How to Be Productive At Home: 25 Ways To Rock Your Day + FREE Printable Note Templates

The stay-at-home period has given us time that we never thought we had, right?

But staying inside the house 24×7 can start to feel, well, mundane.

If the circumstances around require you to stay home, you are probably struggling with your daily routine.

The problem arises with the things we choose to ease our boredom.

We get told to make productive use of our time, to engage in activities… Like, going out for a walk is a physical activity that helps us spend time, but the repetition will put us right back where we started, bored and idle!

On the other hand, these extra hours that we have on our hands give us an opportunity to do things that we always wanted to do.

We can be productive at home and do things that matter to us.

When you have a proper routine with ways to be productive, you will be surprised at the things you can accomplish.

Here are a few ideas on how to be productive at home!

P.S. even when life gets back on track, keep these ideas ready!

They can work anytime.

 

How to Be Productive At Home

 

STEP 1: Create a Good Start To Your Days

 

1. Create a morning routine

 

If you want to learn how to be productive at home, it’s important to learn doing the right things that give you energy and boost your mood first.

One of the best ways to start your day is to wake up early and create a good morning routine for a perfect start of a productive day.

Here’s the morning routine I’ve been doing lately.

And you might also like these tips:

• 5 Healthy Morning Routine Additions To Boost Energy
• How To Motivate Yourself Every Morning, No Matter What’s Waiting Ahead

 

2. Start your day with exercise

 

People who exercise every morning have more energy to continue with their day.

Exercise keeps you fresh and gives you a more positive outlook which is very helpful to get things done! Exercising after waking up also gives you a good start, improves energy levels, and helps you to stay bright and positive (so you can be productive at home without being grumpy).

Strive to do a quick morning workout, or a stretching session every day – the benefits of working out are endless!

If you work out on a regular basis, you know how wonderful it is for your mind and body.

If you are new to this, start off with workout videos on YouTube.

Once you get the hang of it, you can get your hands on some basic gym equipment like dumbbells or one of my faves – the resistance bands (or “booty bands”)!

I can’t say enough about how these resistance bands have changed my regular, boring, and overall ‘meh’ workout routine.

Suddenly, all those simple exercises became more challenging, the stretching has become more satisfying and my bum started to look really good after about 2 weeks of using them.

How do I know?

Well, my boyfriend has been asking “what have you done to your booty” about 15 times a day, so I guess they do work!

Here are the ones I’ve been using:

Booty Bands, Resistance Bands by Renoj

… And some ideas what you can do with them:

Booty Bands, Resistance Bands by Renoj

They’re also very affordable and have 15.000+ sparkling reviews on Amazon, so don’t just take my word for it, check them out!

Back to the topic.

 

3. Avoid screen time before breakfast

 

When the first thing you see after opening your eyes are emails, Facebook, or messages on WhatsApp, your mind wanders off and gets filled with thoughts.

If you want to be productive at home, be smart and enjoy those early moments in a more relaxing way so that you set a positive tone for the day.

Go out on your balcony.

Take a deep breath.

Inhale the fresh morning breeze.

Watch the birds.

Sip a cup of coffee.

 

4. Eat proper breakfast

 

A healthy breakfast gives you energy and helps you to concentrate.

People who eat breakfast have shown signs of extra productivity as compared to those who choose to skip it.

When you consume a healthy breakfast on an everyday basis, you are less likely to get obese and have more stable blood sugar levels.

 

5. Step out of your pajamas

 

So, you are home all day without anywhere to go, AND it makes sense to stay in your comfortable night clothes right?

Maybe, but there are better ideas.

Just because you have to spend time at home doesn’t mean you skip your morning “let’s get ready” routine, especially if you want to be productive at home.

When you brush your teeth and get dressed, your mind sends a signal to your body that you are ready to kick-start the day.

Slip in your casual clothes, and you’re bound to feel a lot more productive.

 

STEP 2: How To Be Productive At Home With Proper Planning

 

6. Schedule your days

 

Try creating a daily schedule.

By assigning designated activities to different time slots you will be on top of your tasks.

