DEAN BOKHARI

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO WORKING

FROM HOME
26 TIPS FOR MAXIMUM
PRODUCTIVITY
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO WORKING
FROM HOME: 26 TIPS FOR MAXIMUM
PRODUCTIVITY

Between mid-March and mid-May 2020, the percentage of U.S. employees

working from home more than doubled, from 31% to 65%. That’s over 100
million more people working from home. And guess what? People prefer
it. According to a recent survey from Gallup, “more than half of at-home
workers say they would prefer to continue working remotely as much as
possible once restrictions on businesses and school closures are lifted.”
And according to the same survey, the majority of leaders and managers
say they’ll let their employees work remotely more often as a result of this
experience.

Bottom line? Remote work is going to become the next normal—even as

we move past the pandemic.

Since working from home is here to stay, it would be helpful to have a

guide to help you stay focused and productive… Which is why I put this
bad-boy together for you. It’s filled with tips and strategies for boosting
work-from-home motivation and productivity.

If you’re an employee or an entrepreneur, you can use these tips to boost

your own focus and productivity. If you’re a leader or manager of teams,
you can use this guide for both yourself and your team.

Let’s dive in.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I.
WORKING FROM HOME—TIPS TO STAY PRODUCTIVE

1. Maintain a designated workspace.

2. Don’t be a slob—take a shower, get dressed.
3. Go out for a walk.
4. Don’t just manage your time—manage your energy too.
5. Exercise.
6. Maintain motivation with a master list.
7. Each day, write down 1–3 of your most important tasks.
8. Make your list actionable + time-bound.
9. Use time blocking to schedule every minute of every day.
10. Set regular working hours.

PART II.
STAYING INSPIRED + CREATING SYSTEMS WHILE WORKING FROM
HOME

11. Remember your WHY to stay inspired.

12. Create startup rituals + shut-down rituals.
13. Implement systems to avoid wasting time.
14. Action comes first, motivation comes later.
15. Beat procrastination by thinking of your future-self.

PART III.
HOW TO AVOID DISTRACTIONS WHILE WORKING FROM HOME

16. Use a Do Not Disturb sign.

17. Do Not Disturb sign for children.
18. Take regular breaks.
19. Find a virtual accountability partner.
20. Avoid doing non-work tasks during your work time.
21. Check email no more than 3 times a day.
22. Use noise-cancelling headphones.
23. Use apps to block anti-productive websites or social media sites while
you work.
24. Early riser.
25. Use white-noise apps to help you focus.
26. Use “Do Not Disturb While Driving” mode—even when you’re not
driving.
PART I. WORKING FROM HOME—TIPS TO STAY

PRODUCTIVE
Working from home is not like going to an office or some other outside
location to get your work done… There are all sorts of productivity pitfalls
to watch out for. In this first section, we’ll get into the nuts and bolts of
remote-productivity: structuring your work-space, scheduling, prioritizing,
list-making and more.

1.

MAINTAIN A DESIGNATED WORKSPACE.

Your environment will either trigger or hinder your
productivity… Which is why it’s crucial to have a designated workspace
for working from home.

Find a separate room, a corner, a nook, or even a wall——anywhere in your

house——and claim it as your designated workspace.

Clear the clutter, stock your desk, and make it your space to work. Doing
this helps communicate to your brain that this is the spot for you to focus
on working without distraction. It tells your brain you’re in the place
where you get things done—where you do work productively.

2.

DON’T BE A SLOB—TAKE A SHOWER, GET

DRESSED.
Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you should go to
your desk in a bathrobe. Take a shower. Get dressed. This is about how it
makes you feel. When you look like a pro, it’ll help you feel like a pro. It’s
about creating the proper mental triggers to get you into work-mode and
to keep you productive while working from home.

When you dress sharp, you feel sharp. Now, “sharp” is subjective—it
depends on your own personal style.
The most important thing is not that you put a suit on, it’s that you put
something on that’s comfortable and makes you feel good when you look
in the mirror. In my view, it’s about self-dignity.

3.

GO OUT FOR A WALK.

Not on a treadmill. Not in your house. Literally go outside for a walk. This
ensures you get some sun on a daily basis, which provides you with
Vitamin D, which has numerous benefits—including elevated mood and a
heightened sense of wellbeing. It also boosts your immune system. Studies
have also proven that walking outside can boost your creativity—I can
attest to that one first hand. It’s the reason I take a small notebook with
me on my walks.

