What to Put on a Landing Page: 10 Must-Haves and Best Practices

Landing pages are one of the most important elements of lead generation. But they’re only effective if you know what to put on a landing page to begin with.

It’s common to put more attention and resources into your main website and product pages, but landing pages are the most direct way to convert a higher percentage of visitors into leads.

To get the most out of your lead generation strategy and increase your conversion rate, here’s what to put on a landing page.

What is a landing page?

A landing page is a page on a website designed to turn visitors into leads.

Sometimes referred to as a lead-capture page, landing pages contain a lead generation form that collects the visitors’ contact information in exchange for something of value, like an ebook, an offer, or a discount.

The goal of a landing page is to tell your visitors exactly what you want them to do and why they should do it. Landing pages are separate from your website in that they’re created for a specific purpose.

You can create as many landing pages as you want — one for every campaign or offer you launch, for example. According to a recent survey, over half of marketers have between five and ten landing pages on their websites.

The difference between a landing page and your main website is that your website doesn’t have a single goal or call-to-action (CTA) for visitors to follow.

Homepages, while still an important element of a website, are typically less focused on a particular task because they are serving the masses.

Homepages are great for direct traffic, but when you can control how visitors arrive on your site, a landing page is the best place to send them.

When you have a specific product or campaign to promote, create a dedicated landing page for it. You can drive traffic to that page through email marketing, social media, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

If your messaging and the rest of the landing page elements are aligned with the visitor’s goals, then you should have a greater chance of converting visitors into leads. In a HubSpot Survey of 101 marketers, 10.9% say their landing pages have a 20% or higher conversion rate on average.

Wondering what it takes to get a stellar landing page conversion rate? Check out the tips below to learn what to put on a landing page to drive traffic and gain leads.

What to Put on a Landing Page: 10 Tips and Best Practices

1. Never use your homepage as a landing page.

It can be tempting to direct visitors to your website homepage simply because you’re not sure what to put on a landing page in the first place.

But if you’re running a campaign for a specific product or offer, you need a dedicated landing page.

As mentioned above, homepages typically have too much messaging, making visitors feel lost. We'd also recommend not using a main site product page either.

Even if your homepage and sub-pages are awesome, a dedicated landing page will perform better when it comes to converting visitors into leads because they are focused on one task.

Plus, you don’t need experienced design skills to create landing pages. You can use a landing page builder to seamlessly create a landing page that matches your website and offering.

In fact, our survey found that 43.6% of marketers use pre-made CMS themes and templates to create their landing pages.

Get Started With HubSpot’s Free Landing Page Builder

2. Follow the standard structure.

When it comes to what should actually go on your landing page, lead generation pages typically include the following elements:

• A headline and (optional) sub-headline
• A brief description of the what is being offered
• At least one supporting image or short video
• (Optional) supporting proof elements such as testimonials, customer logos, or security badges
• Most importantly, a form on the landing page itself to capture information. If, for some reason, you can’t include a form on the landing page, use a large CTA button to direct visitors to the next step.

The headline should be benefit-focused to let people know right away what’s in it for them. Keep it brief while clearly communicating what your offer is. You can go into more detail with a brief description.

The description should emphasize the benefit stated in the headline and provide a few more compelling reasons why visitors should convert. Writing compelling copy that engages users can be a challenge at times. But don’t let this part slow you down in the landing page process.

Instead, consider using an AI tool like HubSpot’s Campaign Assistant. The tool can help you quickly generate copy for your landing page in seconds — all you have to do is refine it so it’s in your brand voice.

Finally, don’t skip the visuals.

Of marketers surveyed, 38.6% say that video is the landing page element that most positively impacts conversion rate, while 35.6% say imagery or graphics do.

In either case, landing page visuals are clearly impactful, so take your time when developing images and videos for your landing page campaigns.

3. Remove extra navigation.

A landing page is used for one purpose and one purpose alone — to encourage a visitor to take one specific action.

When visitors land on a page, you want to keep them there until they perform that action, whether that’s signing up for a product or downloading an ebook.

Leaving the navigation bar might induce them to continue wandering. To keep visitors focused on your landing page’s content and message, remove the main site navigation from the page so they don’t move off the page.

You should also be mindful of navigation as it relates to the lead generation on your landing page. If you have a form, keep your questions to a minimum. Of marketers, 30.7% suggest four is the ideal number of questions to put on a landing page.

Need to add a form to your landing page? You can easily put together a form using HubSpot’s free form builder tool.

In the landing page example below from MIT Technology Review, the form includes seven fields to fill in, with one being optional.

The rest of the page is straightforward, offers clear navigation, and outlines exactly what you’ll get after submitting the form.

Image Source

4. Keep the objective simple and clear.

Don’t try to stuff too much information on your landing pages. Make it clear what the page is about and what you want the visitor to do.

Limit the amount of copy, images, media, and links to only what’s necessary, and organize your content in a proper structure so objects are in logical order. It’s especially important that the CTA is as crystal clear as possible for the visitor.

Let’s take a look at an example landing page from HubSpot. This landing page is designed to promote a free guide about optimizing landing pages for lead generation.

The design is simple — as soon as a visitor lands on the page, they’re greeted with the most essential elements:

• A headline.
• Brief description.
• CTA button.
• Image or video .

Image Source

The headline and description are clear and let visitors know exactly what the offer is and why they need it. The CTA button is also straightforward, which is another best practice for landing pages.

Looking for more inspiration for your landing page? Check out these stellar landing page examples.

When thinking about your CTA button, avoid using the word “Submit.” Submit is too vague and doesn’t let the lead know what exactly they’re submitting their information for. Always use language that indicates what they’re getting in return.

For example, “Download Now,” “Get your Free Evaluation,” or “Join our Mailing List.”

5. Match the content to a visitor’s previous source.

Whether a visitor comes from a PPC ad, email, or CTA from another source, ensure the messaging matches throughout the entire conversion path.

If your PPC ad says, “Download our Marketing Ebook,” your landing page should say the exact same thing — or at least have similar messaging that lets users know that they’re in the right place.

If there is a disconnect in your messaging, visitors will feel as if they are in the wrong place and will likely hit the “Back” button.

6. Reduce friction.

Friction is caused by objects (or missing objects) on a page that inhibit a visitor from taking action. This can include providing too much information (adding complexity), animation that is distracting, lack of customer proof or security, etc.

Make your visitors feel confident in their choice to provide their information. To reduce friction, keep the page simple.

Include your most important elements, like the main message, your offer, and the lead generation form, at the beginning of the page.

Save the more detailed description, testimonials, and FAQs for later in the page as the visitor scrolls down.

Image Source

Don’t require visitors to read too much, and don’t present internal links that will lead them away from the landing page.

Do include social proof elements such as customer testimonials, number of downloads or sales (to indicate acceptance from others), or security badges (if you’re dealing with sensitive data such as credit card information).

And, as mentioned above, make sure messaging matches throughout their conversion path.

7. Focus on value.

What you put on a landing page is just as important as what the landing page is for in the first place.

While landing page campaigns should be used often in your lead generation strategy, be intentional about what you’re offering to leads.

The offer has to be valuable for leads to exchange for their information, and it has to be something they can’t get anywhere else.

Here are a few examples of what provides value and what doesn’t:

• Don’t create a landing page to download a fact sheet (never put these behind a form).
• Do create a landing page for a valuable whitepaper.
• Don’t use a landing page for “Contact Us.”
• Do use one for a valuable guide, free trial, demonstration, or evaluation. Offering something of value will enable you to generate more leads so you can nurture them over time until they are ready to buy.

8. Only ask for what you need.

When it comes to lead generation forms, there is no magic answer for the number of form fields that should be required.

But here is one simple rule of thumb: Only ask for what you or your sales team really needs. If you don’t need their hair color, don’t ask for it. Try to stay away from sensitive or confidential information, too.

