How to Work from Home Effectively

It All Starts with A Daily Routine…

How are we all doing? I’m in week three of working from home and honestly it’s not been too bad. Aside from what is going on in the world, the actual practice of working from home hasn’t been too bad. I’m incredibly lucky to be in a position right now where I can work from home. I have a husband who right now is doing little bits here and there, but the reality is he is not working for the foreseeable future. So whilst it’s been difficult, I’m in a position where I’m incredibly grateful to be still doing my 9-5 Monday to Friday.

I’ve been so grateful for your love and support for my new office on Instagram. I’ve also been getting a ton of questions about how I’m handling it. With only being three weeks in, I’m no expert. But I have found that in order to work from home effectively, you need consistency. And also to give yourself a break if it’s not 100% perfect all the time. This is a weird time to live in right now, no room for perfection. If you’re need some help with how to work from home effectively, here are my top tips on how I’ve been trying to achieve this…

STICK TO YOUR ROUTINE.

The key to ensuring you work from home effectively is a routine. One of my favourite quotes that I discovered last year is the secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine and I’ve lived by it since then. Though it is tempting to roll out of bed five mins before work (or not even roll, just whip the laptop out while in bed) if you go through the motions of getting ready for work you’ll feel and be much more productive. My day still starts at 6:00am, even though I’m not commuting to work. To give you an idea of how I gear myself up for work, here’s a breakdown of my morning routine:

6:00: Get up, have an espresso and workout
7:00: More coffee, shower, post to Instagram, watch news and get ready
8:00: Make breakfast, catch up on blog emails/ blog/ do a house chore if needed
9:30: Make coffee and head upstairs into the ‘office’ to work

This may be extreme to some, but it’s really got me in the mindframe to put my everything into my day.

CREATE A WORKSPACE.

Creating a workspace just for your work is also essential for working from home effectively. I love that my home office is set upstairs in our attic room. It means when I’m up there I know I’m working and at the end of the day I can shut the door on that life and relax and unwind. However, I totally understand that this is not a luxury that everyone has. If there’s a way you can set up on the dining room table but ensure you can shut your laptop away in a cupboard at the end of the day, that will allow you to have that mental barrier to separate your work/ home life.

Even if it’s a corner in your home, dedicating a space to work will allow you to shut the rest of the world away and focus on what you need to focus on.

 

 

PLAN YOUR DAY.

Planning your day will help you keep on track and ensure that you will keep on track with what you need to do for that day. The key is not to overload yourself with too many tasks. During this time, it’s okay to not be a superwoman/ superman and completely knock it out of the park. Give yourself three tasks and if they are the only things that you get done that day, then you’ve completely smashed it.

I would say if you need to reward yourself after each task, then do it. If the thought of awarding myself with a packet of Mini Eggs gets me through completing that spreadsheet, then I’m going to do it.

STAY ACTIVE.

I’m so glad that I got into my at-home fitness habit before all this stuff happened because it’s honestly the only thing that’s kept my head clear throughout all this. I will have to do a post on my exact workouts and equipment, but I essentially do Sweat’s BBG every day and it’s been life-changing. If there’s one thing to take away from this post, is to partake in some form of exercise every single day. Yoga, dance class (there are so many on YouTube) or even going for a daily walk (whilst practising social distancing) will help wake up your body and put you in the right mindset to get working. Give it a go for a week and let me know how you feel at the end of it.

STAY CONNECTIVE.

Now more than ever we need to stay connective. Not just with friends and family, but with work too. I have daily chats with my colleagues on Slack and Zoom and it honestly helps to bring a sense of work normality into my home. Even the regular banter that’s going on in our Slack channel is a light relief from what’s going on. But more importantly, it’s a great way to ensure that you keep on track and ensure you’re not going off course. I like to have a quick hello catch-up with my manager to make sure my priorities are on the right track before starting my working day. There are so many ways to keep in contact, you’ll have no excuse not to recreate the office feeling in your home.