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With more and more companies warming to the idea of remote work or telecommuting, many of us have experience working from home. Working from home has its upsides, but it also poses unique challenges. We’ve learned a few tips on successfully working from home that can be achieved with white noise.
WHITE NOISE AS PART OF YOUR DAILY WFH ROUTINE
Similar to using white noise to let you know it’s time to get some shut-eye, you can also employ white noise as a way to trigger your brain that it’s time to work. Experts say that maintaining your usual work-day routine at home can help you stay on task and productive in a new work environment.
When you don’t have a clearcut transition like say, stepping into an office to trigger “it’s work time” you can work a sound machine into your AM routine as the last step before you open your laptop. A sample routine would be: Wake-up, make coffee, scan Twitter, turn on sound machine, get to work. Sounds silly, but many folks report that adding in an auditory step to your work routine can help your brain make the shift that you're on the clock .
WHEN FAMILY KEEPS INTERRUPTING YOUR WORKFLOW
If working out of your house is new for you or your family, it can be hard to get everyone accustomed to the new arrangement. Do you find that you’re constantly shushing your family or other folks at home during the day when you’re trying to hop on a call or video conference? We’ve found that a white noise machine can be used as an “auditory sign” that quickly signals “I’m trying to work - please be quiet!” without the need to actually verbalize (which as we know, can just lead to more noise and needless disruption).
The best way to do this is to strategically place a sound machine at the entrance of your designated work zone. When you’re ready to get down to business, just flip the switch, and let the white noise do the work in telling your housemates that you are in “do not disturb” mode.
USING WHITE NOISE TO INCREASE FOCUS AND PRODUCTIVITY
Trying to work at home can be doubly challenging with focus - it’s so easy to be distracted by things in your environment like that growing pile of laundry or house project that you’ve been trying to finish. Not to mention any family members or roommates who are on a different schedule than you are. The cool thing is scientific studies have shown that white noise can have positive effects on cognition and focus in healthy adults.
A 2018 study of white noise and 78 adults showed that it can improve the cognitive performance for some individuals, particularly those with lower attention spans. Another study done in 2017 showed that white noise enhanced the ability to learn new words in healthy adults. So working from home or not, running a sound machine near your workspace is a smart move to increase focus and productivity.