As for contact information, depending on what you’re generating leads for, name and email address is usually enough.

If you want to ask for more, 25.7% of marketers agree that a phone number is the next most important thing to request on a landing page form after name and email.

Image Source

9. Create a lot of landing pages.

For every new campaign or offer, create a new landing page. The more landing pages you have, the more opportunities to convert traffic into leads.

And because these landing pages aren’t directly linked in your website’s navigation, you don’t need to worry about crowding your site or distracting visitors who are casually browsing your company page.

According to a recent survey of marketers, a majority (37.6%) only have five or fewer landing pages on their website. However, 6.9% of marketers have over 26 landing pages on their websites.

There is no magic number, but it’s clear that you can create as many landing pages as you have offers.

10. Make your landing pages shareable.

This is optional, but it’s another great way to drive more visitors to your landing pages.

Include social media sharing links or a social sharing widget on your landing pages so visitors can easily share that content with their own personal networks, and, in turn, drive more opportunities for converting leads.

If you partner with another company on an offer — let’s say an ebook — make a plan for both teams to distribute the landing page on their channels. The more coverage you can get, the higher the chance of visitors you’ll have.

Evaluate your landing pages, and use these best practices as a checklist for setting up the perfect page.

Effective landing pages are what will turn your website into a lead-generating machine. And don’t forget to test your landing pages to see which ones work best for you.

from Marketing https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/26866/9-must-haves-for-the-perfect-landing-page.aspx

Landing pages are one of the most important elements of lead generation. But they’re only effective if you know what to put on a landing page to begin with.

It’s common to put more attention and resources into your main website and product pages, but landing pages are the most direct way to convert a higher percentage of visitors into leads.

To get the most out of your lead generation strategy and increase your conversion rate, here’s what to put on a landing page.

What is a landing page?

A landing page is a page on a website designed to turn visitors into leads.

Sometimes referred to as a lead-capture page, landing pages contain a lead generation form that collects the visitors’ contact information in exchange for something of value, like an ebook, an offer, or a discount.

The goal of a landing page is to tell your visitors exactly what you want them to do and why they should do it. Landing pages are separate from your website in that they’re created for a specific purpose.

You can create as many landing pages as you want — one for every campaign or offer you launch, for example. According to a recent survey, over half of marketers have between five and ten landing pages on their websites.

The difference between a landing page and your main website is that your website doesn’t have a single goal or call-to-action (CTA) for visitors to follow.

Homepages, while still an important element of a website, are typically less focused on a particular task because they are serving the masses.

Homepages are great for direct traffic, but when you can control how visitors arrive on your site, a landing page is the best place to send them.

When you have a specific product or campaign to promote, create a dedicated landing page for it. You can drive traffic to that page through email marketing, social media, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

If your messaging and the rest of the landing page elements are aligned with the visitor’s goals, then you should have a greater chance of converting visitors into leads. In a HubSpot Survey of 101 marketers, 10.9% say their landing pages have a 20% or higher conversion rate on average.

Wondering what it takes to get a stellar landing page conversion rate? Check out the tips below to learn what to put on a landing page to drive traffic and gain leads.

What to Put on a Landing Page: 10 Tips and Best Practices

1. Never use your homepage as a landing page.

It can be tempting to direct visitors to your website homepage simply because you’re not sure what to put on a landing page in the first place.

But if you’re running a campaign for a specific product or offer, you need a dedicated landing page.

As mentioned above, homepages typically have too much messaging, making visitors feel lost. We'd also recommend not using a main site product page either.

Even if your homepage and sub-pages are awesome, a dedicated landing page will perform better when it comes to converting visitors into leads because they are focused on one task.

Plus, you don’t need experienced design skills to create landing pages. You can use a landing page builder to seamlessly create a landing page that matches your website and offering.

In fact, our survey found that 43.6% of marketers use pre-made CMS themes and templates to create their landing pages.

Get Started With HubSpot’s Free Landing Page Builder

2. Follow the standard structure.

When it comes to what should actually go on your landing page, lead generation pages typically include the following elements:

• A headline and (optional) sub-headline
• A brief description of the what is being offered
• At least one supporting image or short video
• (Optional) supporting proof elements such as testimonials, customer logos, or security badges
• Most importantly, a form on the landing page itself to capture information. If, for some reason, you can’t include a form on the landing page, use a large CTA button to direct visitors to the next step.

The headline should be benefit-focused to let people know right away what’s in it for them. Keep it brief while clearly communicating what your offer is. You can go into more detail with a brief description.

The description should emphasize the benefit stated in the headline and provide a few more compelling reasons why visitors should convert. Writing compelling copy that engages users can be a challenge at times. But don’t let this part slow you down in the landing page process.

Instead, consider using an AI tool like HubSpot’s Campaign Assistant. The tool can help you quickly generate copy for your landing page in seconds — all you have to do is refine it so it’s in your brand voice.

Finally, don’t skip the visuals.

Of marketers surveyed, 38.6% say that video is the landing page element that most positively impacts conversion rate, while 35.6% say imagery or graphics do.

In either case, landing page visuals are clearly impactful, so take your time when developing images and videos for your landing page campaigns.

3. Remove extra navigation.

A landing page is used for one purpose and one purpose alone — to encourage a visitor to take one specific action.

When visitors land on a page, you want to keep them there until they perform that action, whether that’s signing up for a product or downloading an ebook.

Leaving the navigation bar might induce them to continue wandering. To keep visitors focused on your landing page’s content and message, remove the main site navigation from the page so they don’t move off the page.

You should also be mindful of navigation as it relates to the lead generation on your landing page. If you have a form, keep your questions to a minimum. Of marketers, 30.7% suggest four is the ideal number of questions to put on a landing page.

Need to add a form to your landing page? You can easily put together a form using HubSpot’s free form builder tool.

In the landing page example below from MIT Technology Review, the form includes seven fields to fill in, with one being optional.

The rest of the page is straightforward, offers clear navigation, and outlines exactly what you’ll get after submitting the form.

Image Source

4. Keep the objective simple and clear.

Don’t try to stuff too much information on your landing pages. Make it clear what the page is about and what you want the visitor to do.

Limit the amount of copy, images, media, and links to only what’s necessary, and organize your content in a proper structure so objects are in logical order. It’s especially important that the CTA is as crystal clear as possible for the visitor.

Let’s take a look at an example landing page from HubSpot. This landing page is designed to promote a free guide about optimizing landing pages for lead generation.

The design is simple — as soon as a visitor lands on the page, they’re greeted with the most essential elements:

• A headline.
• Brief description.
• CTA button.
• Image or video .

Image Source

The headline and description are clear and let visitors know exactly what the offer is and why they need it. The CTA button is also straightforward, which is another best practice for landing pages.

Looking for more inspiration for your landing page? Check out these stellar landing page examples.

When thinking about your CTA button, avoid using the word “Submit.” Submit is too vague and doesn’t let the lead know what exactly they’re submitting their information for. Always use language that indicates what they’re getting in return.

For example, “Download Now,” “Get your Free Evaluation,” or “Join our Mailing List.”

5. Match the content to a visitor’s previous source.

Whether a visitor comes from a PPC ad, email, or CTA from another source, ensure the messaging matches throughout the entire conversion path.

If your PPC ad says, “Download our Marketing Ebook,” your landing page should say the exact same thing — or at least have similar messaging that lets users know that they’re in the right place.

If there is a disconnect in your messaging, visitors will feel as if they are in the wrong place and will likely hit the “Back” button.

6. Reduce friction.

Friction is caused by objects (or missing objects) on a page that inhibit a visitor from taking action. This can include providing too much information (adding complexity), animation that is distracting, lack of customer proof or security, etc.

Make your visitors feel confident in their choice to provide their information. To reduce friction, keep the page simple.

