Work From Home Tips

This past week was my first full work week of working from home due to the current impact of COVID-19. If you didn’t know, aside from my blog, I work as a full time Trade Show/Conference manager for a data/tech company. I’ve been organizing and executing our company’s participation in exhibiting at trade shows and conferences for almost three years and am no stranger to having to be equipped to work remotely so it was an easy transition for me in terms of the backend/logistical side for this past week. And given that I used to be a freelancer as well, I wanted to share the top ways to help with a work from home situation so that you do not lose productivity. Some of these were found circulating on social media and resonated with me so it a combination of those resources that I’ve found and my personal experiences, here are five work from home tips:

Tip #1 Wake Up On Time - Start Your Day as Your Normally Would

Set your alarm, don’t sleep in or snooze, and get up at the time you normally would for work and go through your morning routine. I mean I’m all about getting an extra bit of sleep, as well as wearing no pants at home, but by doing what you typically do for a regular work day, you’ll train yourself to be able to keep up with an at home work day. You also won’t instill bad habits during this time that will carryover to when you have to return to the workplace.

Tip #2 Get Ready & Dressed

Aligning with what I mentioned above, upon waking up, go through your morning routine: making the bed, working out if you do so in the AM, getting dressed and eating breakfast. This will allow you to maintain your routine and assist in carrying you throughout your work day so you don’t feel like an absolute bum that rolled out of bed and into work. I am guilty of wearing my robe and PJs more times than I should, but I noticed that when I went through my routine with getting dressed, applying light makeup and eating a light breakfast, I felt more nourish and able to accomplish and tackle tasks throughout the day, it really did fuel and motivate me for the rest of the week - especially since my environment won’t be changing much with the current shelter in place order.

Tip#3 Create a Dedicated Workspace

I feel like it can become overwhelming REAL QUICK or you won’t get any work done if you do not have a dedicated work/desk space - but I guess it does depend on what you do for work. If your job requires that you put in time on a computer/laptop - you will want to clear an area and create a space to be able to successfully complete my work. Yea I’m at home, and the couch looks really comfortable, but I know that if I sit on the couch with my laptop trying to do work that requires critical thinking, I don’t think I’ll get too far due to how laid back my body is feeling. I need to be alert by sitting upright and having the screen, keyboard and mouse at level that is easy to see and use. Which reminds me, after about 5 days of working on just my laptop, I realized that my hands and wrists were becoming strained - to remedy that, I purchased wrist pads, and a wireless keyboard and mouse so I didn’t feel restricted working off of my laptop. Now, I’m finding that I may need to set up a monitor as well; do what works for you and what you need. But have that dedicated space so that you also feel like you are going to work. This will also help with distinguishing work space and hopefully privacy if you have another room or already have an office to establish and maintain boundaries with loved ones.

Tip#4 Make To-Do Lists

In general, I’m much more productive with my day if I have a checklist. And there’s always an immense feeling of accomplishment when I get through that list at the end of the day, or at least know where I stand with ym workload and can assess and prioritize tasks for the rest of the week. From what I’ve been seeing on social media with moms taking on homeschooling responsibilities, I feel that it would help greatly with children by creating a checklist/schedule (the activities themselves may be lax), but making sure to allot time for specific activities and schoolwork which will help keep them on track for returning back to school if they attend a physical school. I think it also gives kids something to look forward to if there is a fun activity scheduled or earned after completing school work.

Tip#5 Take Breaks as You Normally World and as Needed

Take your usual snack and lunch breaks throughout the day and do self care activities like meditate, go for a walk or get a fitness sesh in. Keep to your schedule as much as you can, but also listen to your body since you may feel like you are going stir crazy being cooped up inside. So if you think you need some fresh air, go take a quick walk around the neighborhood. Or if you’re dealing with work frustrations, the beauty of being at home is you don’t have to interact with co-workers face-to-face, so you can take a few minutes to yourself to center yourself with deep breathing or some other form of relaxation (I like doing breathing exercises, practicing mindfulness and some aromatherapy).

It’s such an unpredictable time that takes constant adjusting to adapt. Hopefully these tips can help you increase workflow and add new perspective and inspiration for your week. Wishing you all a safe time while we work through this!