Working From Home | My Set-Up & How to be Productive
Working from home is a new way of life for many of us now, and seeing as we aren't exactly sure about how long we'll have to do this for, it's important to make your new routine work for you and your own personal situation. Seeing as I'm one of those people who are now required to work at home for the foreseeable, I thought I'd share with you how I set myself up for the day, how I stay disciplined and productive, together with coping strategies for staying indoors more often. Hopefully, you find this somewhat useful :)
My personal set-up
I like to be as cosy as possible (as my lovely work colleagues will know), and so I will do my best to create somewhat of an ambience. That includes lighting a candle, snuggling up in a blanket and making a nice big cup of coffee to wrap my hands around.
Despite wanting to be cosy, I make a conscious effort not to lie in bed and do work snuggled up in my duvet. I think it's very important to separate work from home. My bed is where I relax, read and sleep,not where I do my work. I don't want that association either, and I think a lot of you will feel the same.
I don't have a separate study to work in, but I do have a desk in my bedroom that I will work from. It's nice and bright, there's a mirror in front of me to make me feel less enclosed, there's plenty of room to spread out, and I have a fluffy cushion to make my chair feel a little more comfy.
I will get up every couple of hours, make a drink and stretch my legs before getting back to work again, but this will only take around 5/10 mins. I won't have a proper break until lunchtime where I'll spend around half an hour eating a sandwich and that's about it.
When the day is out, I'll go for a walk or stick on an exercise DVD, seeing as all gyms are closed and I really hate running. Any activity that gets the blood pumping is good for you and can be classed as exercise. It will also prevent feet from swelling due to sitting down all day, as well as helping to keep those biscuits off my waistline, haha.
How to be productive while working from home
Where some will treat this time as a prolonged paid holiday, it's more important than ever to get work done and be productive. Companies need their employees to be on board and supportive, and that includes making work the utmost priority during those hours. You cannot sit back and relax at a time where we all need to pull together.
I know that the situation isn't ideal, but we must treat working from home like a normal working day, and that shouldn't affect the work you produce. There are many ways in which you can be productive while working from home, including:
- Establish a working space
- Set working hours - a calendar/diary can really help with this
- Make a conscious effort to keep work activities and non-work activities as separate as possible
- Speak to those you live with/Skype/FaceTime friends etc on your downtime - this will give you something to look forward to at the end of the day
- Get showered and dressed to feel as refreshed as possible
- Don't sit with the telly on in the background
- Stay connected with colleagues
- Take regular small breaks where appropriate to do so
- Prepare meals the night before - this will save time during your lunch break
- Pick a definitive time at which you finish
Coping strategies for social distancing and self-isolation
It can be easy to feel lonely when social distancing or self-isolating. Even though I'm not doing the latter, the former is something we should all be doing to help slow down and eventually stop the spread of Coronavirus. It should be taken extremely seriously, and when done properly, it can feel quite lonely for those who live alone and suffocating for everyone else. As such, I've got a few tips to help you cope with the effects of social distancing and self-isolation.
- Support each other - that goes for friends, family and colleagues (you can do this via Skype/Facetime, just don't gather together)
- Stay connected - keep up to date with what your friends are doing and how they're coping with the current situation. This goes for family as well, as I'm sure it would brighten their day to hear from you
- Drop some supplies off for those in your community who are older and more vulnerable. Don't go into their house, though. Stay a safe distance away from the front door, and let them take the bag/box of bits in themselves, and not directly from your hands
- Take regular exercise where possible, even if it's just a walk around the block for half an hour or so. It can do you the world of good, especially for your mental health
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Have you got any tips for those who are self-isolating or social distancing? Do you have any tricks for staying productive while working from home that I didn't mention? What's your set-up at home like? Let me know in the comments or via any of my social media links below. I will see you again really soon with a brand new blog post for you all!
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