My Top Working From Home Tips
Over the course of my career, I have steadily begun working from home more and more. I’ve always loved working remotely because I feel like I can focus better on my tasks, I eat healthier, I force myself to get up and move around more, and I don’t have to stress about my commute.
With many of you transitioning into working from home this week, I thought I’d share my top tips for successfully working from home.
Get up and get ready. It’s super important for your productivity to have a morning routine that sets apart your home life from your work life. For me, that means getting up at a reasonable time, fixing my hair, putting on makeup and changing out of my pjs. I need that routine to switch my brain to work mode.
Make a daily to-do list. I love having a to-do list that’s filled with both personal and work tasks I need to get done. That way, on a short break, I can throw in a load of laundry or sign a birthday card and drop it in the mailbox. Plus, I really enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes with checking off a full to-do list.
Keep regular working hours. This is huge! Set your working hours and stick to them. Working from home doesn’t mean you need to feel pressured to work more than you typically would in the office. So, don’t lose sight of your work calendar just because you’re home.
Separate workspace. It doesn’t matter where your designated workspace at home is, as long as you have one. If you use your dining room table as your office space, that’s totally great! Just make sure it’s set up for you to work comfortably and with minimum distractions. Make sure your workspace is prepped for you, so have pens and paper, your computer, and any other necessary items there and waiting for you. This keeps you from hunting down office supplies when you need them.
Don’t eat lunch at your desk. It can be so easy to make a quick lunch and take it back to your workspace, but we all need that break to unwind a bit in the middle of the day. So, keep your lunch in the kitchen or take it to the living room and sit on the couch for a bit. You’ll feel ready to dive back into work after you’re done with lunch.
Move your body. Exercise is extremely important when you work from home. It can be easy to sit at your desk all day and plug away at work, but we need to move our bodies to keep our energy and brain power up. Without a lot of movement during the day, our brains can become foggy, which reduces our output. So, set a timer every so often and get up to walk around for a minimum of five minutes.
Video conferencing keeps you connected. Virtual meetings are great for keeping that connection with coworkers. You get to see each others’ faces and chat just like you would if you were in person, but without the germ spreading.
Clean up your workspace at the end of each day. Set yourself up for success by tiding up your desk area each day. Take any dishes to the kitchen, file paperwork, and throw out trash. This helps you feel refreshed when you walk into your workspace the next morning.
Avoid the TV. Save TV time for your lunch break or the end of your work day. Flipping channels during the workday can be a huge drain for your work productivity.
Create a playlist. The lack of noise at home can be a little hard to get used to in the first few days of working from home. You’re lacking all the white noise that occurs naturally in an office. If the silence gets to you, take some time to make a playlist of your favorite songs or turn on some white noise. Having a little bit of music playing can help squash the weird silence.