Reclaim your time: the productive workforce

Many of us are feeling fatigued from the lack of work-life balance working from home has caused. However, for the sake of our mental and physical well-being, we need to make more of an effort for us to invest our time into other parts of our everyday life; away from being a productive workforce.

The truth is, being a productive workforce isn’t just related to your work – it’s important to feel like you’re getting the most of your downtime too. So, even though life isn’t back to normal just yet, it’s worth finding ways you can adapt to the current situation.

At FLG, we’ve put together some useful tips and tricks to help you be more productive in your everyday life to give you a greater feeling of fulfilment.

Adjust your body clock

It might seem glaringly obvious, but by adjusting your body clock, you’ll make the most of your sleeping time which means a more productive day. You may even find your day starts a little earlier, so you can finish earlier. Setting your internal clock to adjust to the current pandemic will mean you’re able to be more productive with your time. Whether it’s taking the dog for a walk, learning a new skill or starting an online course.

There are a number of ways in which you can adjust your body clock, including the use of smart lighting and setting alarms for the same time each day. In fact, by simply waking up an hour earlier each day for a whole year, you would gain an extra 360 hours – that’s nearly the same amount of hours in one month alone. So, by giving yourself an additional 60 minutes each day, you could really see your productivity levels soar before you’ve even started your day properly.

Take advantage of your commute time

Working from home means that you’re currently not able to travel any further than your front door, which means you’re skipping your commute into the office and back again every day. Since you’re not having to sit in traffic on the motorway or wait for your train to turn up, why not take advantage of this extra time? 

It’s reported that British workers spend 251 hours travelling to and from work every year. This is the equivalent of spending just over 10 days in a car or on public transport making journeys to the office and back again. What’s more, the average daily commute is 65 minutes, so just think of how much time you’ll save by not having to go to the office. Not only will you gain more time in the morning, but you’ll have more time after work too, meaning you can continue to be productive even after your log off for the day. You might dedicate this time to your other responsibilities, whether that’s helping your kids out with their homeschooling or going to the supermarket to stock up on essentials for an elderly relative. Or you might be able to use the time for self-care activities like going for a run or getting lost in a good book.

Create a new schedule

Without the routine of going into the office every day to work, it can be easy to slip out of your usual habits and you could find that working alone at home makes you have a less productive workforce. The change of pace can have a significant impact on your motivation, and you may find that you struggle to manage your time effectively. If you’re craving some sort of routine, it might be a good idea to create a new schedule for yourself that you can stick to.

It’s important that your schedule is flexible enough so that you can take some time out for yourself. It’s a good idea to include a set amount of time where you can take a lunch break, and you may even want to plan in short bursts of time throughout the day where you can get up from your desk to stretch your legs, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. Taking breaks during the course of the day is essential to help you focus.

How do you reclaim your time while you’re working from home? Share your time-saving hacks with us using the hashtag #AProductiveWorkforce.