If you like to see your tasks written on paper, you can use a printable daily planner for this, or go the digital route and install a planning app on your phone.

 

7. You can also schedule social situations

 

Even when you’re staying at home, it is very much possible to be active socially.

Friends are walking-talking-stress busters.

Schedule calls with them to have a heart-to-heart conversation.

 

8. Set your priorities

 

It’s hard to be productive at home, and sometimes, it’s just easier to stay lazy because we don’t know where to start.

To continue with a productive day, the best solution is to set your priorities.

If you have a few tasks that you need to accomplish, prioritize them on the basis of urgency.

When you know what to do (step by step!), your stress levels will remain in control.

 

9. Plan ahead of time

 

To make sure nothing slips through the crack, be productive at home by getting everything done on a time plan, or do your tasks ahead of time.

Planning your tasks beforehand ensures productivity and success because you know exactly what you should be doing every hour of your day.

 

10. Keep a track of your productive hours

 

How to be productive at home without getting tired?

Determine the time when you are most productive and stay in this timeframe.

Leave some time for breaks too.

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Data says most people get their work done before noon; their energies are high during those hours.

If you manage to finish your important stuff within your most productive hours, you will have extra time to do other things or simply rest.

 

STEP 3: Choose activities that add value

 

11. Learn something new

 

If you want to be productive at home, but don’t know what to do, simply choose to learn.

Build your skills by enrolling in lessons and courses that teach you several skills.

Go for those online guitar lessons you always wanted to take, but couldn’t find the time to or learn.

Brush up your professional skills.

Heck, you can even learn to manage your mental health better. Just do something that adds a meaningful value to your life.

 

12. Organize

 

Organizing takes up a lot of time and you might not even realize it.

When our home is a mess and is overfilled with things that you need to organize and manage, everything will take longer and suck up your precious time.

Be productive at home by organizing your life and getting rid of clutter that weighs you down.

 

13. Clear your mind

 

It is important to know your thoughts whilst you are at home.

And hey, sometimes you just want to do something, without doing a lot.

In this case, choose a way to be productive at home by engaging in various activities that keep you mindful.

You can try journaling your thoughts.

It’s a lovely way to learn to manage your mindset, lower your anxiety or plan your goals.

I have a ton of beautiful printable templates you can use for that.

Or, you can always meditate!

Meditation is the best thing you can do to relieve stress and be aware of your thoughts without getting affected by them.

Find a quiet spot, light up some candles and start meditating with some light music playing in the background.

 

14. Limit your TV time

 

You open the TV and the alarming news start to appear on the screen… Now that’s a productivity destroyer!

You can’t help but listen to the worrying news, it makes you feel horrible, but you can’t stop watching, even though you’re supposed to, well, be productive at home!

Too much consumption of negative media only serves panic and leaves you tense and less productive.

Limit your television use and try to watch things that uplift your mood instead (you can never go wrong with funny cat videos on Youtube… right? right?).

 

15. Get creative

 

Do you want to be productive at home but don’t want to do things that require a ton of effort?

Start a DIY project.

A do-it-yourself project is a great way to express yourself, create something new, and channel your inner artist.

It’s great for your mental health too.

You can start with arts and crafts like doodling, sketching, or painting, or even try to follow easy art tutorials online.

Whatever gets your creative juices flowing!

…Or just create a beautiful, perfectly imperfect mess, like this:

I really like this kind of art, it’s amazing.

 

16. Brush up some old skills

 

Speaking of painting and art, what about your once-loved hobbies?

If it has been a long time since you’ve picked up a guitar and strung those cords or worked with your sewing machine, now is the time to start from where you left off.

Revisiting old hobbies can help you to be productive at home, while also boosting your mood and relieving stress.

It’s a win-win.

 

17. Spend quality time with your family

 

Being at home provides you the perfect opportunity to bond with your family, and you can all be productive at home together.

Try new ways to connect with your loved ones and have a good time speaking to relatives you haven’t been in touch with for a while (video calls are perfect for times when you need to stay safe).

