How To Successfully Work From Home
Nicole Dean
Nicole Dean
Working from home is such an alluring idea. I have been successfully (and not so successfully) working from home for almost three years now. It’s definitely a trial and error type of thing and you really learn about yourself as you try to figure out what works for you. When you’re new to working from home one of two things happen. One, you start off getting right into the groove of things and you instantly know what works for you. Or two, you start working from your bed in your pajamas with Netflix going in the background, which, don’t get me wrong, is pretty awesome but then over time, you realize your life starts to blur together and you no longer have a personal life or professional life, you can’t stay motivated, you don’t feel productive and you start to lose all sense of schedule or routine. The problem there is you eventually start to feel stressed and anxious and get frustrated with yourself. I’m here to give you some tips on how to successfully work from home that I have personally found to be extremely helpful, as I certainly fallen back into the “working from my bed” category quite a few times over the years!
Wake Up Right
Working from home, to most people, means sleeping in until 10:00 AM and starting off your mornings slow. This works great for some people but it really depends on your job and how you work it. I personally find that waking up at 8:00 AM and starting my morning routine really wakes me up and gets me ready to start my day. I think it’s important to have some type of routine that you can count on from the minute you wake up in the morning. If you wake up at the same time every day, this gets your body physically set on a schedule and once your body is on a schedule, it’s SO much easier to get through your day. For me personally, I have set up a specific morning routine that allows me to clear my head and get focused to start my day.
Get Dressed
I know how tempting to just stay in your pajamas all day and not get ready, but doing something as simple as throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt will help you so much. It’s just something you want to keep in your morning routine. By doing this, it really helps separate the feeling from “I am comfy and feel like being lazy today” to “I am up and ready to work!”
Designate a Workspace
Something that’s probably just as tempting as staying in your pajamas every day is working from your bed every day. Now, I am 110% guilty of doing both of these for about a year. I didn’t have a desk at the time and even though I sat up in bed to do my work, I kept finding myself slouching and eventually laying down. The worst thing about it, my TV was right in front of me so Netflix was on all day and watching movies throughout the day ended up being just as important as getting my work done. I had no real priority and that became a really bad problem. It’s all about finding a space that works for you. Once you have a designated workspace, it just becomes your little office from your home. If you’re lucky enough to have your own office inside your house, this step is extremely easy. For those who don’t, like myself, I have two designated work areas. I have my desk in my bedroom and my kitchen table. When you walk into that space and set up, you subconsciously know, “I am turning on for work right now, this is my work zone” and when you step out of that zone, you subconsciously know, “I am finished working and I am now stepping into my life.”
Make Lists!
Lists are my FAVORITE things to keep me organized. I have three part time jobs so my “Daily To Do List” is a pretty decent size, even on slow days. If you’re feeling really overwhelmed with all of the stuff you have to do, I promise you, lists will help. I personally have two lists that I have throughout the day. I have a “Work” list and a “Personal Tasks” list. If I have a lot of stuff to get done in one day, I will designate one hour from my workday to focus on my personal tasks. One thing that also helps me and lessens the feeling of being overwhelmed is I will cover the list with a sticky note but leave one task uncovered so I know what to focus on next. This prevents me from just jumping around from tasks to task and not really focusing on the task at hand. It’s all about prioritizing! Another great tip that I suggest is making a sub-list for a giant task. Taking bite-sized pieces can make insurmountable jobs seem easier.
Take Breaks and Move Your Body
Taking a break is something that is really important to me because I find that even if I step away from my computer or phone for five minutes to fifteen minutes, it refreshes me and I’m able to come back with a clearer head. My breaks usually include something as little as cuddling with my cat for a few minutes, going to the fridge and fixing myself a snack, or taking my dog outside for a walk. Sometimes it’s great to totally relax and even read a few pages from your book or an article. Just do something for you! When you take a break, it’s extremely important to move your body! How many times have you snapped out of an intense work session to find your back hunched over and your neck sore? Not only is it easy to forget the importance of stretching, but it also goes unsaid that changing position can be helpful too. It can be nice to bring the laptop over to the couch for a while and go back and forth between the desk each time a checkpoint is hit.
One thing that I have found to help me unwind for a break is to do a quick work out. There are tons of work outs you can even do at your desk if your day isn’t really allowing for a full break. Check out this article on how to De-Stress in 30 Seconds to give your mind a break! Also, give these simple exercises a try to stretch out your body!
Realize Your Limits
Sometimes it just happens that you burn out before the checkpoints. In these cases there’s nothing wrong with taking extra breaks. It can be nice to have another activity on the computer to bounce back and forth from. For example, it can be helpful to watch a short unrelated video each time the work hits a dead end. It may be just enough to return to the work with enough momentum to push forward.
Be Aware of Your Body and Eat Healthy
Sometimes a work session can come to a grinding halt for a seemingly unknown reason. In these moments it’s good to ask yourself if you’ve eaten enough food, if you are appropriately dressed for the temperature, or if the environment your in is conducive to working, etc. It’s crucial to make sure you’re eating the right foods throughout the day for boosting your productivity!
End Your Day
One of my best tips to give you is to actually end your day! Too many of my nights of relaxing have been wasted on working. I understand if you’re extremely busy, it’s difficult to stop working and you have to work late but doing it every day, you’ll just lose your personal life and you want to have that separation between your work life and your personal life. Finding the time when your day ends and your personal evening begins can be really tricky. I think it’s important to have some kind of ritual for yourself that you do around the same time every day to give you that separation. A great example is to simply take a shower after you shut down all of your equipment. Doing this every day physically sends a sign to your body and mind that “this is the end of your work day and now it’s time to unwind, eat dinner, put your pajamas on and watch a TV show.” Give yourself time to separate from work and just enjoy your life!
Experiment!
There’s no perfect formula for getting work done. Sometimes it just takes experimentation! This could include rearranging the furniture/table in your workspace, working at different times during the day, or listening to different types of music while you work. For me, my must haves are light music playing in the background, a to do list on hand at all times (digitally and written out), a mix of my daily greens and lots of water to keep my hydrated and making sure I eat healthy foods throughout the day to keep me energized!