Bottom line: If you feel good, you’ll be more productive. I like to start my
day with a morning walk. It sets the tone and gives me time to think about
my outcomes for the day.

Next time you need a break, step outside for a bit. Go for a quick walk or
do some stretching under the sun. You’ll feel invigorated and focused
when you get back to your desk.

4.

DON’T JUST MANAGE YOUR TIME—MANAGE YOUR

ENERGY TOO.
When you work on the most important thing on your agenda when you
have the least amount of energy, your results will suffer. But it’s what most
people do. They piss away their most productive hours by scrolling social
media, ordering shit on Amazon, and checking email. Stop that.

Identify your Peak Performance Period (PPP)—which is a 3—5 hour

window when you have the highest amount of energy, willpower,
motivation and mental clarity. This is the time of day when you should be
working on your most important stuff. My PPP is in the morning, between
7:00AM — 12PM.

Yours will differ, but it’s important to figure it out because it’ll have a
major impact on your success regardless of what you do.

Quick side tip: Most people are most productive two hours after waking
up.

5.

EXERCISE.
Speaking of managing your energy—there’s no better way to boost it than
exercise. If you’re an adult, exercise is not optional. It’s a must. It’ll reduce
your stress, increase your energy, and give you a sense of wellbeing. Not to
mention, you’ll live longer.

Exercise at least five days a week.

Get those #RonaGains.

6.

MAINTAIN MOTIVATION WITH A MASTER LIST.

If you keep your list in your head, you’re dead. Start a master list to hold
all your goals, projects, and ideas. Keeping a list like this is like having a
second brain. And it can skyrocket your productivity.

As you’re writing out your list, think about your bigger, long-term goals
(such as a project you’re working on) as well as your short-term, smaller
goals (like executing tasks that will bring your project closer to
completion).

Create and maintain a master list of your current goals, projects, and
tasks. Doing this will put your mind at ease and keep you organized.

Not doing it will leave you feeling distracted, demotivated, and constantly
feeling like there’s more to do. You won’t feel at ease, because you’re trying
to carry too many open loops in your head.
Make a “master list” of all your goals and projects.

7.

EACH DAY, WRITE DOWN 1–3 OF YOUR MOST

IMPORTANT TASKS.
Refer to your master list to make your daily list. Then, get to work, starting
with your highest priority task (which is often the one you least want to
do). Keep your list with you and in plain view, checking your tasks off as
you complete them. This will motivate you and give you a sense of control
and accomplishment over your day.

If you want to add some structure to your list, use my 1–2–5 list-making
method to prioritize your daily list in the following way: One Big Thing
(OBT), 2 Medium Things (2MT) and 5 Little Things (5LT).

Having a list is like having a second brain. And the structure that comes
from knowing what needs to get done and how important each of those
things is will provide you with focus.

At a minimum, decide on one big thing you must accomplish today no

matter what. Start your day with this and don’t let go until you’re done.
Yes—of course, you have more than one thing to do. You can get to
everything else after you’ve crushed your one big thing for the day.

You can find out your one big thing for any given day by asking yourself
the following question:

“What’s the one thing I can do today that would make me call this day a
success?”

8.

MAKE YOUR LIST ACTIONABLE + TIME-BOUND.

When you’re writing out your list of things to do, make them actionable by
adding verbs: instead of writing, “Nora’s birthday gift,” write “Select and
order Nora’s birthday gift on Amazon.”

Instead of writing, “Report,” write, “Complete page one of report.”

In addition to that, include how long you expect to spend on the task off to
the side in parenthesis or write it into the task itself: “Spend 30 minutes
writing page one of report.”

9.

USE TIME BLOCKING TO SCHEDULE EVERY

MINUTE OF EVERY DAY.

If you don’t control your time, your time will control you.

If you don’t control your time, your time will control you… That’s why time
blocking is the single most effective productivity tool in your arsenal.

Time blocking is the productivity practice of plugging everything you need

to get done on a given day into a time-slot on your calendar. When you’re
working from home, it might be even more important to use time blocking
to schedule your day, because you’re the only one holding yourself
accountable.

Here’s how it works: You divide your day into blocks of time. Each time
block is dedicated to accomplishing a specific task, or a group of related
tasks—like those you might find under a big project with lots of action
items.