Include your most important elements, like the main message, your offer, and the lead generation form, at the beginning of the page.

Save the more detailed description, testimonials, and FAQs for later in the page as the visitor scrolls down.

Image Source

Don’t require visitors to read too much, and don’t present internal links that will lead them away from the landing page.

Do include social proof elements such as customer testimonials, number of downloads or sales (to indicate acceptance from others), or security badges (if you’re dealing with sensitive data such as credit card information).

And, as mentioned above, make sure messaging matches throughout their conversion path.

7. Focus on value.

What you put on a landing page is just as important as what the landing page is for in the first place.

While landing page campaigns should be used often in your lead generation strategy, be intentional about what you’re offering to leads.

The offer has to be valuable for leads to exchange for their information, and it has to be something they can’t get anywhere else.

Here are a few examples of what provides value and what doesn’t:

• Don’t create a landing page to download a fact sheet (never put these behind a form).
• Do create a landing page for a valuable whitepaper.
• Don’t use a landing page for “Contact Us.”
• Do use one for a valuable guide, free trial, demonstration, or evaluation. Offering something of value will enable you to generate more leads so you can nurture them over time until they are ready to buy.

8. Only ask for what you need.

When it comes to lead generation forms, there is no magic answer for the number of form fields that should be required.

But here is one simple rule of thumb: Only ask for what you or your sales team really needs. If you don’t need their hair color, don’t ask for it. Try to stay away from sensitive or confidential information, too.

As for contact information, depending on what you’re generating leads for, name and email address is usually enough.

If you want to ask for more, 25.7% of marketers agree that a phone number is the next most important thing to request on a landing page form after name and email.

Image Source

9. Create a lot of landing pages.

For every new campaign or offer, create a new landing page. The more landing pages you have, the more opportunities to convert traffic into leads.

And because these landing pages aren’t directly linked in your website’s navigation, you don’t need to worry about crowding your site or distracting visitors who are casually browsing your company page.

According to a recent survey of marketers, a majority (37.6%) only have five or fewer landing pages on their website. However, 6.9% of marketers have over 26 landing pages on their websites.

There is no magic number, but it’s clear that you can create as many landing pages as you have offers.

10. Make your landing pages shareable.

This is optional, but it’s another great way to drive more visitors to your landing pages.

Include social media sharing links or a social sharing widget on your landing pages so visitors can easily share that content with their own personal networks, and, in turn, drive more opportunities for converting leads.

If you partner with another company on an offer — let’s say an ebook — make a plan for both teams to distribute the landing page on their channels. The more coverage you can get, the higher the chance of visitors you’ll have.

Evaluate your landing pages, and use these best practices as a checklist for setting up the perfect page.

Effective landing pages are what will turn your website into a lead-generating machine. And don’t forget to test your landing pages to see which ones work best for you.

via Perfecte news Non connection

The Ultimate Guide to Working From Home (+ Remote Work Tips)

Working from home is a gift, right up until the cat throws up on your computer. And your neighbor, who you can only assume is building a time machine, starts firing up all sorts of power tools. In those moments, remote work life feels more like a punishment than a miracle.

Remote work poses different risks and benefits. Plus, the popularity of this working style has only grown.

In fact, when I began working remotely as a digital nomad in 2017, there was still professional pushback, skepticism, and a general dismissive attitude toward remote work. Since then, I’ve been remotely working abroad, and I’ve even published a book on the topic.

For me and many others, remote work isn’t a trend; this lifestyle is a long-term choice that allows us to get exactly what we want out of our careers. You may need some help greasing the wheels, but I’m determined to help you feel the same from your remote work lifestyle.

Not everyone transitions into remote work smoothly, and that’s okay. Let’s explore the remote work trends, tips, and techniques that can help you get the most out of your remote work.

Table of Contents

• What Remote Work Looks Like Today [Data]
• What is remote work?
• Types Of Remote Work
• How to Work From Home
• 16 Working From Home Tips

What Remote Work Looks Like Today [Data]

Working remotely can take many different forms, but what does it look like for the “normal” remote worker?

From where remote workers work to how they’re getting dressed and how they interact with their team members, let’s see what the statistics say about remote workers today.

1. Of full-time employees surveyed in 2023, 12.7% are 100% remote (WFH Research).
2. Of full-time employees surveyed in 2023, 28% are in a hybrid remote work arrangement (WFH Research).
3. The number of reported days per week that employers allow their employees to work remotely peaked in 2022 and has declined in 2023 (WFH Research).
4. By 2024, the hybrid work model is expected to rise to 81% (AT&T).
5. Of remote workers surveyed, 98% would recommend remote work to others (Buffer).
6. Remote workers love the flexibility more than anything, with 22% of surveyed workers saying the flexibility in how they spend their time being the greatest benefit (Buffer).

And what does the data say about marketers who work remotely? These statistics are from HubSpot’s Marketing Work Culture Survey:

1. Of marketers surveyed, 31% work remotely.
2. Of marketers surveyed, 37% are hybrid employees, sometimes working remotely and sometimes working in the office.
3. Of marketers surveyed, 41% said that their company hosted virtual team-bonding activities in the past year, such as parties, celebrations, or games.
4. When asked about getting dressed for work, 13% of surveyed marketers said they wear an appropriate top for Zoom calls and remain in sweatpants since they’re off-screen in video calls.
5. Since the pandemic, 27% of surveyed marketers said that they feel more overworked, primarily due to heightened work responsibilities.
6. When asked about what led to conditions of overworking, 9% of surveyed marketers said that hybrid or remote work contributed because it made some team tasks more difficult.

Remote working encompasses people who work from home and also digital nomads who work from Airbnbs or hotels around the world.

Some workers choose remote work to help meet their physical needs, mental health needs, or family demands. Other remote workers make this choice to increase freedom and flexibility.

Types of Remote Work

Today, remote workers all over the world will open their laptops in radically different work environments.

Some will do so from a home office, a hotel room, and an airplane 30,000 feet above the middle of nowhere. The remote environment can take almost any form.

When we look closely at the different types of remote work, two primary categories arise: working from home and working from anywhere.

Work From Home

Remote work is most commonly done from home. Remote workers who tune into work from home may do so from their beds, kitchen tables, or tailored home offices. The process can be as minimalistic or customized as you can imagine.

This type of work melds your personal space together with your workspace, making a healthy work-life balance difficult to achieve. Remote workers have to set ground rules to avoid both overworking and underworking.

There are many benefits to working from home, but it also has unique challenges. People who work from home have to remain productive yet still make time for regular breaks and time away from the computer screen.

The average worker invests a lot of time and thought into developing their most productive work zone and refining their work style. We’ll discuss common tips and best practices for working from home in a moment.

Work From Anywhere

Remote workers who work from anywhere have to manage their work-life balance the same as everyone else, but they do so while working from oftentimes exotic locations.

Work from anywhere workers may tune into work from their kitchen table, cafes, coworking spaces, local libraries, or Airbnbs across the world.

Remote workers who combine work with travel are called digital nomads, and they can be found working today all over the world.

Image Source

I became a digital nomad in 2017, and at first, I was drawn into the lifestyle for the opportunity to travel.

I’ve had the privilege of traveling to dozens of countries and am currently traveling full-time with my husband, but something bigger than just travel motivates me to maintain a remote work life: the increased freedom in every area of my life.

“The conversation is much richer, much deeper, and more nuanced than just traveling,” said Mitko Karshovski, founder of the remote work newsletter Remote Insider. “Flexibility is the true underlying theme.”

How to Work From Home

1. Talk to your employer.

Interested in working remotely but aren’t there yet? If you like your current job and don’t want to change it, the obvious step is to find a way to pivot the position.

One of the tips for doing this is folding the possibility of going remote into your next promotion cycle. Talk to your boss often about your intention to pivot.

