How to Be Productive After Work (8 Tips)

Spending most of our day at work or school can drain us of all our energy. Whether you’re doing physical activities at work or sitting down in front of a computer doing reports, we understand how it feels to arrive at your house and want to sit on your comfortable couch.

But is this the best thing to do? Definitely not! In this article, I will give you 8 tips to be productive after work.

Aside from working which can help us survive in this competitive world, we need to get away from our daily mundane tasks and empower the creativity within us.

There’s still a lot of time in our hands after our work and, with this time, we can read a book, learn a new language, get a side job, or even continue our personal projects.

The big question is, how do you resist the urge to not do anything?

Table of Contents

7 Tips To Be Productive After Work

Here are some tips on how to be productive after work. Remember that doing these tips every day can lead you to build productive habits.

Make Plans and Be Ready to Do It After Your Work

Scheduling ahead of time is one of the most efficient things that you can do. Whether you’re planning to go out with your family or friends after work or planning how to improve your personal project, it’s important that you put it ahead of your plans and put it in front of your mind.

When we think about exciting things that we would want to do ahead of time, it’s easier for our minds to respond to a beep or alarm on our phones to remind us of this activity.

It will also be easier for us to tackle and accomplish it because our mind has already thought about its possible outcome.

Not only that, but it will make our work during the day a lot easier and faster if we’re looking forward to an exciting activity ahead of time.

Take a Quick Break and Start As Soon As Possible

It’s understandable to want to take some time off right after you reach your home, but if you want to continue being productive, it’s important that you only limit the time of your rest.

We suggest freshening up yourself so that you will feel energized again. Once you’re done, work on your house chores or on your personal project immediately.

Relaxing too long can eventually lead to procrastination and you might end up not doing anything.

When you choose to spend time with your family first before doing your planned work, you might end up starting too late at night when you’re already out of energy. But if you freshening yourself can help you refocus your mind to the things that you want to do.

Whether it’s a couple of minutes or an hour, always make sure to set a cut-off time so that you’ll know when to begin to start working again.

Before you start working, you can set up apps that will block your access to social media that may distract you from your work.

Allow Yourself to Work for 10 Minutes

We all have days that we just want to rest after a long day’s work, but if you want to build a habit, you need to continuously do it for at least 20 days.

Giving yourself at least 10 minutes of work every day for your personal project will allow you to build a habit. If you’ve already done the 10-minute mark and you still want to work, then continue doing so.

Remember to do at least 10 minutes and not lesser than that. A little progress is still progress.

Get Out of Your House

Another tip that we have for you to be productive after work is doing your personal project outside of your house.

There are certain days when we can’t be productive at our house, especially if we’ve had a tiring day at work.

In order to continue building your habit and doing your project, you can opt to choose to work somewhere else. This may be your public library, your favorite coffee shop, or your local study or work hub.

Working in a new environment will help you refocus on yourself and enjoy what you’re doing. Not only that, but you may also find inspiration with what you’re doing in the new environment.

Pick an Activity That You Love

Pushing yourself to be productive after work can be daunting and stressful, especially if you don’t like what you’re doing. To make things easier for you, you should choose an activity or project that you’re passionate about.

Whether you’re into photography, blogging, carpentry, or gardening, picking a passion or project that you love and would like to learn or improve will make it easier for you to do.

Always Get Some Exercise

Many people believe that it sounds counterintuitive to get some exercise, work all day, and still work on your project after a long day. But getting some exercise, even if it’s just a short walk, can boost your energy and help you focus for the long day ahead.

Getting a 20-30 minute exercise every day will also make you more motivated with your work.

Stop Working and Sleep Early

There are certain days where doing an activity after a tiring day can be too daunting to do. During these instances, we recommend that you skip working on your project on that day only, and sleep it off.

Although we’ve talked about building a habit, it’s still equally important to listen to what you’re body is telling you.

If you think working after a tiring day is too much for you, it may be best to sleep early so that you can also get up early the next day for a quick session for your personal project.

You may also find it invigorating to know that there are a lot of benefits that you can get for waking up early which include better mental health, better mood, reduced stress, increases productivity, and more.

Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself

Lastly, it’s important to always remember to be kind to yourself. Understand that you won’t be able to be productive every night and that you’ll often feel tired when you’re just starting to build your habit.

Forgive yourself during these times, take a break, and restart the next day. Always start your goal small, it should be achievable and it shouldn’t be hard for you to do.