The purpose of time blocking is to keep you focused on working on the

specific tasks you’ve blocked away time to work on—and only those tasks.

10.

SET REGULAR WORKING HOURS.

A writer named Gustave Flaubert once said,

“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original
in your work.”
It’s one of my favorite quotes because it emphasizes the importance of
structure and constraints—and how implementing them can skyrocket
your productivity and make you more creative than you’ve ever been.

Do yourself a favor: set regular working hours for yourself.

And stick with those hours as much as possible. You want to be able to
train yourself to develop the habit of being productive while working from
home. Setting regular hours will help you do that.

Also, your family will eventually begin to understand you’re serious about
keeping a structured schedule—even while working from home—and
they’ll eventually learn to respect your schedule enough not to disturb you
during those hours.

If you work with teams of people, let them know what your working hours
are, and set “away” notifications on your group collaboration programs if
you feel others might benefit from knowing you’re away from your desk at
the moment.

PART II. STAYING INSPIRED + CREATING

SYSTEMS WHILE WORKING FROM HOME

While the benefits of working from home are many, not being in the same
physical location as your co-workers can hinder your ability to get things
done if you have a difficult time with self-discipline or holding yourself
accountable. It can also be tough if you thrive around other people. This is
why it’s important to stay inspired and connected to your mission. Here
are some work from home tips to help you do that.

11.

REMEMBER YOUR WHY TO STAY INSPIRED.

The best way to maintain work-at-home motivation is to keep your WHY
front and center. Your WHY is your purpose—it’s the reason you do the
work you do. My WHY is to inspire and empower people everywhere so
that they can improve their lives and achieve their goals.
What’s your WHY?

Draft a WHY Statement and keep it in front of you to keep you inspired
while you work.

If you lead or manage others, remind them of your organization’s WHY by

dropping it in an organization-wide communication channel, like Slack.

12.

CREATE START-UP RITUALS + SHUT-DOWN

RITUALS.
The startup ritual primes your mind to crush the day. The shut-down
ritual helps you ease-out of the workday. Examples of startup rituals are
things like: going for a walk before starting your work, journaling,
envisioning your day, saying affirmations, or engaging in a healthy
morning routine at home prior to beginning your work. The goal is to
prime your mind to get into work-mode, which is something that can be
especially challenging while working from home.

Another challenge for people, is transitioning from “work” to “home” when

your work and your home are under the same roof. Having a regular shut-
down ritual can help ease you out of work-mode. I like to shut my laptop,
shout out “I’m done” and then go change my clothes.

Whichever way you do it, having a start-up + shut-down ritual can help
you create a nice mental distinction between “working” at home and
“being” at home.

13.

IMPLEMENT SYSTEMS TO AVOID WASTING TIME.

There are two types of systems: 1) habit systems and 2) automated
systems.

l Habit systems: These types of systems are rituals or routines that

help you attain your long-term goals or maintain ongoing goals. This
 includes things like working out at the same time each day, spending
10 minutes meditating, taking a quick stretch break every hour, or
setting a 10-minute timer to quickly tidy-up your workspace. It also
includes things like blocking off 3 hours in the morning to do deep
work, or having a designated day of the week to take meetings and
return phone calls. Design and develop systems and habits around a
few key areas of your life, and put those actions on autopilot.

l Automated systems: These types of systems are about automating

tasks to save time. If you lead or manage teams or employees, think
about recurring tasks you might be able to systemize or automate. For
example, I record a lot of audio content—audiobooks and audio
summaries, podcast episodes and other audio training content—and
I’ve got a specific way in which I like to have all that audio content
edited. Since I hate doing the editing myself, I hire people to do it for
me. But every time I hire a new audio producer/editor to help me with
this process, I need to teach them exactly how I like to have my audio
content edited and delivered. This means I need to block out at least
two hours to teach them exactly what to do, and then subsequently
make myself available for the inevitable flurry of follow-up questions
my new hire will have later on. This really isn’t a good use of my time.
So, I shot an instructional video using a screen recording software
called ScreenFlow to capture all the steps and details of the editing
process right from my screen, along with me explaining things in the
background. Now I’ve got a system in place: Each time I hire a new
audio editor, I send them this video to explain exactly how I’d like
things done. This gives them clear expectations and something to
reference back to whenever necessary (rather than calling me to ask
the same questions over and over again).

14.

ACTION COMES FIRST, MOTIVATION COMES LATER.

