The new Coronavirus has really been causing some chaos recently, but amidst all of that, I’d like to help encourage everyone to have a go at working from home. Obviously there are some who cant, their occupations simple don’t work that way, but there is a vast majority of people who can!
One of the biggest issues I have with working from home has definitely been keeping organised and on top of everything. It’s so easy to get distracted when you have the luxury of your comfy chairs, a fridge only a room away and complete and utter freedom! If you wanted to, you could Snapchat all your friends all day every day but, thats not going to get any work done so today we’re gonna go through some of my top tips to staying organised whilst working from home! ^^
Number 1: Create a Morning Routine
This first tip is definitely one of my favourites. Almost everyone I know underestimates a good morning routine, they are so much more beneficial then you’d think and that’s for more than just work! Firstly, a good morning routine helps with your mental health, you can have a simple routine such as: Get out of bed, have a cup of coffee, get changed and make your bed and after finishing even an easy routine like this, it gives you a great feeling of accomplishment! You’ve started your day well by already ticking off some tasks and now you’ll be a little more motivated to finish off some more, that’s the perfect time to get to work! A morning routine is also a great way to separate your day between work and pleasure, again as many don’t realise, it is so, so important to separate the two. You can’t fully relax and switch off from work, if you’re still surrounded by it and you cant fully focus on work if you’re too distracted by things like your new game! (I’ve been playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons non stop help) What I like to do is have my short and simple morning routine, once I complete that routine I focus on getting into a ‘work mode’ I’ll set up my desk with everything I need and remove any potential distractions, get myself a glass of water and then start by making a list of what tasks I want to complete that day!
A morning routine is a sure way to boost your motivation and productivity, so give it a try! ^^
Number 2: Set Some Ground Rules
When working for home, you’re almost always going to have others nearby (unless you live alone) In order to be able to work from home, you’re going to need your space. Something that’s difficult to have if you’re stuck at home (This may be a problem for many, myself included – due to the current Covid19 situation) Setting some simple ground rules could make the world of difference! This may be easier for some than others if you happen to be lucky enough to have you’re own room or office space you could simply put a note on your door saying “Please do not disturb” and it should (hopefully) be respected. For those that don’t have a room they can work alone in it may be a little more complicated as you have to comply with those around you a little more. Just as you want them to respect your space, you must respect theirs too. You may need to be prepared to compromise, there are two easy options. Request that you can have a specific room to yourself for an hour or two a few days a week or every day – depending on your workload, if that isn’t something that can be done then you could ask if they could keep noise to a minimum for a couple of hours each day whilst you try to work, either you or they could wear headphones.Once you have figured out where and when you’ll work you can set your ground rules. Simple rules such as: Do not talk to me unless it is important, don’t poke or pester and most importantly don’t invade your space. If you’ve set out a work area on a table the last thing you want is a sibling or someone sitting next to you and distracting you.
Remember to always be polite and considerate when setting ground rules, demanding doesn’t get you anywhere! ^^
Number 3: Schedule Breaks
My next tip is something I believe should be common knowledge but maybe isn’t yet for all.Breaks, breaks are very important when it comes to staying focused and making progress on work. If you neglect to take breaks you may temporarily get ahead on work but since you aren’t giving your brain a chance to recharge it’s very unlikely to be your best work! Working constantly without taking breaks only wares yourself out, you’ll get tired and stressed and end up not wanting to work at all the next day. Doing this really takes a toll on not only your progress but your physical and mental health too! I suggest either setting an alarm to take a 5-minute break every hour or plan to take a half an hour break after a few hours of work
5 or 10 minutes every couple of hours is still better than nothing!