And, if you’re not sure your employer will agree to working completely remotely, talk about the option of working remotely one or two days a week. When you use the work-from-home tips below, and your boss sees how productive you are, they could allow you more days to work from home.

2. Join a remote-friendly company.

If your work can be done remotely, but your current boss or organization doesn’t allow you to work from home, you might need to get a new job.

When looking for a work-from-home job, you can use the same methods you used in finding your regular office job. This includes channels like job sites, local job ads, and social media platforms.

Job sites that list work-from-home ads include:

• Flexjobs
• Telecommute Job List
• FreelanceJobOpening.com
• Weworkremotely

Some remote-friendly firms include:

• HubSpot
• Randstad
• Twilio
• NTT Group
• Aquent

Check out these firms to see whether you meet the requirements to start working remotely for them.

3. Start a career as a freelancer.

If your current job isn’t remote work-friendly, you can go remote by starting your own business as a freelancer or a consultant. Depending on the nature of your current job, you may start your own freelance business while still being employed.

The benefit of starting your freelance business while still employed is that it reduces the financial strain experienced by any new business.

4. Start a home business.

Starting a home business is one way to enjoy remote work.

Unlike other fields, certifications and education are not usually prerequisites. Instead, researching, having a smart business plan, and choosing the right business is more essential to the success of your business.

5. Communicate expectations with anyone who will be home with you.

If you’re already working from home or you manage to get a remote position through one of the ways listed above, you might have “company” at home.

Make sure any roommates, family members, and dogs (well, maybe not dogs) respect your space during work hours.

Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you’re home. If you share space with another work-from-home adult, you may have to lay ground rules about meeting times, shared desks and chairs, and quiet times.

Sam Mallikarjunan, CEO of AI company OneScreen, tells how he manages to get work done even when people are around.

“If anyone else is going to be at home when you’re working, they just have to be clear that when you’re in your ‘office’ (in my case, my signal to the family is having headphones on), you’re working — even if it looks like and feels like you’re hanging out at home,” Mallikarjunan says.

He adds, “It’s easy to get distracted by the many things that have to be done around the house during the day.”

If working alongside other family members or housemates can’t be avoided, consider investing in home office equipment like noise-canceling headphones or room dividers to minimize distractions.

A dedicated office space can be pivotal in having fewer distractions.

6. Take clear breaks.

It can be so easy to get lost in your work as a telecommuter that you avoid breaks altogether. Don’t let the guilt of working in the building you sleep in prevent you from taking five minutes to relax.

However, rather than just opening YouTube and watching some comfort clips, use your breaks to get away from your desk.

Go for a walk, enjoy fresh air, or spend time with others who might also be in the house. Take breaks near natural light if at all possible for added mental stimulation.

Take Reforge’s Ginny Mineo’s advice. “Breaks, like making and eating lunch, can recharge you to do better work. Don’t assume you need to be working 100% of the time while you’re home to be more productive.”

7. Interact with other humans.

When you start working from home, you’ll likely miss the casual social interactions with colleagues you’re used to throughout the day.

When working from home, you don’t have the small talk and other activities that make each day at the office unique.

So what can you do? Communicate.

Fight boredom and loneliness by frequent communication with other employees. Reach out to them through video chat via apps like Zoom and Slack, a hosted phone system, or however else your company communicates.

Remember: You’re working from home, not the moon. Interacting with other people during the day is allowed, even if they’re not your colleagues. It’s a good idea to see another face during the day when most of your workday is solitary. So, use your breaks to interact with others.

“Go outside and find a human to interact with — ordering your coffee, running an errand, whatever. It keeps you sane,” says HubSpot’s Corey Wainwright.

8. Prepare meals the night before.

When you’re in your own home, it can be tempting to spend time preparing a nice breakfast and lunch for yourself, chopping and cooking included. Don’t use precious minutes making your food the day of work — cook it the night before.

Preparing food ahead of time ensures you can use your meal times to eat and that you aren’t performing non-work tasks that spend energy better used at your desk.

Digital Marketing Strategist Lindsay Kolowich, adds:

“Cooking at home is time you wouldn’t have spent meal prepping if you’d been in the office that day, and I find the minutes can add up in the end. To mitigate that, I try to cook and prep my meals the night before, just like I would for a day at the office.”

When it comes time to eat, have a genuine away-from-your-laptop lunch break.

9. Pick a definitive finishing time.

You might be under the impression that working from home establishes more work–life balance, but be careful with that assumption.

Working from home can also feel like being at a casino — you can get so caught up in your activity in a relaxing environment, that you lose complete track of time.

“If you work from home full-time (or regularly), it’s really easy to let your work life bleed into your personal life,” says Tyler Littwin, a graphic designer. “Maintaining a boundary is important for both halves of the equation.”

In lieu of coworkers whose packing up and leaving the office reminds you to do the same, set an alarm at the end of the day to indicate your normal workday is coming to an end.

You don’t have to stop at exactly that time, but knowing the work day is technically over can help you start the process of saving your work and calling it quits for the evening.

10. Eat and sleep.

What is the biggest perk to working from home? One of the biggest benefits for some people (me), is complete access to the kitchen.

As soon as I take a break, I automatically drift towards the kitchen for some snacks.

An unhealthy diet can affect productivity and drain energy. When I switched to a healthier diet, it made me function better and get the most from my routine.

So eat well when working from home.

It’s also vital that you keep to a proper sleep schedule. Save binge-watching your favorite shows for the weekend. With the right food to keep energy levels high and sound sleep to refresh your body and mind, you can successfully work from home.

You can find more work-from-home tips in the books listed in this best remote-work books article.

Working From Home Tips

1. Get started early.

When working in an office, your morning commute can help you wake up and feel ready to work by the time you get to your desk. At home, however, the transition from your pillow to your computer can be much more jarring.

Believe it or not, one way to work from home productively is to dive into your to-do list as soon as you wake up.

Simply getting a project started first thing in the morning can be the key to making progress on it gradually throughout the day. Otherwise, you’ll prolong breakfast and let the morning sluggishness wear away your motivation.

Kolowich says, “When I work from home, I wake up, put on a pot of coffee, and start working immediately — much earlier than normal working hours. I only start making breakfast once I’ve hit a wall or need a break. I’m a morning person and find I can get a ton done in the early morning hours, so this works really well for me.”

2. Make after-work plans.

Do you have trouble closing your laptop and moving on to the next part of the day? Make it easy for yourself by making plans immediately after work.

“You can instantly boost your remote work productivity by scheduling something fun or important in the afternoon,” shared remote worker of seven years Mitch Glass, founder of Project Untethered.

“Adding a firm deadline cranks up the pressure and forces you to knock out the most important tasks as fast as possible. If left unchecked, remote work has a way of creeping into the evening hours, so having this hard cutoff point helps protect work-life balance as well,” Glass says.

Image Source

3. Use the Pomodoro technique.

One of the top tips for working remotely is to take breaks, but that poses a challenge for most remote workers. Let the Pomodoro Method make it achievable.

“My top work-from-home tip is to use the Pomodoro Method to stay productive and focused throughout the day,” shared Kat Smith, founder of A Way Abroad. Kat has been a remote worker for six years, having spent four years as a freelancer and two years as a full-time remote employee.

In the traditional Pomodoro Method, you set a 25-minute timer, pick a specific task you can finish in that time, get rid of any distractions, start the clock, and complete your task.

“This creates some urgency, so you don’t let a single task stretch longer than it should. When the timer beeps, take a 5-minute break. You can repeat this throughout the day,” Smith says.

This technique is so popular that you can easily add a Pomodoro Google Chrome Extension to your browser.

4. Pretend like you are going into the office.

The mental association you make between work and an office can make you more productive, and there’s no reason that feeling should be lost when working remotely.

