The current situation affects all of our daily lives and is changing how we work more and more. Right now around 50% of employees are working from home. We've put together some tips to help you set up your home office in the best possible way. Working from home takes a lot of self-discipline. There are a few traps that hit your productivity hard. Here are our top 3 tips:

Work clothes

If you work from home, it's easy to slip into the habit of sitting down at your desk in pajamas and a sloppy outfit. But that doesn't help productivity. Because what you wear has a major impact on how you behave.

Picture this:

You want to convince a customer over the phone of your offer.

• What posture do you take in pajamas or sweatpants?
• What posture do you take freshly showered, in a blouse or shirt?

How does your body language and your voice change in each case?

What you wear has a major impact on your inner attitude and your behavior. Appropriate clothing in the home office boosts the way you work. It supports your concentration and your focused work.

Eliminate distractions

One of the biggest challenges is distractions in the home office. The basics first: pick a spot for your workspace and set it up. You should ideally use a separate room to avoid distractions. Set behavior rules with your family so you don't get pulled out of a task constantly. To absorb ambient noise, low-cost earplugs or headphones are well worth it.

Define goals clearly

Eisenhower Matrix

Planning your time helps you not lose sight of your tasks. The point: you should plan tomorrow every evening, so when you wake up you know what to do and start the day productive. The "Eisenhower Matrix" productivity method can help. It helps you separate important and urgent tasks from unimportant and less urgent ones.

Quadrant 1 — "Do immediately"

These tasks need immediate attention. We're talking very important deadlines with high urgency. A lot of things land in this quadrant from your own fault — for example, procrastination or forgetfulness. The goal is to spend as little time as possible in this quadrant.

Quadrant 2 — "Decide when"

This is the strategic part of the matrix, perfect for long-term development. These tasks are important but don't need immediate attention. You want to spend as much time as possible in this quadrant. That stops you from being permanently stuck in Quadrant 1.

Quadrant 3 — "Delegate"

These tasks have high urgency but generate no measurable output. You should spend as little time on them as possible and delegate them as fast as possible.

Quadrant 4 — "Later"

These activities are time-eating tasks that contribute zero value. This is where the time-killers hide that block you from doing the tasks in Quadrant 2.

So when you build your plan in the evening, make sure the start of your day is loaded with Quadrant 2 tasks. The "Eat that frog" method works on the same idea: knock out the task you find most unpleasant and tend to push back at the very start of the day.