Number 4: Leave Home/ Go Outside
This tip is usually one of my top ones, but due to the current circumstances, it’s a little harder to accomplish.When you work from home, you need to get away from it every so often. It’s important to try and spend a little time away from where you work in order to wind down and have a good break from the workload. Normally I would go for a short walk every day just to take a breather and remove myself from my work environment, but that’s currently not so easy to do. I’m lucky enough to have a back garden, so instead of going for a walk I’ll go outside and wander around the garden with my dog or follow one of my cats around for awhile:3It’s important to go outside for more reasons that just to take a break, I make an effort to go outside for a little bit every day because getting sunlight every day is so good for your mental health! ever noticed that you get grumpy after being inside for so long, that’s because your body is secretly missing all that fresh air and sunlight! During this isolation period it’s extra important to get as much of it as you can, and for those who don’t have a back garden, try opening your curtains and some windows and sit in front of it for a while and take a break to just look out the window! ^^
Sunlight makes more of a difference then you realise! 🙂
Number 5: Keep a Dedicated Office Area
This is a very important tip for those of us who are permanently working for home, for the temporary ones, it’s equally as helpful but not as important. The reason its important somewhat relates back to the keeping work and pleasure separate, but there is also more to it. Having your dedicated workspace means that’s where you work, its the only place you work it’s almost like going out to work to an office, except its at home. It helps with that separation and organisation, you have everything you use to work with all in the one place so when you have completed your morning routine, you go to your workspace. I find having a dedicated workspace super helpful!I’m lucky again to have a desk in my room where I keep all of my work stuff, and it’s also a space that no one else can use because it’s in my room. I know there is going to be a lot that doesn’t have this luxury so of course, again I have other suggestions. ^^ For those who live in a cramped space and can’t have an area dedicated to work, you could arrange to use something like your kitchen table. Keep a box or a drawer that has all you need for work in one place and when you’re ready to work, lay it out on the table. If you live with others, that’s when you go on to try and set ground rules! If working from home is a permanent and daily thing for you, I definitely highly recommend somehow creating a dedicated office/work area, even if it’s small it helps you keep everything organised and it helps you get into a ‘work mode’ if you have that separate space. It also helps you come out of a ‘work mode’ a lot easier as you can simply move away from your workspace to take a break.^^
Number 6: Make a List of Tasks for Each Day
Something that always helps me motivate and organise myself is a good ol’ list. I love lists, they simplify everything!Every day I start off by making a list of tasks that I want to complete that day, sometimes I’ll even add sub-tasks for each main task and after each is completed I cross it off. I find that being able to go through and cross all of my tasks off my list, really helps me end my workday feeling accomplished! If you want to go that step further, at the start of each week create a list of everything that needs to be done that week and separate them to each day! You could stick it on a wall by your desk or by a calendar as a constant reminder
I like to try and complete at least 3 – 5 tasks a day (depending on the size of each task)
Number 7: Focus on One Task at a Time
You may end up getting bored with one task and want to move onto something else for a while and end up jumping between tasks, this really slows progress down and decreases your focus! Pick a task and stick to it all the way through to the end! If you start getting bored and distracted then take a 5-minute break, go for a walk outside or around the house if outside isn’t an option. If you’re still struggling to focus on the one task then try motivating yourself with a reward. Try something like “After I finish this task, I can play Animal Crossing for half an hour” (I know not everyone is playing New Horizons but maybe, just maybe everyone should) Staying focused on the one task at a time will help keep that piece of work at a higher standard, whereas if you keep getting distracted with other tasks you may just end up all over the place and that’s definitely going to slow you down!
Sometimes I like to start with the hardest/longest task first, so after that, it’s smooth sailing~
Number 8: Avoid doing House Work
Sometimes doing housework seems like the best idea when all you want to do is procrastinate from your work, I know I’ve ended up cleaning the whole house just to avoid doing one piece of work in the past. That made it really difficult to really stay on top of everything, I still somewhat struggle with it now but I also make much more of an effort to stay focused on the task at hand and get it all done! Try to set a specific day of the week, every week to do housework. Get it all done in one day so you don’t have any excuse to avoid your work later in the week!