I know that you love working in your sweatpants (I do, too), but the mere act of changing clothes to something more serious will give you a signal to get work done throughout the day.

When you dress up, you give your brain a reason for dressing up, and it can keep you pumped throughout your work hours.

So when working from home, do all the things you’d do to prepare for an office role: Set your alarm, make (or get) coffee, and wear nice clothes.

Internet browsers like Google Chrome even allow you to set up multiple accounts with different toolbars on the top — for example, a toolbar for home and a separate toolbar for work.

Take to heart the words of HubSpot Graphic Designer Anna Faber-Hammond, who says, “Get fully ready for the day and pretend you’re actually going to work. Otherwise, you might find yourself back in bed.”

5. Structure your day like you would in the office.

When working from home, you’re your own personal manager and can choose your working hours.

However, without things like an in-person meeting schedule to break up your day, you can easily lose focus or burn out.

To stay on schedule, segment what you’ll do and when for the day. If you have an online calendar, create personal events and reminders that tell you when to shift gears and start on new tasks. Google Calendar makes this easy.

Structuring your day as you would in the office also saves you from work creep. With this structure in place, working from home will not cause your work to invade your personal life.

“Are mornings for writing while you’re in the office? Use the same remote work schedule at home. This structure will help keep you focused and productive,” says Ginny Mineo.

6. Choose a dedicated workspace.

Just because you’re not working at an office doesn’t mean you can’t, well, have an office.

Rather than cooping yourself up in your room or on the couch in the living room — spaces associated with leisure time — dedicate a specific room or surface in your home to working remotely.

No matter the space or location, have an area of the home to work and stay committed to it throughout the day. And, after choosing your dedicated workspace, make the most of it by making it quiet.

Mallikarjunan says, “Have a place you go specifically to work. It could be a certain table, chair, local coffee shop — some place that’s consistently your ‘workspace.’ It helps you get into the right frame of mind.”

7. Don’t stay at home.

Is your home office just not getting it done for you? Take your work-from-home life a step further and get out of the house.

Coffee shops, libraries, public lounges, coworking spaces, and similar Wi-Fi-enabled spaces can help you simulate the energy of an office so you can stay productive even when you don’t sit in an official workplace.

Content Marketer Corey Wainwright, comments, “I get out of my home to work and go to an establishment with actual tables, chairs, and people. It helps simulate the work environment and removes the distractions I typically have at home, like the urge to finally clean my room, do laundry, or watch TV.”

8. Make it harder to use social media.

Social media is designed to make it easy for us to open and browse quickly. As remote workers, though, this convenience can be detrimental to our remote work productivity.

To counteract your social networks’ ease of use during work hours, remove them from your browser shortcuts and log out of every account on your phone or computer.

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 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.

Also, many have found it helpful to shut off social media notifications during the hours they work from home.

Alec Biedrzycki, product marketer at AirTable, says, “I remove all social networks from my toolbar bookmarks... you can get sucked in without knowing it, so eliminating the gateway to those networks keeps me on track.”

9. Commit to doing more.

Projects always take longer than you initially think they will. For that reason, you’ll frequently get done less than you set out to do.

So, just as you’re encouraged to overestimate how many work hours you’ll spend doing one thing, you should also overestimate how many things you’ll do during the day.

Even if you come up short of your goal, you’ll still come out of that day with a solid list of tasks filed under ‘complete.’

“On days I’m working from home, I tend to slightly overcommit on what I’ll deliver that day. So even if I get the urge to go do something else, I know I’ve already committed a certain amount of work to my team,” says Corey Wainwright.

10. Work when you’re at your most productive.

Nobody sprints through their work from morning to evening — your motivation will naturally ebb and flow throughout the day.

However, when you’re working from home, it’s all the more important to know when those ebbs and flows will take place and plan your schedule around it.

To capitalize on your most productive periods, save your more challenging tasks for when you know you’ll be in the right headspace for them. Use slower points of the day to knock out the easier logistical tasks on your plate.

Verily Magazine calls these tasks “small acts of success,” and they can help build your momentum for the heavier projects that are waiting for you later on.

Product Designer Brittany Leaning, says about her routine, “For me, the most productive times of the day are usually early in the morning or late at night. I recognize this and try to plan my day accordingly. Also, music that pumps me up doesn’t hurt.”

The responsibility is on you to know when you are most productive and build your work schedule around the periods of maximum productivity.

11. Save calls for the afternoon.

Sometimes, I’m so tired in the morning that I don’t even want to hear my voice — let alone talk to others with it.

You shouldn’t have to give yourself too much time to become productive in the morning, but you can give yourself some extra time before working directly with others.

If you’re struggling to develop a reasonable work schedule for yourself as a telecommuter, start with the solitary tasks in the morning.

Save your phone calls, meetings, Google Hangouts, meetings, video calls, and other collaborative work for when you’ve officially “woken up.”

Senior Marketing Director James Gilbert advises that you “Take advantage of morning hours to crank through meaty projects without distractions, and save any calls or virtual meetings for the afternoon.”

12. Focus on one distraction.

There’s an expression out there that says, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.”

The bizarre but true rule of productivity is that the busier you are, the more you’ll do.

It’s like Newton’s law of inertia: If you’re in motion, you’ll stay in motion. If you’re at rest, you’ll stay at rest. And busy people are in fast enough motion that they have the momentum to complete anything that comes across their desks.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to find things to help you reach that level of busyness when you’re at home — your motivation can just swing so easily. HubSpot’s principal marketing manager, Pam Vaughan, suggests focusing on something that maintains your rhythm (in her case, it’s her daughter).

She says, “When I work from home, my 20-month-old daughter is home with me, too. It seems counterintuitive, but because I have to manage taking care of her and keeping her happy and entertained while still getting my work done, the pressure helps to keep me focused.”

Vaughan says when her daughter napping or entertaining herself, she goes into super-productive work mode.

“The ‘distraction’ of my daughter (I mean that in the most loving way possible) means I can’t possibly succumb to some of the other common distractions of home,” she says.

13. Plan out what you’ll be working on ahead of time.

Spending time figuring out what you’ll do today can take away from actually doing those things. And, you’ll have planned your task list so recently that you can be tempted to change your schedule on the fly.

It’s important to let your agenda change if you need it to, but it’s equally important to commit to a schedule that outlines every assignment before you begin.

Try solidifying your schedule the day before, making it feel more official when you wake up the next day to get started on it.

“Plan out your week in advance to optimize for the environments you'll be in,” says Niti Shah.

14. Use technology to stay connected.

Working from home might make you feel cut off from the larger operations happening in your company.

Instant messaging and videoconferencing tools like Slack and Zoom can make it easy to check in with other remote employees and remind you how your work contributes to the big picture.

It’s also vital to invest in the right technology. For instance, a slow router can take the steam right off your enthusiasm to work, so it’s better to invest in a high-performance router.

CMO and former HubSpot employee, Meghan Keaney Anderson, remarks:

“At HubSpot, we use Slack to keep conversations going remotely, Trello to keep us organized around priorities, and Google Hangouts plus Webex to make remote meetings more productive. Getting the right stack of support tools to fit your work style makes a big difference.”

15. Match your music to the task at hand.

During the week, music is the soundtrack to your career (cheesy, but admit it, it’s true).

And, at work, the best playlists are diverse playlists — you can listen to music that matches the energy of the project you’re working on to boost your productivity.

Video game soundtracks are excellent at doing this. In the video game, the lyric-free music is designed to help you focus; it only makes sense that it would help you focus on your work.

Want some other genres to spice up your routine and make you feel focused? Take them from Ginny Mineo, a startup marketer, who offers her work music preferences below.

“When I’m powering through my inbox, I need some intense and catchy rap/R&B (like Nicki Minaj or Miley Cyrus) blasting through my headphones, but when I’m writing, Tom Petty is the trick. Finding what music motivates and focuses me for different tasks (and then sticking to those playlists for those tasks) has completely changed my WFH productivity,” Mineo says.

