Top Tips for Working from Home

Top Tips for Working From Home

  • The global pandemic has meant that more of us than ever before are now working from home. For those of you that are new to working from home as well as those that are seasoned workers from home, this guide will provide the best tips for working from home and being more productive.

Choosing an appropriate work area in your house

  • Finding the perfect spot to work in in your home enivronment can be tricky if you are living and working in the city and you have limited space, and even more so if you are renting with others. Your chosen area of work needs to be (ideally) one that you recognise as your work space. Getting the right equipment for your workspace is also very important as this can make or break your experience of working from home. Ensure that you have the best setup that you can. A sturdy table, a good quality chair, back support and appropriate lighting would be some of our top suggestions for getting on top of your office setup.

Get the best equipment

  • Getting the best equipment that makes you feel happy working from home is more important than you think. Work can be stressful enough without things going wrong and you need to make sure that your home office contains almost everything you need to work efficiently and in a low stress environment. Don’t be afraid to ask your employer for any items you need.

Check out our recommended list of working from home equipment here for more detailed guide on what to get for working from home.

Time Track and Make a routine

  • Setting a routine that you stick to and tracking your time spent working is essential for working from home. You may think that when you work from home that you can relax, work from the bed and chill out, as you boss is no longer breathing over your shoulder, but this is actually one of the worst things you can do.

  • Writing out your routine and pinning it up near you place of work will be a constant reminder of the structure of your day. When you are in the office, you automatically get reminders from colleagues and meetings of the time of the day, but when you are working from home, you may easily let time pass without knowing. Setting alarms on your phone, or on voice controlled assistants can also help break you out of your ‘work mode’ if need be. Don’t be afraid to say to colleagues or your boss that you are on lunch. Remember that everyone is entitled to a lunch break by law , so make sure you have one, however stressed you may be. You won’t be able to concentrate properly unless you give your brain a rest.

  • Knowing when you are working and when you are not working is important so when an email comes in at 5.31 and you are contracted to work until 5.30, it should really be classed as tomorrow’s issue.

Eating properly at home

  • If you are getting online deliveries and snacking on junk food throughout the day to your home when working from home this is probably not going to make you as productive as you could be. Try to eat a well balanced diet and ensure that you stay hydrated by drinking enough water. Making sure you have a water bottle on stand by is also a good shout and means you don’t have to get up from your place of work more than you need to.

Go outside!

  • As part of your routine it is a good idea to get some ‘fresh air’ every day. Make some time in your routine for going outside and even if it is just for 5-10 minutes either before work, at lunch or after work.

Schedule appropriate Breaks and get away from the screen!

Part of making a routine is making sure that you have enough breaks throughout the day. It is really important for your mental health that you schedule breaks at the appropriate times. Time away from your computer, screen and video calls is really important. Ensure that you have time away from the screen. If you are lucky enough to have a desk by a window a quick minute looking out of the window can give your eyes a quick rest from the glare of your monitor(s).

Dress As If you were going in to the office

Dressing up as if you are going into the office can help get you in the right mind set early on. This will work for some people but others may prefer the comfort that loungewear or a good onesie can provide. Remember though that your top half of your body still needs to be presentable if your boss makes an unexpected video call to you!

What to wear when working from home

Instagram account @wfhfits has made a whole account out of what to wear whilst working from home, so style inspiration is just a hashtag away. The account has been co-founded by Elle UK’s Sara McAlpine, Vogue editor Steff Yotka and GQ’s Rachel Tashjian.

Make others in your household aware of your routine

Making others in your household aware of your routine such as your partner, your kids, or your housemates aware of your routine is important and can lighten the load when it comes to communal activities such as cooking. This will help set boundaries with your household, and you can unwind and eat together at synchronised times rather than eating seperately and taking breaks at different times.

WFH with a partner

During lockdown I have worked in different rooms to my partner and we have found this to be the most effective solution from both of us. When you are at home and hear your partner talking loudly to their colleagues and vice versa, it can be distracting and take your mind away from the task at hand your work. If you accomodation allows it, it may be beneficial for your relationship to work in seperate rooms, rather than together (as nice as this may seem to be)!

Working From Home During Covid 19

Working from home during Covid 19 is hopefully a temporary affair, but as we have seen in 2020 for office workers it has taken up a substantial amount of time, with two lockdowns happening in 2020 alone and office workers have been made in some circumstances to work from home. It is therefore crucial that you have a good setup and mentality when working from home, otherwise you may find that your work will suffer in the long term.

Working from home these days with all our technology shouldn’t really be that different to working from home theoretically. We all know that it is much different from office life, but there are ways that you can make your work life at home feel more like you are in the office.

Organising scheduled catchup with collegues in an informal setting

After work catchups on Zoom are obviously not quite the same as going out for drinks with collegues after work, but it can be surprising the amount of fun that you can have catching up with colleagues over a cheeky glass of your go to drink. If you are missing the social aspect of work then make time in your calendar for catching up with colleagues. They will appreciate the effort that you are reaching out for them.