Working from home is much more popular than it has been in previous years now that there are new practices and procedures to help keep Covid-19 at bay. Many organizations are sending many of their employees to work from home and making the transition to remote work. Some people may be looking to make money online or employ a passive income strategy. These tips will work for you, as well! While working from home may seem easy, there are many practices that you can implement to make the best out of your situation (whether you chose it or not).
Get Up and Get Dressed to Begin Your Day
I know many people think that being comfortable is one of the perks of working from home. If you are able to get out later during the day, then it may not be as important. If you don’t plan on leaving the house anytime soon, then it is best to keep your regular morning routine. Not only does this ensure a bit of self-care (brushing your teeth, washing your face, etc.), it is a way of signaling to your mind that you are getting ready for a productive day!
Begin and End Your Day with a Regular Routine
Beginning and ending your day with a routine helps you set your working life apart from your home life. When work and play happen in the same space, it is a good idea to make sure that your mind is able to distinguish between the two. You don’t want to become unproductive during your work time. However, you also don’t want to be thinking about work all night after you are off! Starting the day with a regular routine can help you ease into work. Ending the day with a regular routine can help you stop thinking about the problems you came across and save any work for the following day. Your routine can be anything from enjoying a cup of coffee and watching the news to stepping outside for fresh air.
Keep to a Set Schedule Even When Working From Home
One of the most important tips here is to keep a set schedule. This is vital to staying productive and to preventing burnout. You don’t want to waste away the day and never actually get to work. If you do not set a “starting time”, it is easy to let the day get away. This will only lead to productivity problems and put you behind as work piles up. Just as important is the “ending time”. You want to know that you are done with work at a certain time, just as you would in your regular work setting! Don’t spend extra hours working just because you don’t have a long commute to make or can make dinner between your projects. You don’t want to get burnt out by spending too much time working, especially time that you wouldn’t have stayed if you were in a regular work setting.
Schedule Regular Breaks and Keep to Them
Once you’ve decided your start and end time for the day, you also need to keep to your breaks. Even though you are working from home, you need to set time aside for lunch and any other breaks that you take in a regular work setting. Breaks help you get away from everything mentally and refresh yourself. You will be more productive when you come back, and you can look at any problems with a new outlook.
Set Ground Rules with Others At Home Before You Begin Working From Home
If you live in a home full of people, it is best to set ground rules with everyone in the very beginning. Even if you don’t think that distractions will be a problem, it is best to give everyone your schedule and set any rules before any problems actually occur. If you think there will be problems, set your office up in a room where you can close the door. This way, when the door is shut others know that they are not welcome in your work space.
Ask for the Supplies You Need to Do Your Job From Home
Working from home requires many of the same supplies that your regular workspace would need. Make sure you check with a supervisor to see if they can supply the things you need. If you have to make any purchases, keep the receipts in case your organization will reimburse you. In order to work from home successfully, you need to have all of the supplies necessary to do your job!
Keep Your Work in a Designated Area
Another major rule of working from home is to keep your work in a designated area. This is just one more step to help keep your work life separate from your home life, and help prevent burnout. This also helps you be your most productive when in your “workspace”. Your body and mind will know that it is time to work, you will have all of your tools within reach, and you won’t have as many distractions as you may have sitting on the couch.
Be Positive and Over Communicate When Communicating Through Text
Working from home can cause loads of communication problems. Going from face-to-face communication to primarily written communication through emails, IMs, and text messages can be troublesome. Make sure that when you are communicating through text, you are using positive language and over communicating. You would rather come off as too excited about a new procedure or product, than to have superiors think that you are being negative. It is also easier to type a few extra sentences to clarify something, than it is to re-explain weeks down the road when people misunderstood and didn’t ask for the clarification.
Keep Socializing With Co-workers
Finally, make sure that you keep socializing while you work from home. Most organizations have communication platforms in place. Make sure that you utilize them to keep your workplace relationships growing, stay on top of any changes that you may have missed, and to gain second opinions or help when you need it.
Take Advantage of Your Time at Home
We have been talking about productivity a lot so far. While you want to remain productive while working from home, there are also advantages to being at home. You can wash your clothes while you work or cook a nice lunch while answering emails. Take advantage of your time and get the most out of your situation, whether it was planned or not.
Just Relax Sometimes
Most people use some of their time at work to take care of personal matters or surf the web. Just as you would do this normally, don’t beat yourself up for checking out the news while working from home. You want to be productive, work hard, and complete your daily tasks, but don’t be any harder on yourself than you would be in a regular work setting. Remember to take it easy sometimes, slow down when you need to, and take some stretch breaks throughout the day.
Take Your Sick Days When You Need Them
Working from home may feel easier than getting ready, traveling to the office, and working with everyone directly. Working in a regular workplace setting with coworkers also poses the threat of spreading sicknesses. Despite those problems being absent in your new work from home situation, you still need to take your sick days if you are sick. You may feel that it is no different since you aren’t leaving the house, but you need to rest your body and mind if you are sick.
Quick Recap
Some people would choose to work from home, but others may not be so fond of the idea. With Covid-19 forcing us all into a new way of life with social distancing, regular quarantines, and masks, many are also being forced to adopt a new way of working. For those that find the idea of working from home stressful or think that they won’t be able to stay on task, there are plenty of ways to separate work life from home life and make the most out of what you already have. If you think working from home is for you, check out some gigs posted by entrepreneur.com. Just to recap:
- Get Up and Get Dressed
- Begin and End Your Day with a Regular Routine
- Keep to a Set Schedule
- Schedule Regular Breaks and Keep to Them
- Set Ground Rules with Others At Home
- Ask for the Supplies You Need
- Keep Work in a Designated Area
- Be Positive and Over Communicate
- Keep Socializing
- Take Advantage of Your Time at Home
- Just Relax Sometimes
- Take Your Sick Days