16. Use laundry as a work timer.

You might have heard that listening to just two or three songs in the shower can help you save water.

And it’s true; hearing a few of your favorite songs start and end, one after another, can remind you how long you’ve been in the bathroom and shorten your wash time.

Why bring this up? Because the same general principle can help you stay on task when working from home. But instead of three songs off your music playlist, run your laundry instead.

Doing your laundry is a built-in timer for your home. So, use the time to start and finish something from your to-do list before changing the load.

Committing to one assignment during the wash cycle and another during the dry process can train you to work smarter on tasks that you might technically have all day to tinker with. And when you know there’s a timer, it makes it hard for distractions to derail your work.

People Ops Manager Emma Brudner, notes:

“I also usually do laundry when I work from home, and I set mini-deadlines for myself corresponding to when I have to go downstairs to switch loads. If I’m working on an article, I tell myself I’ll get to a certain point before the wash cycle ends. Then I set another goal for the dryer.”

Staying Productive While Working From Home

While you might miss the office, working full-time from home can be good for you. For one, you don’t have to worry about commuting every day, and you can better care for your loved ones by being around more often.

The work-from-home tips that we’ve shared can help you make the most of your solo routine. Try out a few, and you might find that you’re just as productive working from home as you are in the office.

from Marketing https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/productivity-tips-working-from-home

Working from home is a gift, right up until the cat throws up on your computer. And your neighbor, who you can only assume is building a time machine, starts firing up all sorts of power tools. In those moments, remote work life feels more like a punishment than a miracle.

Remote work poses different risks and benefits. Plus, the popularity of this working style has only grown.

In fact, when I began working remotely as a digital nomad in 2017, there was still professional pushback, skepticism, and a general dismissive attitude toward remote work. Since then, I’ve been remotely working abroad, and I’ve even published a book on the topic.

For me and many others, remote work isn’t a trend; this lifestyle is a long-term choice that allows us to get exactly what we want out of our careers. You may need some help greasing the wheels, but I’m determined to help you feel the same from your remote work lifestyle.

Not everyone transitions into remote work smoothly, and that’s okay. Let’s explore the remote work trends, tips, and techniques that can help you get the most out of your remote work.

Table of Contents

• What Remote Work Looks Like Today [Data]
• What is remote work?
• Types Of Remote Work
• How to Work From Home
• 16 Working From Home Tips

What Remote Work Looks Like Today [Data]

Working remotely can take many different forms, but what does it look like for the “normal” remote worker?

From where remote workers work to how they’re getting dressed and how they interact with their team members, let’s see what the statistics say about remote workers today.

1. Of full-time employees surveyed in 2023, 12.7% are 100% remote (WFH Research).
2. Of full-time employees surveyed in 2023, 28% are in a hybrid remote work arrangement (WFH Research).
3. The number of reported days per week that employers allow their employees to work remotely peaked in 2022 and has declined in 2023 (WFH Research).
4. By 2024, the hybrid work model is expected to rise to 81% (AT&T).
5. Of remote workers surveyed, 98% would recommend remote work to others (Buffer).
6. Remote workers love the flexibility more than anything, with 22% of surveyed workers saying the flexibility in how they spend their time being the greatest benefit (Buffer).

And what does the data say about marketers who work remotely? These statistics are from HubSpot’s Marketing Work Culture Survey:

1. Of marketers surveyed, 31% work remotely.
2. Of marketers surveyed, 37% are hybrid employees, sometimes working remotely and sometimes working in the office.
3. Of marketers surveyed, 41% said that their company hosted virtual team-bonding activities in the past year, such as parties, celebrations, or games.
4. When asked about getting dressed for work, 13% of surveyed marketers said they wear an appropriate top for Zoom calls and remain in sweatpants since they’re off-screen in video calls.
5. Since the pandemic, 27% of surveyed marketers said that they feel more overworked, primarily due to heightened work responsibilities.
6. When asked about what led to conditions of overworking, 9% of surveyed marketers said that hybrid or remote work contributed because it made some team tasks more difficult.

Remote working encompasses people who work from home and also digital nomads who work from Airbnbs or hotels around the world.

Some workers choose remote work to help meet their physical needs, mental health needs, or family demands. Other remote workers make this choice to increase freedom and flexibility.

Types of Remote Work

Today, remote workers all over the world will open their laptops in radically different work environments.

Some will do so from a home office, a hotel room, and an airplane 30,000 feet above the middle of nowhere. The remote environment can take almost any form.

When we look closely at the different types of remote work, two primary categories arise: working from home and working from anywhere.

Work From Home

Remote work is most commonly done from home. Remote workers who tune into work from home may do so from their beds, kitchen tables, or tailored home offices. The process can be as minimalistic or customized as you can imagine.

This type of work melds your personal space together with your workspace, making a healthy work-life balance difficult to achieve. Remote workers have to set ground rules to avoid both overworking and underworking.

There are many benefits to working from home, but it also has unique challenges. People who work from home have to remain productive yet still make time for regular breaks and time away from the computer screen.

The average worker invests a lot of time and thought into developing their most productive work zone and refining their work style. We’ll discuss common tips and best practices for working from home in a moment.

Work From Anywhere

Remote workers who work from anywhere have to manage their work-life balance the same as everyone else, but they do so while working from oftentimes exotic locations.

Work from anywhere workers may tune into work from their kitchen table, cafes, coworking spaces, local libraries, or Airbnbs across the world.

Remote workers who combine work with travel are called digital nomads, and they can be found working today all over the world.

Image Source

I became a digital nomad in 2017, and at first, I was drawn into the lifestyle for the opportunity to travel.

I’ve had the privilege of traveling to dozens of countries and am currently traveling full-time with my husband, but something bigger than just travel motivates me to maintain a remote work life: the increased freedom in every area of my life.

“The conversation is much richer, much deeper, and more nuanced than just traveling,” said Mitko Karshovski, founder of the remote work newsletter Remote Insider. “Flexibility is the true underlying theme.”

How to Work From Home

1. Talk to your employer.

Interested in working remotely but aren’t there yet? If you like your current job and don’t want to change it, the obvious step is to find a way to pivot the position.

One of the tips for doing this is folding the possibility of going remote into your next promotion cycle. Talk to your boss often about your intention to pivot.

And, if you’re not sure your employer will agree to working completely remotely, talk about the option of working remotely one or two days a week. When you use the work-from-home tips below, and your boss sees how productive you are, they could allow you more days to work from home.

2. Join a remote-friendly company.

If your work can be done remotely, but your current boss or organization doesn’t allow you to work from home, you might need to get a new job.

When looking for a work-from-home job, you can use the same methods you used in finding your regular office job. This includes channels like job sites, local job ads, and social media platforms.

Job sites that list work-from-home ads include:

• Flexjobs
• Telecommute Job List
• FreelanceJobOpening.com
• Weworkremotely

Some remote-friendly firms include:

• HubSpot
• Randstad
• Twilio
• NTT Group
• Aquent

Check out these firms to see whether you meet the requirements to start working remotely for them.

3. Start a career as a freelancer.

If your current job isn’t remote work-friendly, you can go remote by starting your own business as a freelancer or a consultant. Depending on the nature of your current job, you may start your own freelance business while still being employed.

The benefit of starting your freelance business while still employed is that it reduces the financial strain experienced by any new business.

4. Start a home business.

Starting a home business is one way to enjoy remote work.

Unlike other fields, certifications and education are not usually prerequisites. Instead, researching, having a smart business plan, and choosing the right business is more essential to the success of your business.

5. Communicate expectations with anyone who will be home with you.

If you’re already working from home or you manage to get a remote position through one of the ways listed above, you might have “company” at home.

