Some tips for working from home

Well, here I am towards the end of week one of working from home. My PC (not to mentioned two monitors) are all set up and ready to go, but am I? As it happens, yes, because working from home isn’t a totally new thing for me. Whilst it’s not something I’ve done for a little while and certainly not for long periods, it was quite a common occurrence in one of my previous jobs for me to be working remotely, so I’m sinking back into that old routine. That being said, there are plenty of people out there who haven’t worked form home before and are now needing to, so with that in mind, here are a few things to keep in mind to keep you productive, and stop you going insane. 

Get dressed

Working in your PJs from bed does sound rather appealing, but it does very little for your production. To help get yourself into a working mind-set, the best thing to do is to get up and get dressed like you would for any other working day. You don’t have to get into usual work gear, but getting out of your PJs makes a massive difference. 

Call people

Especially for internal discussions. Rather than sending an email to someone in the office, call them instead. Working from home means you don’t get as much interaction as you would usually, and something as simple as a phone call can keep you ticking over. You’ll also get an answer so much quicker, and have better quality conversation on a phone call than you typically would an email. 

Our office has set up a buddy system between those of us at home, and those still in the office. The aim being to have at least one phone call a day to hear a friendly voice, catch up, have a chat and stay connected with each other. I’ve also arranged some calls with various friends who are also home working, so I can speak to people during my breaks.  

Get a playlist

I would highly recommend you don’t turn the TV on, as it’ll just become a distraction. That being said, you will want something to break up the silence you’ll suddenly find yourself in. Even though a typical office isn’t overly loud, there is always background noise of some kind – people tapping away at keyboards, phone calls, colleagues talking to each other, and you won’t have any of that at home. Get a good playlist together to play in the background, or turn the radio on.  

If you can’t think of what you might want in your playlist, the lovely Jordanne over at The life of a Glasgow Girl put a motivational playlist together a while ago. You can find it here.

Create a space for work

If you can, create a separate space for working, if you have an office, that’s perfect. I don’t, so I’ve set up on our dining room table instead. Not only does it give a degree of separation when it comes to a work life balance, it means I am sitting properly, at a desk as I usually would. This will help stave off any kind of back problems from a week or so of sitting poorly. 

Leave the house work

Unless you are on a break, leave the house work alone. You wouldn’t be able to do it if you were in your usual place of work so don’t do it while working from home. By all means, pick up little bits during breaks, but for the most part, leave it be.

Get fresh air and exercise

You might have limited options in regards to how you do this, but try and get fresh air throughout the day. Be it popping outside for a walk, going out into the garden, or simply opening your windows every now and then. Exercise can be a little tricky if you can’t leave the house. I’ve got into the routine of running up and down the stairs a few times every time I go to the loo or for a coffee break. I would typically walk for both of these in the office so I want to replicate that.

There are also plenty of at home exercises around online and on YouTube that you can follow. I’ve been getting up at my usual time, so have a spare 30-45 minutes

Unplug

When it comes to the end of your working day, don’t be tempted to carry on working. It’s very easy do ‘just a couple’ more emails or tasks, but if you do that you aren’t having a proper rest. Turn the computer off, put your paper work away (or turn it over) and don’t pick it up until you are next scheduled to work. You having adequate time to recharge is not only important to your work, but your wellbeing in general.

I hope that was helpful to some of you. We’re in strange times at the moment, so remember to take care, check in on each other and share kindness whenever you can.