The importance of productivity in the working environment has well and truly evolved in the last two years, with the on-going COVID-19 pandemic causing the Conveyancing industry to swiftly adapt in order to cope with Australia’s booming property market.
The working environment itself has also changed, with the majority of the conveyancing industry recently working from home throughout Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.
However, with restrictions easing and businesses now being presented the option to work from the office or home, now is the time to have the tools and strategies in place to be productive when working from one or the other.
To get you on the right track, here are five techniques you can implement from the office or when working from home.
Productive at the Office
1. Leave your desk for lunch
Having a lunch break away from your desk can disrupt your productivity routine, but it does provide some much-needed relaxation and respite from your work.
Enjoy your lunch break and return to your work with renewed energy and focus. Exercising during lunch, even if it is just a quick walk around the park, will also help to keep your energy up.
2. Drink up
Hydration is important for a variety of health reasons. Fill up a personal water bottle and keep it with you all day.
Keeping a water bottle by your side will prevent you from having to get up repeatedly to get more water and ensures that you stay hydrated throughout the day. It is recommended to drink about two litres of water per day.
3. Work to the clock
Rather than working on a project until it’s completed, commit to working on a project for a set period of time, then change your focus.
This will keep you productive and eliminate some of the tedium associated with working on the same project for long periods of time. It will also help when returning to the original project with fresh eyes.
4. Plan your day
Get to your desk about 15 minutes early and write out a daily list of tasks and plan out your day before it begins.
This will help to keep you focused and on track throughout the day. Set out your top three most important tasks to do first.
5. Hour of power
Commit to the first hour of your day! Dedicate it to being as productive as you can. Avoid your email inbox, favourite blogs, and voicemails, and get right to work.
This sets the tone for the day and gives you a great sense of accomplishment that can follow you through to home time.
Productivity at Home
1. Maintain regular hours
Set a schedule and stick to it…most of the time. Having clear guidelines for when to work and when to call it a day helps many remote workers maintain work-life balance. That said, one of the best benefits of remote work is flexibility, when applicable.
Sometimes you need to extend your day or start early to accommodate someone else’s time zone. When you do, be sure to wrap up earlier than usual or sleep in a bit the next morning to make up for it.
2. Create a morning routine
Deciding you’ll sit down at your desk and start work at a certain time is one thing. Creating a routine that guides you into the chair is another.
A routine can be more powerful than a clock at helping you get started each day. What in your morning routine indicates you’re about to start work?
It might be making a cup of coffee before you tackle your to-do list. It might be returning home after a jog or getting dressed.
Look for an existing habit that you have, like brushing your teeth or coming in from a dog walk, to act as your signal. That way, you can tack on the new habit to start your workday.
3. Organise those around you
Set ground rules with other people in your home or who share your space when you work.
For example, if you have children who are learning at home or who come home from school while you’re still working, they need clear rules about what they can and cannot do during that time.
If you share a space with another adult who’s working from home, you may have to negotiate quiet times, meeting times, and any shared equipment, like desks and chairs.
4. Leave home
To the extent that it’s allowed and safe during the pandemic, get out of the house and move your body. Your body needs movement and blood circulation.
Plus, the fresh air and natural light will be beneficial to your physical and mental wellbeing. Ideally, step outside for at least a short while before, during, and after your working hours.
You can even take this one step further and change your home office completely. Coffee shops, libraries, public lounges, 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.
5. Use Work-flexible Technology
Whether you’re working from home or the office, as a conveyancer you need to be able to accomplish your entire workflow in a streamlined fashion.
You need to be able to communicate and delegate jobs and workflows to all staff as well as order due diligence searches and complete Matters with eConveyancing tools. triSearch offers the newest conveyancing solution, triConvey for achieving just this.
triConvey is the all-in-one $0 solution for Conveyancers with a powerful Practice Management System, Integrated Searching and eConveyancing tools, covered by one dedicated support team.
With Software & Search under one-roof, you can now access all the tools you need to power your firm.
Want to get the most out of the advice in this blog? Pick two productivity tips and implement them right now.
21 Ways to Reduce Your Firm’s Overheads
Whether you run a big or a small firm, expenses are something a business owner is always looking to cut. Before you consider downsizing the business, lawyers and conveyancers should first consider reducing overheads outside of staff.
Download this complimentary eBook by triSearch to learn 21 ways to reduce overheads.