You can also try cooking new meals together, cleaning up the garage, making crafts together, or repainting your rooms.

I mean, why not?

 

18. Read

 

One of the most versatile ways to be productive at home is to fall in love with books again.

People who engage their brains with activities like reading and puzzles have better functioning brains, and who doesn’t want their brains to function properly?

If you want to boost your productivity, you can also get books about productivity to unleash your best side.

Here are a few I recommend the most:

19. Start planning a garden

 

Gardening is a wonderful way to be productive at home and build something that serves as a way to pass your time.

Tidying up the garden, sowing new seeds, watching your plants grow is a good way to relax and get some workout.

Yes, digging and replanting plants burns the calories even if it doesn’t feel like it!

 

20. Listen to music that makes you feel good

 

Spend time working through music albums of undiscovered music on Youtube or your favorite music streaming app.

You never know when you will encounter a song that will make you feel very motivated to be productive at home.

In fact, it’s one of my favorite productivity hacks – spend an hour looking for a new song that turns your energy on, and you will find yourself listening to it and slaying tasks for the rest of the day!

 

21. Clean up your computer

 

I know.

It’s boring.

But you wanted to be productive at home, didn’t you?

I know this phrase is becoming repetitive here but let’s just say I want to hypnotize you to go and do something useful…

Just kidding.

Cleaning up your computer is one of those productive tasks that you will thank yourself for doing many times later.

Make a cup of coffee and, clean up the clutter on your PC and make it easy to find what you need when you need it.

You can also organize your computer and get rid of all those extra files you have been holding on to (it makes your computer laggy).  Organize larger folders into smaller folders.

Change your wallpaper.

You know the drill.

 

22. Say no to distractions

 

Distractions are all around you.

They are literally the worst enemy of productivity.

Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram can make you lose focus, unnecessary messages and phone calls mentally exhaust your brain.

If you want to be productive at home, identify what is distracting you and eliminate as needed.

A plethora of unnecessary distractions keep us occupied.

So many hours could be spent on other productive things.

Put an end to it and give all your energy to things that are actually important!

 

23. Make a grocery list in advance

 

Grocery?

It’s a perfect way to be productive at home and spend a good 30 minutes doing something useful.

Breaking up your grocery needs into a daily, weekly, or monthly list will give you a good view of what you are spending on and will save you from the frustration of forgetting something important.

For those who like to maintain a healthy lifestyle, a grocery list will help you keep track of your goals.

Here’s a free printable shopping list in case you need it.

 

24. Find opportunities to work from home

 

This one is perfect for people who want to have more cash by the next month.

How to be productive at home and make money?

Find ways to earn some extra income during your free time.

Freelancing websites like Upwork, Freelancer, or Fiverr can help you to find some temporary work.

It may seem scary at first, but no one will ask you to go on a job interview, I promise!

 

25. Build better habits.

 

Another beautiful way to be productive at home is to literally start working on habits that are better, healthier, more valuable, and life-enhancing.

If you don’t know where to start, I have a beautiful list of 99 habits for a better life – it’s still my favorite list after years!

Pick a few habits from this list and start working on them (again, a simple list or plan is a perfect way to start).

You can also grab a free printable after reading these habits.

 

Be More Productive At Home With FREE Printable Note Paper!

 

These cute, completely free printable templates are very versatile and can help your productivity in multiple ways.

There are 10 different note taking sheets that can be used for virtually anything!

To get these free printable notes, choose the size that fits your binder (or grab them both and choose later!)

Minimalistic Note Pages, Printable by ShineSheets in size US LETTER

Minimalistic Note Pages, Printable by ShineSheets, size A4

*Personal use only!

Commercial use not allowed.

 

The Bottom Line

 

I hope you found a lot of inspiration to be productive at home in this article!

If you want more, do check out my list of 99 ways to be productive when you’re bored and 25 positive ways to spice up a boring life.

After all, some of the biggest productivity enemies are boredom and apathy, and both of these are solvable.

Go on, make the most of your time!

You’ve already read this enormous list, so by now, I would say that you’re capable of anything.

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