Make sure any roommates, family members, and dogs (well, maybe not dogs) respect your space during work hours.

Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you’re home. If you share space with another work-from-home adult, you may have to lay ground rules about meeting times, shared desks and chairs, and quiet times.

Sam Mallikarjunan, CEO of AI company OneScreen, tells how he manages to get work done even when people are around.

“If anyone else is going to be at home when you’re working, they just have to be clear that when you’re in your ‘office’ (in my case, my signal to the family is having headphones on), you’re working — even if it looks like and feels like you’re hanging out at home,” Mallikarjunan says.

He adds, “It’s easy to get distracted by the many things that have to be done around the house during the day.”

If working alongside other family members or housemates can’t be avoided, consider investing in home office equipment like noise-canceling headphones or room dividers to minimize distractions.

A dedicated office space can be pivotal in having fewer distractions.

6. Take clear breaks.

It can be so easy to get lost in your work as a telecommuter that you avoid breaks altogether. Don’t let the guilt of working in the building you sleep in prevent you from taking five minutes to relax.

However, rather than just opening YouTube and watching some comfort clips, use your breaks to get away from your desk.

Go for a walk, enjoy fresh air, or spend time with others who might also be in the house. Take breaks near natural light if at all possible for added mental stimulation.

Take Reforge’s Ginny Mineo’s advice. “Breaks, like making and eating lunch, can recharge you to do better work. Don’t assume you need to be working 100% of the time while you’re home to be more productive.”

7. Interact with other humans.

When you start working from home, you’ll likely miss the casual social interactions with colleagues you’re used to throughout the day.

When working from home, you don’t have the small talk and other activities that make each day at the office unique.

So what can you do? Communicate.

Fight boredom and loneliness by frequent communication with other employees. Reach out to them through video chat via apps like Zoom and Slack, a hosted phone system, or however else your company communicates.

Remember: You’re working from home, not the moon. Interacting with other people during the day is allowed, even if they’re not your colleagues. It’s a good idea to see another face during the day when most of your workday is solitary. So, use your breaks to interact with others.

“Go outside and find a human to interact with — ordering your coffee, running an errand, whatever. It keeps you sane,” says HubSpot’s Corey Wainwright.

8. Prepare meals the night before.

When you’re in your own home, it can be tempting to spend time preparing a nice breakfast and lunch for yourself, chopping and cooking included. Don’t use precious minutes making your food the day of work — cook it the night before.

Preparing food ahead of time ensures you can use your meal times to eat and that you aren’t performing non-work tasks that spend energy better used at your desk.

Digital Marketing Strategist Lindsay Kolowich, adds:

“Cooking at home is time you wouldn’t have spent meal prepping if you’d been in the office that day, and I find the minutes can add up in the end. To mitigate that, I try to cook and prep my meals the night before, just like I would for a day at the office.”

When it comes time to eat, have a genuine away-from-your-laptop lunch break.

9. Pick a definitive finishing time.

You might be under the impression that working from home establishes more work–life balance, but be careful with that assumption.

Working from home can also feel like being at a casino — you can get so caught up in your activity in a relaxing environment, that you lose complete track of time.

“If you work from home full-time (or regularly), it’s really easy to let your work life bleed into your personal life,” says Tyler Littwin, a graphic designer. “Maintaining a boundary is important for both halves of the equation.”

In lieu of coworkers whose packing up and leaving the office reminds you to do the same, set an alarm at the end of the day to indicate your normal workday is coming to an end.

You don’t have to stop at exactly that time, but knowing the work day is technically over can help you start the process of saving your work and calling it quits for the evening.

10. Eat and sleep.

What is the biggest perk to working from home? One of the biggest benefits for some people (me), is complete access to the kitchen.

As soon as I take a break, I automatically drift towards the kitchen for some snacks.

An unhealthy diet can affect productivity and drain energy. When I switched to a healthier diet, it made me function better and get the most from my routine.

So eat well when working from home.

It’s also vital that you keep to a proper sleep schedule. Save binge-watching your favorite shows for the weekend. With the right food to keep energy levels high and sound sleep to refresh your body and mind, you can successfully work from home.

You can find more work-from-home tips in the books listed in this best remote-work books article.

Working From Home Tips

1. Get started early.

When working in an office, your morning commute can help you wake up and feel ready to work by the time you get to your desk. At home, however, the transition from your pillow to your computer can be much more jarring.

Believe it or not, one way to work from home productively is to dive into your to-do list as soon as you wake up.

Simply getting a project started first thing in the morning can be the key to making progress on it gradually throughout the day. Otherwise, you’ll prolong breakfast and let the morning sluggishness wear away your motivation.

Kolowich says, “When I work from home, I wake up, put on a pot of coffee, and start working immediately — much earlier than normal working hours. I only start making breakfast once I’ve hit a wall or need a break. I’m a morning person and find I can get a ton done in the early morning hours, so this works really well for me.”

2. Make after-work plans.

Do you have trouble closing your laptop and moving on to the next part of the day? Make it easy for yourself by making plans immediately after work.

“You can instantly boost your remote work productivity by scheduling something fun or important in the afternoon,” shared remote worker of seven years Mitch Glass, founder of Project Untethered.

“Adding a firm deadline cranks up the pressure and forces you to knock out the most important tasks as fast as possible. If left unchecked, remote work has a way of creeping into the evening hours, so having this hard cutoff point helps protect work-life balance as well,” Glass says.

Image Source

3. Use the Pomodoro technique.

One of the top tips for working remotely is to take breaks, but that poses a challenge for most remote workers. Let the Pomodoro Method make it achievable.

“My top work-from-home tip is to use the Pomodoro Method to stay productive and focused throughout the day,” shared Kat Smith, founder of A Way Abroad. Kat has been a remote worker for six years, having spent four years as a freelancer and two years as a full-time remote employee.

In the traditional Pomodoro Method, you set a 25-minute timer, pick a specific task you can finish in that time, get rid of any distractions, start the clock, and complete your task.

“This creates some urgency, so you don’t let a single task stretch longer than it should. When the timer beeps, take a 5-minute break. You can repeat this throughout the day,” Smith says.

This technique is so popular that you can easily add a Pomodoro Google Chrome Extension to your browser.

4. Pretend like you are going into the office.

The mental association you make between work and an office can make you more productive, and there’s no reason that feeling should be lost when working remotely.

I know that you love working in your sweatpants (I do, too), but the mere act of changing clothes to something more serious will give you a signal to get work done throughout the day.

When you dress up, you give your brain a reason for dressing up, and it can keep you pumped throughout your work hours.

So when working from home, do all the things you’d do to prepare for an office role: Set your alarm, make (or get) coffee, and wear nice clothes.

Internet browsers like Google Chrome even allow you to set up multiple accounts with different toolbars on the top — for example, a toolbar for home and a separate toolbar for work.

Take to heart the words of HubSpot Graphic Designer Anna Faber-Hammond, who says, “Get fully ready for the day and pretend you’re actually going to work. Otherwise, you might find yourself back in bed.”

5. Structure your day like you would in the office.

When working from home, you’re your own personal manager and can choose your working hours.

However, without things like an in-person meeting schedule to break up your day, you can easily lose focus or burn out.

To stay on schedule, segment what you’ll do and when for the day. If you have an online calendar, create personal events and reminders that tell you when to shift gears and start on new tasks. Google Calendar makes this easy.

Structuring your day as you would in the office also saves you from work creep. With this structure in place, working from home will not cause your work to invade your personal life.

“Are mornings for writing while you’re in the office? Use the same remote work schedule at home. This structure will help keep you focused and productive,” says Ginny Mineo.

6. Choose a dedicated workspace.

Just because you’re not working at an office doesn’t mean you can’t, well, have an office.