Keep that in mind when you don’t feel inspired or when you’re
experiencing a lack of motivation. When you feel tired, or uninspired, it
can be easy to toss your hands up in the air and say, “Screw it, I’ll get to
this later”… And to then go play with the kids. Or proceed to binge-watch
Breaking Bad—or, God forbid, Tiger King—on Netflix.

When you feel the impulse to procrastinate, count down from five and take
immediate action. Once you start moving, the motivation will follow…

But if you remain static, you’ll remain sluggish.

And if you remain sluggish, you won’t succeed.

15.

BEAT PROCRASTINATION BY THINKING OF YOUR

FUTURE-SELF.
Here’s a quick tip to help you beat procrastination while working from
home—or while working from anywhere for that matter:

Ask yourself what your future self would think if you

procrastinate today.

How does procrastinating today, impact you tomorrow?

Learn to lean-in to the temporary pain of discipline today, so that you can
enjoy the long-term rewards down the road.

Or, as author Jim Rohn would say,

“The pain of discipline weighs ounces, while the pain of regret weighs
tons.”

Don’t put things off unless you’re doing it on purpose.

Get what needs to get done, done!

PART III. HOW TO AVOID DISTRACTIONS WHILE

WORKING FROM HOME.

Home office distractions like unwanted noise and your loving family
demanding attention while you’re trying to work from home can crush
you. Here are some tips for dealing with—and eliminating—some common
distractions you may run into while working from home.
 16

USE A DO NOT DISTURB SIGN.

Distractions are expensive—every time you’re distracted from something
you’re working on, it takes 20-ish minutes to regain your focus when you
return to work.

Do yourself a favor and make yourself distraction-resistant by shutting

your office door and putting a post-it note or sign of some kind on the
outside of it that tells your family or any other potential disturbers that
you can’t be disrupted from X time to X time.

I’d also suggest placing a pen and pad of post-its or a notepad outside your
door with clearly written instructions, informing a potential disturber that
you need to focus until Whatever-O’clock, and cannot be disturbed until
then. Ask them to use the notepad to leave you a message if they’d like to.
Let them know you’ll get to it when you’re free.

17

DO NOT DISTURB SIGN FOR CHILDREN.

If you’ve got children who can’t read yet, a clear way to communicate to
them that you do not want to be disturbed is to get something bright, like a
blank red post-it note to put on the door or your desk, or a baseball cap
that you can hang over your doorknob.

Let them know that when they see the red sign on the door, you can’t be
disturbed unless it’s an emergency.

18

TAKE REGULAR BREAKS.

Grab a timer and take a 5-minute break every 30 minutes, or a 10-minute
break every hour.

It’s not as much about the length of time between your breaks, as it is
about taking the breaks themselves.
5 minutes to stand, stretch, and drink a glass of water can do wonders for
your focus and productivity.

19

FIND A VIRTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER.

When you have a workout partner or a trainer to hold you accountable,
you’re more likely to workout when you don’t want to. Implementing this
idea in the workplace works the same way: find someone to log into Zoom
with and it’ll help you stay in your seat—and stay focused as a result.

20

AVOID DOING NON-WORK TASKS WHILE WORKING

FROM HOME.
It might sound like a good idea to take a quick break and do your laundry
in-between Zoom calls, but trust me when I tell you that it will distract you
and throw you off your game. Create a clear separation between non-work
tasks and work-work tasks.

I know it’s not easy, and maybe it’s not even within the realm of feasibility
for your situation——but whenever you possibly can, schedule a separate
time to do the laundry rather than trying to take a quick break to crank-out
another load while you’re in the middle of writing an article or finishing up
a presentation.

These hard edges will make you more focused, present, and productive
while working from home.

21.

CHECK EMAIL NO MORE THAN 3 TIMES A DAY.

Unless it’s part of your job description to be in constant contact, then you
don’t need to be in constant contact. Assistants, secretaries, technical
support staff—email is integral to roles like these.
Everyone else: check email no more than 3 times a day.

The best way to do this is to create blocks of time in your calendar in which
you’ll check and respond to emails.

22.

USE NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES.

Find something like the Bose Quiet Comfort Noise Cancelling Headphones
or the AirPods Pro. Using these can help drown out potential distractions
—especially when you’ve got kids.

