that must perform 32 fouettes, a complex ballet movement that requires turning 360 degrees at a high-speed standing on the point of a ballet shoe? First, keeping balance is a skill people must learn for years. In ballet, sport, circus, real life, and… work life. A ballerina is taught to pick one point and to fix her eyes on it when she makes her 32 fouettes, a complex ballet movement that requires turning 360 degrees at high-speed standing on the point of a ballet shoe. She focuses on one thing that keeps her upright. She doesn’t look anywhere else. Gymnasts in some disciplines are constantly trained to feel the bar under their feet. They are prepared to land precisely on the bar after they jump, and the incredible contortions we admire in competitions. But let’s come back to the circus artists we have begun with. Often, they have a long stick in their hands to keep their balance. Is their secret hidden in the stick? And what is the secret? You don’t need to be a ballet dancer, a gymnast, or a circus artist to get the idea of balance. Here are your first two steps in your balance training: 1. Keep your main priorities in mind. And have a clear idea about what is very important for you and where you are ready to compromise. But don’t listen to external opinions that don’t align with your ideals. Forget about the audience’s applause – focus on you. 2. Use some help to stay upright and get to your goals. Imagine your life split on two ends of the helping stick, your job is on one end, and your private life is on another. How comfortable do you feel at your height now with the load on both ends? You need support. We at Kelly pay a lot of attention to balance. The balance between people’s private lives and their jobs. The balance between feeling appreciated and professional goals or between achieving extraordinary results and being inspired. Talk to Kelly today. We are not ballet coaches or sports trainers, but we know much about how important work/life balance is in our lives.
03 Aug, 2023
We often associate certain qualities with individuals who seem to possess a natural talent for creativity. We convince ourselves that painting, singing, or dancing are pursuits reserved for these "real" artists while we remain mere spectators. Creativity? Inspiration? No, it's not about me.
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