Work from home is now a huge part of people’s lives in all areas of the world. Companies have become a lot more flexible with their requirements, and most of them either offer a fully remote working model or a hybrid one. Many people have also started freelancing during the past few years and have set up their own businesses, meaning everything is run from home.
But how do we make sure that we don’t cross the boundaries when it comes to work and our personal life? And how can we be productive when we are in the house most of the day every day?
In this blog post, I’m going to share with you the benefits and disadvantages of working from home, as well as 15 great tips to be productive when working from home whilst still looking after yourself and your wellbeing.
15 top work from home tips to stay productive and look after yourself
Table of Contents
Below are 15 tips to help you be productive whilst working from home, and we’ll dive into each of them in more detail later on in this post.
Create a work environment in your home
Set a morning and evening routine
Get ready for work
Eat healthy meals
Take regular breaks
Plan your day
Go outside
Connect with your team
Play some music
Don’t work overtime
Remove distractions
Set time aside to exercise
Set boundaries with family members
Have a “cool down space”
Get plenty of sleep
Working from home advantages and disadvantages
BENEFITS OF WORKING FROM HOME
- No commute
Does anyone really love the idea of being in a packed train, during rush hour, or stuck in traffic with hundreds of other cars? I don’t know anyone who does. When you work from home, you can officially say goodbye to the painful commute, the jam-packed trains, and the big bags to carry everything you need for the day.
2. You save money
Whilst not many people like the commute, I bet everyone loves saving money, and working from home allows you to do just that. You don’t have to pay for public transport, petrol, parking, a daily coffee and lunch, and keep that nice money in your pocket.
3. You can eat healthier
When you work in an office, it’s much easier to eat something unhealthy because you might go out with your coworkers, you’ll grab a quick sandwich somewhere, or you’ll walk past your favourite restaurant and it will be hard to resist. However, when you’re home, you can easily plan your meals then cook everything from scratch.
4. You catch more sleep
No commute doesn’t just mean that you save money, you also get more sleep! Instead of having to wake up really early to get ready and rush out the door, you can have at least 1 extra hour of sleep!
5. Less stress and fatigue
Commuting twice a day, being stuck in traffic, being unable to unplug, having long days, doesn’t have a great impact on your mental health. Working from home has helped thousands of people to be less stressed and feel better about their overall health.
DISADVANTAGES OF WORKING FROM HOME
- More distractions
With your phone right next to you and nobody checking in on you, it’s easy to start scrolling and never stop. Or perhaps you start chatting with someone in your house and before you know it, an hour has gone by.
2. No boundaries between work and a personal life
Many people actually struggled with this, because they work where they live, it’s hard to know when to stop working and start enjoying their personal time. This is one of the big downsides of working from home.
3. Chances to slack
When you’re at home, you might suddenly realise that you have a pile of laundry to do, or you put the tv on whilst doing admin work, or you might just sit on the couch for a bit, and never get up from there.
Below are 15 tips to help you be productive whilst working from home, and we’ll dive into each of them in more detail later on in this post.
15 top work from home tips to stay productive and look after yourself
Create a work environment in your home
It’s important for your mind to associate a place where you only (or mostly) do work. For example, living in a flatshare I mostly work in my bedroom, but I don’t work in my bed at all.
I have my desk designated for work hours, but then I occasionally do other things too in my free time, though I don’t generally spend a lot of time at my desk. So when I’m there, I know I’m getting things done.
Set a morning and evening routine
I am THE BIGGEST advocate of routines! Especially a morning and evening routine. You can find out more about them here and in this post. I could never just wake up and get straight to work, just as I couldn’t just go about my evening without being intentional with my time and setting myself up for a successful next day.
Get ready for work
I don’t care if you work from your bedroom and don’t need to leave the house, get ready as if you were going to the office!
This will help your mind to get in the right space and know that it’s time to do some work. Of course, I’m not suggesting you wear a full-on outfit, but just wash your face, brush your teeth and hair and put some comfortable clothes on (PJ’s don’t count!).
Eat healthy meals
One of my secrets to staying productive is to eat regular meals, at regular times, and eat healthy during the week. The food we eat has a massive influence on how efficient we will be at work and in every other area of our life, so it’s important that we try to follow a healthy and balanced diet for good performance and health.