I’m awful for getting distracted, I’m also a professional procrastinator ^^” But I still try my best, it’s important to stay focused!
Number 9: Tidy your Desk at the End of Every Day
So this tip relates to a few things I’ve already said here today, like ‘keeping a dedicated office space’ and ‘avoid doing housework’ Whether you have a dedicated space or if you use your dining room table, I find that clearing it away or just tidying it all up a little at the end of your workday really help you come away from your work environment. It helps you recognise that “today’s work is done, now I can do something I enjoy!” (Like play Animal Crossing…) Tidy away your pens and pencils, don’t leave anything laying out across the desk, no loose paper, no cups or glasses, try to tidy away as much of it as possible! Tidying your workspace at the end of each day also helps you with preparing for work the next day, as you can then set up your desk each morning, which helps you get back into your ‘work mode’ ^^
I actually really enjoy tidying my desk at the end of every day! It really helps me feel like I’ve gone through a whole workday process and tidying my desk makes it feel like I’m ‘leaving the office’ it also makes it easier for me to find all my stuff the next day!^^
Number 10: Exercise / Move around a Lot
Moving around is extremely important. This also obviously relates to the ‘going outside’ tip but Instead of talking about the importance of sunlight, I’m going to talk about the importance of movement.^^Its pretty straight forwards really, if you’re working from home you’re going to end up sitting still a lot and that’s not exactly good for you, physically or mentally. First of all you’ll get a bad back if you sit in the same place and position all day! Stand up every so often:)You need to keep blood pumping around your body in order to be healthy! your legs might get numb if you sit on them for too long, so get up and do some stretches or even just a walk up and down the hallway or even better, the stairs! (if you have any) If you stay sat down all day you’re going to end up constantly tired and finding yourself with a little extra weight!^^”For those who work on computers all day, moving around is even more important, you need to give your eyes a break from screens! (that’s another good reason to schedule your breaks! Give your eyes a break)
I like to do yoga, so I’ll often get up from my desk and do a few stretches and easy yoga positions before going for a walk around the house or outside! ^^
Number 11: Take Advantage of the Perks
Working from home has endless perks, and one of the best ways to keep yourself motivated is to take full advantage of those perks! You can wear what you want, if you want to get up and make coffee you can just do that. Want to start work a little later than usual? You can, and you can finish early if you really want to as well! (Just make sure you try to complete your tasks for the day) Want to take the day off to hang out with some friends? Or visit some family? You can do just that, no one can stop you, you are your own boss so own it!
I never did well with working in companies and for other people, I very much like to do things my way in my own time so being my own boss is basically one of my life goals!
Number 12: End your Day with a Routine
Last but not least, end your day how you started it, with a routine! I’m not saying use the exact same routine, that wouldn’t make any sense. But do something similar for the same reasons, ending your workday with a routine will help you wind down and remove yourself from your work atmosphere. You can have a short and simple routine, or something a bit more. My routine consists of the following: Tidy desk, do some stretches and walk around a bit, eat dinner (depending on the time I finish for the day), Exercise/Yoga for 20 minutes and then shower. That’s my ‘end of day’ routine! Sometimes I’ll meditate at the end of all that, but I mostly meditate before bed to help clear my mind before sleeping^^
It’s really hard for some to take themselves away from work, myself included. But its really important to try and have time in the day devoted to things you enjoy and not just work, so do try to make sure you don’t overwork yourself! ^^
That’s it! That’s my top tips for working from home^^ I know a lot of people are going to be struggling and having a hard time right now, with more than just being able to get work done from home. Being isolated and locked in at home for a long period of time can be very stressful. Try to stay positive, move around as much as you can, get some sunlight as often as possible, don’t let the current situation defeat you!^^ I’ll be writing a post on ways to stay productive and keep busy whilst stuck at home soon, so keep an eye out for that:)
Thanks so much for stopping by, I wish you all good luck ❤
Mero_di 