“I’ll be WFH”. The infamous 3 letter acronym that brings joy to some of us, and frustration to others. Love it or hate it, it’s likely quite a few of us will be working from home for the foreseeable future, desperately in need of some work from home tips. If adjusting to the work from home life has been hard, we get it. There are definitely pros and cons that come with working from home.
Pros:
- not having to do a dreadful office commute
- getting ready to the bare minimum (or, not at all)
- having 24/7 access to your fridge
Cons:
- distractions at home
- not ever feeling completely unplugged from work
- not having the right equipment (i.e. no additional monitor, etc.)
Let’s be real, the debate of whether working from home is positive or not won’t be going away any time soon. So, regardless of what side of the fence you’re on, we’ve pulled together 5 work from home tips to help you stay productive, and separate your work life from your personal life. (Psst! You can check out the video as well!)
Work From Home Tips for Success
1. Don’t stay in your pajamas
First of our work from home tips: get dressed. As comfy as it is to stay in your PJs all day long, getting dressed for the day will help you get into the work mindset. You don’t need to go full out business in a blazer and dress pants, but even changing into something comfy, like a pair of leggings, signals to your brain that you’re out of bed and onto something else.
2. Stay on schedule
It’s easy to sway off schedule when you’re working from home. You’ll probably find yourself logging on earlier and logging off later, and generally online for much longer. It’s important to keep yourself on the same schedule so you’re not spending your entire day typing away on your laptop.
3. Don’t skip lunch
Just because you’re working from home, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a break. Take your lunch and breaks as you need, and ACTUALLY get away from your computer. Unplug even if it’s just for 30 minutes, and get your mind off work. In order to focus and be productive it’s so necessary not to work to the point of burnout.
4. Have a dedicated space
Working from your bed may be hella comfy – but similar to staying in your pajamas, you may want to separate work from the bedroom. Have a dedicated spot in your home that’s considered your “home office”. If you have an actual home office, perfect. If you don’t, don’t fret. Even if you’re using the kitchen table as your home office, that works. Just be sure to make it your go-to spot so you start to get accustomed to associating that spot with productivity and work.
5. Let your family know
Last of our work from home tips: if you’re living with family or have roommates, let them know what your day entails. You may be on calls throughout the day or have a few video conferences you need to dial into – whatever it is, giving your special housemates a heads up is always a good call. It’ll help them know when to give you some space and avoid any noisy disruptions. And, it might just save them from showing up in the background of your Skype Video Conference 😉
Working from home definitely has a good and bad side, but avoid some of these WFH habits, and you’ll get the hang of it in no time.
