7 Tricks To Improve Home Office Productivity
Tags: productivity, work, watercooler, selfimprovement
Published: 2022-09-22 12:04:46


[Paul Knulst](https://www.paulsblog.dev)  in  [Productivity](https://www.paulsblog.dev/tag/productivity/) • Sep 20, 2022 • 5 min read

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Many business experts claim to have “productivity hacks” that can help you get more done in less time. Of course, there are some commonsense tools you can implement to be more productive, like following cool techniques, creating effective to-do lists, and resisting social media.

But honestly, there is no hack for becoming more productive; there are only **habits** that we can implement to try to be better, more efficient workers. By building these habits, you’re taking the right steps toward becoming more productive.

I want to share my 7 personal **tricks to build these habits** about organizing and boosting my work environment and how I approach work in general, especially in my home office.

1st Productivity Trick: I Streamline my Space
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At the beginning of each day, I spend a few minutes organizing and decluttering my home office workstation before getting started. According to multiple Productivity Gurus found on the internet, a clutter-free atmosphere helps you think more clearly and create better outcomes. For me, working in a decluttered home office, my productivity was substantially improved and the amount of time I spend looking for things was decreased by organizing and cleaning up my workspace.

2nd Productivity Trick: I Decorate my home office
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### 2.1 I add vibrant accents or live plants

According to an [American Society for Horticultural Science](https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view/journals/horttech/30/1/article-p55.xml) research, employees who were among plants at work felt less stressed and were more productive. I applied that study to myself in my home office and started to add live plants to my workplace which aid me in concentration.

Additionally, bringing colors into my home office workplace has a significant impact on my attitude and productivity throughout the day. While red may be ideal for work that calls for accuracy and close attention to detail, blue helps me to relax and focus.

### 2.2 I personalize my workplace

Along with adding some color and plants to my workstation to be more productive, I start personalizing my desk more and more with a few trinkets that increase my productivity by making me feel more at ease. I add motivational and significant career artifacts, such as certificates, honors, and other attractive pieces, to my workspace. Additionally, I add drawings of my children and presents I got from my wife to my home office workplace which makes me happy if I take a look at them.

3rd Productivity Trick: I take breaks
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Taking brief breaks from my work that are unrelated, whether it be a stroll, a trip to my favorite coffee shop, reading a magazine, or a chat with anyone from my family, can significantly improve my overall performance and productivity. If I work for longer periods without a proper break my productivity starts to decrease. I would advise that any individual never should work for more than eight to ten hours each day because your body and mind simply run out of energy.

4th Productivity Trick: Switch locations
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Working in my home office is a common benefit for me because I can work wherever I want during the day. I am allowed to switch between my working locations in my home office every day. This change of scenery is a big help in boosting my productivity because I will not get into a rut while working on tasks. I try to head to a coffee shop, work in a library, switch to my living room, or sometimes go outside and work in the garden.

Additionally, I try to switch locations for specific work tasks if possible. For example, if I have a meeting I always do it in a certain place in my home office. Also, if I plan and design software I always leave my desk to do this in a different location.

5th Productivity Trick: Eating lunch with my family
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Even though sometimes I might prefer to forgo lunch in favor of eating a snack at my desk while I focus on my work, several pieces of research indicate that meals with others increase productivity and overall performance. Eating lunch with my family strengthens my productivity every day. I feel much better after a lunch break with my family because I can free my thoughts and have a restorative break while eating a well-prepared healthy meal.

6th Productivity Trick: I Meditate?
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Working in a multitasking way, consuming social networks, and other distractions did hinder me to complete my tasks in a productive amount of time in the past. Nowadays, I stay focused and involved in my activities and complete tasks more efficiently.

An important strategy to achieve this is by doing something like meditation every day. I stay quiet, close my eyes, avoid getting interrupted, and just breathe slowly to calm down and build up energy for the rest of my day. I do not exercise this often or on a particular schedule but sometimes I just breathe and clear my mind.

7th Productivity Trick: I Move around and Change my position
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I know that exercise benefits my health and it also improves my productivity at work because physical activities have an impact on mental health and focus. My personal productivity trick to feeling more alert and productive while working? I take a walk while having meetings.

Honestly, I bought a wireless headset to be able to stand up and walk through my home office while talking to other people in meetings. It helps me to perform better in these meetings because I fully focus on that meeting instead of doing something else.

Another approach I sometimes try is changing my position. I use a normal desk chair and a gymnastic ball in my home office as my chair to work. Additionally, I try to stand up as often as possible. For example, to plan, design, or concept software I always stand up and use a high-hanging whiteboard.

Closing Notes
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Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you find my personal productivity tricks helpful and can adapt them to your daily routine.

All in all, I would say that these simple tricks are not very deep or complicated but they add up to a productivity increase, especially during work in my home office.

I’m curious to see if they work for other people too and I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts about these tricks. If you have any questions or enjoyed reading this article consider commenting your valuable thoughts in the comments section. I would love to hear your feedback about these productivity tricks. Furthermore, share this article with fellow people to help them be more productive!

This blog post was initially published on my own blog: https://www.paulsblog.dev/7-tricks-to-improve-home-office-productivity/

Feel free to connect with me on [my personal blog](https://www.paulsblog.dev), [Medium](https://medium.knulst.de), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulknulst/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/paulknulst), and [GitHub](https://github.com/paulknulst).

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