My employer has been very forward-thinking when it comes to allowing us to work from home on a regular basis. Most of us in my department work from home one or two days a week. Recently we are experiencing a stay-at-home full-time schedule because of the Covid-19 virus.
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Some people in the world are working from home for the first time and learning it may not be as glamorous or easy as it may sound!
Working From Home
Tips On Working From Home
There are many distractions like children, your spouse, laundry, and dishes, but these work-from-home tips may help you stay productive along with staying sane.
- Have a morning routine: Start by getting proper rest. Act as though you will be going to an at-the-office office. Set your alarm clock and get up on time. Allow some “me” time.
- Eat a good breakfast: Plan on something substantial like oatmeal, eggs, or bran muffins.
- Set a schedule of regular hours: One benefit of working from home is flexibility, but on most days, it is best to have regular start and stop hours. Often you may be working as part of a team and there may be online meetings or other collaborative projects.
- Have a dedicated office space: If you are fortunate to have an office in your home, that will be ideal. If not, find a space where you can work with few distractions. If you have a spare bedroom with space for a desk setup, it would be a good location, especially because it has a door to close you out from anyone else home.
- Plan some exercise time: It is good to get 20-30 minutes of activity each day, so you need to plan it into your schedule. Take this time to go outside and get some fresh air – accomplish two good things in one-time slot!
- See other people: As I write this, we are under “social distancing” rules because of the Covid-19 virus, so seeing people in person is not a good idea. Use technology to meet online! My office uses several options such as Microsoft Teams which is part of Office 365 or Zoom meetings. Any application that helps give you face-to-face communication helps both your well-being and productivity. In normal circumstances, it is also good to have other social activities like a club, gym, or professional organization.
- It’s OK to take a sick day: If you are unwell, take a sick day. If you freelance and don’t get paid for sick days, it is easy to try to just work through your illness. But that is not good for your long-term health or productivity.
- Take advantage of being home: Some may disagree with me, but I take short breaks to put in a load of laundry or put something in the crockpot for supper. This is something my manager is OK with as long as we are getting our projects completed and are diligent in keeping the time away short. You are a professional and need to act like one. It is good for the soul to take a few minutes away from a computer screen.
- Have the equipment you need: If you are working for a company that supports your work-from-home arrangement, ask for what you need to work productively. My company provides my laptop, headphones, a large monitor, a laptop docking station, a mouse, a keyboard, and software to do my job the same as when I am in the office. If you are freelancing, it is likely you will need to get your own office setup.
- Avoid distractions: Where I work at home, there is a TV. It is a good idea to leave the TV off. Most of us cannot do two things at once and do them both effectively. Pets and family members can also be distractions. It is good to set ground rules with other family members when you first start working from home.
- Stay off your phone and internet browsing: Everyone spends some time on personal calls or browsing the internet, even if in a regular office. You need to be very mindful of this activity wherever you are working, it’s just easier to lose track of time when you are working alone.
- Dress for work: Shower, fix your hair and change out of your pajamas. This is hard for me because I like working in my PJ’s. However, I do think if you dress like you are going into the office, you will be more productive. I may not dress for working from home the same as I would in the office, but I do try to change from pajamas. Since we often do video meetings, I am sure my coworkers are glad I at least comb my hair!
- Keep up with your training: Just because you work from home does not mean you should miss out on training. If you work for a company, they may offer online training, or there are many online learning companies like Udemy, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Creative Live, and Skillshare.
- Stay in touch with coworkers: Use a messaging application like Skype / Microsoft Teams to stay in touch with coworkers. Used with your calendar, the app will show when you are available, in a meeting, and other statuses.
Totally agree on having a routine and scheduling set hours for things! This is the holy grail right here of tips to survive working from home! 🙂
Thank you for your comment! I have been working from home since mid-March. I love it, but it does take some planning and control 🙂