I’ve got a pair of both of the above and: the Bose Quiet Comforts are better
for noise reduction, but they’re bulky. The AirPods Pro don’t have the
same “air-tight” feeling of noise-cancellation as the Bose—but they come
damn close. The AirPods Pro are surprisingly great at noise-reduction, and
the convenience of being able to carry them around is incomparable.

They’ve pretty much replaced my Bose Quiet Comforts… Actually, I think I

just convinced myself to give the Bose headphones away.

23.

USE APPS TO BLOCK ANTI-PRODUCTIVE WEBSITES

OR SOCIAL MEDIA SITES WHILE YOU WORK.

Using an app like Freedom or SelfControl to block your own access to
websites or social media during a predetermined time period can go a long
way towards helping you stay focused.

Note: this works best when you impose it on yourself. But it can be anti-
productive and reduce engagement if someone else imposes it on you—
keep that in mind if you’re the boss.
 24.

EARLY RISER.
Get up extra-early to do deep work and focus without disruptions. There’s
something peaceful about getting up at the wee hours of the morning to
focus on your most important work.

There’s something about the peace and quiet of the morning hours that
produces a sense of calm that’s hard to beat…

Plus, if you get up early enough, no one else is awake to disturb you! Your
family’s sleeping; and your co-workers are probably knocked out too,
which means you won’t be tempted to check your phone or let something
disturb you while you work from home.

25.

USE WHITE-NOISE APPS TO HELP YOU FOCUS.

There are hundreds of thousands of apps out there to help you deal with
distractions while working from home. If you’re the type that needs to
tune-out the noise in order to get focused——these apps can really help.

I use an app called White Noise––which is well-worth the whopping 99¢ I

paid for it in the App Store. Another app I like to use on my Mac is called
Relax Melodies.

26.

USE “DO NOT DISTURB WHILE DRIVING” MODE—

EVEN WHEN YOU’RE NOT DRIVING.

Whenever I know I can’t be reached for extended periods of time—three
hours or more—I put my iPhone in a mode called “Do Not Disturb While
Driving.” The reason I use this over regular DND mode is because it has
the added benefit of sending an auto-reply text to people when they call or
text you. I set mine with a personal message that goes to anyone in my
contacts list I’ve marked as “Favorites.” You can choose to send an auto-
reply to everyone who tries to get in touch with you while you’re “driving”
if you prefer.

But the bottom line is this: if you don’t want to be distracted while you’re
working from home, but feel bad about shutting people out completely,
then set up a custom auto-reply in “Do Not Disturb While Driving” mode
and turn it on while you work. (I’m an Apple guy, but I’m sure Android has
a similar option.)

QUICK RECAP: 26 TIPS TO STAY MOTIVATED AND

PRODUCTIVE WHILE WORKING FROM HOME

PART I. WORKING FROM HOME—TIPS TO STAY PRODUCTIVE
1. Maintain a designated workspace.
2. Don’t be a slob—take a shower, get dressed.
3. Go out for a walk.
4. Don’t just manage your time—manage your energy too.
5. Exercise.
6. Maintain motivation with a master list.
7. Each day, write down 1–3 of your most important tasks.
8. Make your list actionable + time-bound.
9. Use time blocking to schedule every minute of every day.

PART II. STAYING INSPIRED + CREATING SYSTEMS WHILE

WORKING FROM HOME
10. Set regular working hours.
11. Remember your WHY to stay inspired.
12. Create startup rituals + shut-down rituals.
13. Implement systems to avoid wasting time.
14. Action comes first, motivation comes later.
15. Beat procrastination by thinking of your future-self.

PART III. HOW TO AVOID DISTRACTIONS WHILE WORKING FROM

HOME
16. Use a Do Not Disturb sign.
17. Do Not Disturb sign for children.
18. Take regular breaks.
19. Find a virtual accountability partner.
20. Avoid doing non-work tasks during your work time.
21. Check email no more than 3 times a day.
22. Use noise-cancelling headphones.
23. Use apps to block anti-productive websites or social media sites while
you work.
24. Early riser.
25. Use white-noise apps to help you focus.
26. Use “Do Not Disturb While Driving” mode—even when you’re not
driving.

DEAN BOKHARI
Follow @DeanBokhari

Hey, I'm Dean Bokhari. I write, speak + build businesses to inspire people
to improve their lives + achieve their goals. I host a personal development
podcast and I'm CEO of FlashBooks - where we produce self-help +
business book summaries for busy people. Learn more dorky details here.