A few days of self-isolation may drive some people crazy. While the frustration and boredom hangs over like a black storm cloud, many usual commuters may feel the difficulties of staying focused as they are forced to work at home. How can we cope with being too comfortable or stuck at home with kids, pets and many other temptations but still keep work productivity up? We have some tips that may help.

Tidy Up

Productivity of any kind can be bottlenecked with a messy workspace. Tidy up, clean your desktop, organize, and put away unnecessary things to ensure a neat and pleasant workspace. A clean and minimal setting gives your brain the message that you’re in the right place and quickly gets you in a mood to concentrate on your tasks.

This also includes your computer. Often times, we simply just use the computer and ignore the care a computer would need. Take this opportunity to de-clutter the computer from all the dust its accumulated on the surface and inside. Unplug all connected wires, take it outside, pop it open to access the internals, and give it a good blast of compressed air. Be sure to protect yourself from the flying debris being blasted around and wear protective glasses and a mask.

While we’re talking about desk space and desktop computer cleaning, did you wish you had used a Mini PC instead? It would have made cleaning and transporting the computer a lot easier. Check out all of the ZOTAC ZBOX Mini PCs HERE. We recommend the E Series and M Series for productivity workloads. On the plus side, the E Series can provide some quality gaming time and the power to do some creative work too. You know, to help stimulate the brain.

Set a Routine

We’re humans and we can easily become distracted, lose focus, and procrastinate. Keep focused and motivated by creating a working schedule and try your best to stick to it. Work your usual hours even at home, and dress up in your usual work clothes to develop a work environment sense.

Talk to your family about your schedule so (hopefully) they can do their best not to distract you from your work. It’s also okay to schedule in breaks because we’re not robots.

Keep in Touch Online

Social distancing doesn’t deprive of your connection with people. There are many tools and platforms to hold online meetings with clients, co-workers, teams, and more. With teammates, you can create a group chat on video apps like Slack or Skype, so to keep everyone on the same page anytime, anywhere.

Take Breaks

Take a short break when you feel distressed or simply bored to refocus and retune your mind. Perform light exercises like stretches. Eat a snack or take a lunch break and even do a few chores when needed. Take the time to chat with the people around you. Communication is good to keeping a relationship strong and its healthy for yourself and others around you.

Reward Yourself

There’s nothing like leaving the office and looking forward to go home for the day. That’s a reward in itself after work each day but with working at home, that’s no longer an option. Utilize the time that it would have taken you to get home from the office while stuck in miserable traffic as a reward. Watch a movie, TV show, have more family time, or play some games.

Nothing better than forgetting about a long day of work like playing some games.

Stay productive, stay safe!