10 Tips to Make Working at Home Work for You
Hi friends. Given our country’s current situation with COVID-19, many of us have been forced to start working remotely until further notice. For some this may be an easy adjustment, while others feel very displaced and can’t stay on task.
I’m fortunate enough to have a 9-5 that is pretty flexible with my schedule, and allows me to work from home whenever necessary. I’ve also gotten used to working from home (or anywhere I need to for that matter) because of my freelance business. Needless to say- I’ve had a lot of practice at this working from home thing.
If you just started working from home or have been for a while and haven’t fully adjusted, read my tips on how to create an ideal work from home situation below!
1. Wake Up Your House
When I say wake up your house, I mean really wake it up. Open all of the blinds and let the sunlight in. If it’s warm enough you I encourage you to open the windows and let the fresh air in. Working from home for days on end can sometimes feel like a drag, and I promise you it will be 10x worse if you’re doing it in the dark.
2. Do Something to “Get Ready” in the Morning
Some people will tell you not to work in comfy clothes and that dressing for success will set the tone for your day (especially when working from home). I for one am not going to do that. I think that one of the perks of working from home is being able to wear whatever you want, and for me that includes a matching sweats set.
However, I will tell you not to work in your pajamas. I don’t care if you want to work in sweatpants or if you want to dress to the nines and wear a full face of makeup while working from home. You do you, boo. But, I will tell you to change out of the clothes you wore to bed, comb your hair, slap on a coat of deodorant, and brush your teeth at the bare minimum. Establish some form of a morning routine to help you feel ready for the day- don’t just roll out of bed and go. My “get ready” time is my morning skincare routine. But for you it may look like going to the gym, taking a shower, writing down a to-do list for the day, or journaling.
3. Have a Designated Work Space
I used to be the person who would sometimes work in my bed, on the couch, at the kitchen table, and I would just bop from one location to another throughout my house. And because I was spending so much time doing this, I was never able to get into that work “flow” (which is probably why I kept changing my location – ha!)
Having a designated workspace setup has been so beneficial. It’s the one place in my home I can go to where I know the moment I sit down it’s time to get 👏shit 👏done 👏
4. Own a Comfy Chair
This is pretty high up on the list for a reason. If you do not have comfy chair your body will let you know fast. And it will genuinely put you in a bad mood to sit at your desk and will not contribute to productivity. So, do yourself a favor and get yourself a chair with some back support AND cushion. Always opt for comfort over cute when it comes to your chair.
5. Time-Block
Without meetings or designated breaks to help divide up your day, it can be really easy to drag out simple tasks or projects. For this, I recommend the Pomodoro technique aka time blocking (I use this Google Chrome extension that you can get for free here)! Time blocking is setting aside a certain amount of time to batch-work on one task. I usually work in 30 minute increments with 5 minute breaks. It forces your brain to get shit done!
6. Set Reminders to Drink Water
You would be surprised how often you forget to drink water when you aren’t getting up to go converse at the water cooler. As silly as it sounds, I have an alarm set to remind me to drink water once an hour, otherwise I would be that person that goes a whole 8 hours without it.
7. Get Up & Move
Since you’ll be home all day, you won’t have as many reasons to get up and move around. Everything you could possibly need is within 20 feet of you, so do your best to get up and moving. Sometimes I wake up a little bit earlier to do a yoga flow, but most days I opt for a walk around the neighborhood with my dog. You could also schedule a workout class or go to the gym, but do something to get your blood flowing.
8. Wear Blue Light Blocking Glasses
This is something I recommend everyone who works on a computer have. I stare at my screen (or multiple screens….) all day and it gets really tiring on my eyes. To help, I got a pair of blue light blocking glasses (you can get them here) from Amazon and they really do help prevent those 2-3pm headaches! These are the same glasses I mentioned in my 5 Tools Every Beginner Blogger Needs post.
9. Listen to Podcasts
Working from home can get lonely, especially if you live alone. I’ve found podcasts are a great filler for coworker conversation because they allow you to see things from others’ perspectives, make you feel like you’re apart of a conversation, and usually teach you something by the end. Here are some of my favorite podcasts:
INDUSTRY-RELATED:
- Social Media Marketing Podcast
- The Influencer Podcast
- The Goal Digger Podcast
- How To Turn Your Followers Into Clients with Vanessa Lau
- The Sunny Show
LIFESTYLE/SELF IMPROVEMENT-RELATED:
- Unreasonable Enthusiasm
- Better Off Said
- The Skinny Confidential Him & Her
- Gals on the Go
- Manifest with Tori Desimone
- I Love You So Much with Kenzie Elizabeth
10. Stay Out of Your Kitchen
Starting to work from home can be the college “Freshman 15” all over again. Your kitchen is literally 10 steps away and if you shop like I do there are ALWAYS snacks at your disposal. It’s important to not work in your kitchen and to meal prep your lunches, otherwise weight gain is inevitable when working from home.