Take regular breaks
If you think that working non-stop is the secret to a productive day at work, you need to think again.
Taking enough breaks throughout the day allows you to recharge your batteries, give your brain some rest, and really be focused and efficient when you do go back to work.
Taking breaks will also help you to make generally fewer mistakes as you won’t be as fatigued as if you were working for hours on end.
Plan your day
As a type A kind of girl, there are only a few things that stress me out in life, and not having my days planned out is one of them.
It’s so easy for things to start piling up throughout the day and before we know, we’re running around like headless chickens trying to get it all done, most definitely in a very inefficient way.
The key to avoiding this stress and being able to work productively is to plan your schedule ahead of time, set your priorities, time block your calendar, and get work done.
Go outside
As much as it seems unrelated, going outside at least once a day has great benefits not only for our mental and physical health but also for our productivity.
We’re not meant to sit at our desk for 8 hours straight, so perhaps on your lunch break, you could schedule to go for a walk in a park nearby or just around your house. It will help you to recharge your batteries and increase your focus when you go back to work.
Connect with your team
Working from home has made life so much easier in many ways, however, not being in the same space with your coworkers every day means that you’ll have to be very intentional about nurturing your relationship with them.
Make sure that you’re regularly checking in with them, see if they need your help with anything or just have a chat when you can, to make sure you don’t feel disconnected and are working to the best of your ability.
Play some music
One of my favourite ways to switch things up while working from home is to play some music that will help me to stay focused and get work done.
Spotify has great playlists dedicated to that, my favourite ones are usually the piano playlists as they really help me not to get distracted but also to make the work process more enjoyable.
Don’t work overtime
This is one of those things that many people struggle with when it comes to working from home, but it’s important to set boundaries around it.
Whatever your finishing time is for the workday, make sure you respect that and you log off when you’re supposed to log off. Working overtime regularly will only make you tired in the long term, reducing your productivity.
Remove distractions
Social media, home chores, tv, these all contribute to distracting you whilst working, killing your productivity and possibly leading you to make mistakes you could have avoided.
Be strict with yourself and remove all distractions from around you, setting a time to spend on social media or do your chores, but not during work hours.
Set time aside to exercise
Because you spend so much time at home it’s important that you try to move your body at least once a day. Exercising will release endorphins in your body, and taking a break from your daily schedule will also allow you to recharge and be more focused at work.
You can do as little as 15 minutes per day if you really struggle to workout, but it will make a huge difference in your life and how productive you will be.
Set boundaries with family members
Something else that becomes a big distraction on a daily basis, is the interactions with family. Because you work from home, some people might think that they can come and talk to you whenever they need something or fancy a chat, but that’s going to slow you down whilst you work as well as reduce your attention to detail.
Make sure you’re clear with the people you live with about your working arrangements. If you work in your bedroom, set the boundary that they will not be able to come in whilst you’re working unless it’s an emergency.
If you work in a shared space, you might want to invest in a pair of noise cancelling headphones and play some focus music and communicate that even though they might see you in a communal space, they shouldn’t interrupt your workflow.
Have a “cool down space”
I recommend you have a separate space to chill right after work; your brain will have been busy the whole day and it’s good to just decompress for a while whilst you prepare to enjoy the rest of your day.
The bedroom might be a good place for that, or the living room, or another room in your house where you don’t do any type of work.
Just make sure that once you log off your laptop, you physically move to a different space to recharge and avoid continuing to work.
Get plenty of sleep
Sleep is a very underrated gift, yet it’s one of the keys to how productive we will be during the day.
Your body needs sleep to perform all its normal functions, including boosting and improving your memory to perform at its best when you need it.
Experts recommend getting between 7-9 hours of sleep per night; I found my sweet spot at 8 and I’m very adamant about protecting those 8 hours of sleep.
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Final thoughts on how to be productive whilst working from home
Being productive whilst working from home is absolutely possible; you just have to use the right strategies and be very disciplined, but you can be successful at it and enjoy the benefits of working from home!
This Post Has 2 Comments
Following routines has been so good for me. A night routine that sets you up well for the morning is key! And a morning routine that’s doable is important too! 🙂 Tip: Leave a few extra minutes in your morning routine so you don’t feel like you have to rush around.
Yep! Absolutely agree with that! 🙂