Working from home can be a blessing and a big headache, but there are ways to make it more of the first. When your place of work is also your place of rest and relaxation, it can be much harder to set boundaries. But it’s important to maintain clear boundaries between your work time and your leisure time. Here are some tips that may help you to work more efficiency and stay motivated.
- Designate your “spot” where you work (and where you don’t) – The space should be clean, organized, and have all the materials needed for you to be productive. Move all your chargers, devices, pens, etc. to your office area at the beginning of the day so you don’t have to interrupt yourself and go find things.
- Create your daily to-do list the day before – Part of staying on track and setting a work schedule at home is listing out what you have to do in a day. It will helps you create an hour-by-hour plan of what you intend to do. If you fill it out the night before, you’ll wake up in the mindset of what you need to do that day.
- Minimize distractions where possible – First, sign out of your social profiles and turn off notifications on your browser and cell phone. It will be a reminder that work time is work time.
- Dress the part – Dress up, do your hair whatever you’d normally do. This puts you in a professional mindset. It can be tempting when you’re working from home to stay in your sweats all day, but it’s worth taking the time to feel polished.
- Invest in an ergo setup – if you’re working at home regularly, it’s important to make sure your workstation is on point. That means using an external monitor in addition to your laptop, making sure it’s at eye level, adding a keyboard that allows your hands to rest naturally, and using an external mouse to keep your wrists and forearms healthy. Use an ergonomic chair and be mindful of your posture.
- Take a breaks and move your body – When you work from home, it is important to take care of your physical and mental health by taking breaks. You can set an alarm for every 45 minutes to get up, walk around, and grab a drink of water. Some neck stretches or a quick workout to help your body stay physically active (as much as possible) during the day.
- Manage expectations – It’s wise to have a discussion with your boss about what can actually be accomplished from home. Ask your manager what the priorities are, and discuss how tasks will get done.
- Figure out how you focus best – Sometimes the silence of working from home can be deafening. If having background noise helps you dial in, queue up a chill playlist. If the sounds of construction outside your window are distracting, wear noise-cancelling headphones.
- Socialize – Working from home seems like quite a luxury, but people who have experienced it will tell you–it can get quite lonely. To maintain a healthy team that can collaborate and communicate remotely, it’s important to keep connecting with each other in this way. Book virtual coffee dates and lunch meetings with your colleagues so you can stay in touch with each other and dedicate some time toward the non-work part of your relationship so working together is easier and more enjoyable.
- Sign off and stay off – When you’re working, go all in. And when it’s time to quit, close your laptop and walk away. That list you made for first-thing tomorrow will be waiting for you.
References
8 Tips to Work From Home & Keep Your Sanity (runtastic.com)
8 Tips for Working From Home or Remotely | Glassdoor Blog
How to Work from Home Productively – The Keyword (blog.google)