Rather than cooping yourself up in your room or on the couch in the living room — spaces associated with leisure time — dedicate a specific room or surface in your home to working remotely.

No matter the space or location, have an area of the home to work and stay committed to it throughout the day. And, after choosing your dedicated workspace, make the most of it by making it quiet.

Mallikarjunan says, “Have a place you go specifically to work. It could be a certain table, chair, local coffee shop — some place that’s consistently your ‘workspace.’ It helps you get into the right frame of mind.”

7. Don’t stay at home.

Is your home office just not getting it done for you? Take your work-from-home life a step further and get out of the house.

Coffee shops, libraries, public lounges, coworking spaces, and similar Wi-Fi-enabled spaces can help you simulate the energy of an office so you can stay productive even when you don’t sit in an official workplace.

Content Marketer Corey Wainwright, comments, “I get out of my home to work and go to an establishment with actual tables, chairs, and people. It helps simulate the work environment and removes the distractions I typically have at home, like the urge to finally clean my room, do laundry, or watch TV.”

8. Make it harder to use social media.

Social media is designed to make it easy for us to open and browse quickly. As remote workers, though, this convenience can be detrimental to our remote work productivity.

To counteract your social networks’ ease of use during work hours, remove them from your browser shortcuts and log out of every account on your phone or computer.

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 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.

Also, many have found it helpful to shut off social media notifications during the hours they work from home.

Alec Biedrzycki, product marketer at AirTable, says, “I remove all social networks from my toolbar bookmarks... you can get sucked in without knowing it, so eliminating the gateway to those networks keeps me on track.”

9. Commit to doing more.

Projects always take longer than you initially think they will. For that reason, you’ll frequently get done less than you set out to do.

So, just as you’re encouraged to overestimate how many work hours you’ll spend doing one thing, you should also overestimate how many things you’ll do during the day.

Even if you come up short of your goal, you’ll still come out of that day with a solid list of tasks filed under ‘complete.’

“On days I’m working from home, I tend to slightly overcommit on what I’ll deliver that day. So even if I get the urge to go do something else, I know I’ve already committed a certain amount of work to my team,” says Corey Wainwright.

10. Work when you’re at your most productive.

Nobody sprints through their work from morning to evening — your motivation will naturally ebb and flow throughout the day.

However, when you’re working from home, it’s all the more important to know when those ebbs and flows will take place and plan your schedule around it.

To capitalize on your most productive periods, save your more challenging tasks for when you know you’ll be in the right headspace for them. Use slower points of the day to knock out the easier logistical tasks on your plate.

Verily Magazine calls these tasks “small acts of success,” and they can help build your momentum for the heavier projects that are waiting for you later on.

Product Designer Brittany Leaning, says about her routine, “For me, the most productive times of the day are usually early in the morning or late at night. I recognize this and try to plan my day accordingly. Also, music that pumps me up doesn’t hurt.”

The responsibility is on you to know when you are most productive and build your work schedule around the periods of maximum productivity.

11. Save calls for the afternoon.

Sometimes, I’m so tired in the morning that I don’t even want to hear my voice — let alone talk to others with it.

You shouldn’t have to give yourself too much time to become productive in the morning, but you can give yourself some extra time before working directly with others.

If you’re struggling to develop a reasonable work schedule for yourself as a telecommuter, start with the solitary tasks in the morning.

Save your phone calls, meetings, Google Hangouts, meetings, video calls, and other collaborative work for when you’ve officially “woken up.”

Senior Marketing Director James Gilbert advises that you “Take advantage of morning hours to crank through meaty projects without distractions, and save any calls or virtual meetings for the afternoon.”

12. Focus on one distraction.

There’s an expression out there that says, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.”

The bizarre but true rule of productivity is that the busier you are, the more you’ll do.

It’s like Newton’s law of inertia: If you’re in motion, you’ll stay in motion. If you’re at rest, you’ll stay at rest. And busy people are in fast enough motion that they have the momentum to complete anything that comes across their desks.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to find things to help you reach that level of busyness when you’re at home — your motivation can just swing so easily. HubSpot’s principal marketing manager, Pam Vaughan, suggests focusing on something that maintains your rhythm (in her case, it’s her daughter).

She says, “When I work from home, my 20-month-old daughter is home with me, too. It seems counterintuitive, but because I have to manage taking care of her and keeping her happy and entertained while still getting my work done, the pressure helps to keep me focused.”

Vaughan says when her daughter napping or entertaining herself, she goes into super-productive work mode.

“The ‘distraction’ of my daughter (I mean that in the most loving way possible) means I can’t possibly succumb to some of the other common distractions of home,” she says.

13. Plan out what you’ll be working on ahead of time.

Spending time figuring out what you’ll do today can take away from actually doing those things. And, you’ll have planned your task list so recently that you can be tempted to change your schedule on the fly.

It’s important to let your agenda change if you need it to, but it’s equally important to commit to a schedule that outlines every assignment before you begin.

Try solidifying your schedule the day before, making it feel more official when you wake up the next day to get started on it.

“Plan out your week in advance to optimize for the environments you'll be in,” says Niti Shah.

14. Use technology to stay connected.

Working from home might make you feel cut off from the larger operations happening in your company.

Instant messaging and videoconferencing tools like Slack and Zoom can make it easy to check in with other remote employees and remind you how your work contributes to the big picture.

It’s also vital to invest in the right technology. For instance, a slow router can take the steam right off your enthusiasm to work, so it’s better to invest in a high-performance router.

CMO and former HubSpot employee, Meghan Keaney Anderson, remarks:

“At HubSpot, we use Slack to keep conversations going remotely, Trello to keep us organized around priorities, and Google Hangouts plus Webex to make remote meetings more productive. Getting the right stack of support tools to fit your work style makes a big difference.”

15. Match your music to the task at hand.

During the week, music is the soundtrack to your career (cheesy, but admit it, it’s true).

And, at work, the best playlists are diverse playlists — you can listen to music that matches the energy of the project you’re working on to boost your productivity.

Video game soundtracks are excellent at doing this. In the video game, the lyric-free music is designed to help you focus; it only makes sense that it would help you focus on your work.

Want some other genres to spice up your routine and make you feel focused? Take them from Ginny Mineo, a startup marketer, who offers her work music preferences below.

“When I’m powering through my inbox, I need some intense and catchy rap/R&B (like Nicki Minaj or Miley Cyrus) blasting through my headphones, but when I’m writing, Tom Petty is the trick. Finding what music motivates and focuses me for different tasks (and then sticking to those playlists for those tasks) has completely changed my WFH productivity,” Mineo says.

16. Use laundry as a work timer.

You might have heard that listening to just two or three songs in the shower can help you save water.

And it’s true; hearing a few of your favorite songs start and end, one after another, can remind you how long you’ve been in the bathroom and shorten your wash time.

Why bring this up? Because the same general principle can help you stay on task when working from home. But instead of three songs off your music playlist, run your laundry instead.

Doing your laundry is a built-in timer for your home. So, use the time to start and finish something from your to-do list before changing the load.

Committing to one assignment during the wash cycle and another during the dry process can train you to work smarter on tasks that you might technically have all day to tinker with. And when you know there’s a timer, it makes it hard for distractions to derail your work.

People Ops Manager Emma Brudner, notes:

“I also usually do laundry when I work from home, and I set mini-deadlines for myself corresponding to when I have to go downstairs to switch loads. If I’m working on an article, I tell myself I’ll get to a certain point before the wash cycle ends. Then I set another goal for the dryer.”

Staying Productive While Working From Home

While you might miss the office, working full-time from home can be good for you. For one, you don’t have to worry about commuting every day, and you can better care for your loved ones by being around more often.

The work-from-home tips that we’ve shared can help you make the most of your solo routine. Try out a few, and you might find that you’re just as productive working from home as you are in the office.

via Perfecte news Non connection