More and more people have been told that they can no longer go into the office due to the corona virus outbreak and therefore must work from home! For us working from home is pretty normal, Rach’s job is based from home (but she works with lots of clients so is always out and about) and Annie often works from home once or twice a week!
For those of you that don’t usually WFH it could be a little bit daunting at first and you may worry that you will start to feel isolated! SO we thought we would share some of our top tips with you to help you stay motivated whilst working from home!
Disclaimer- at the moment in the UK we are not in isolation (unless you are unwell) and we are still allowed out and about. When or if this changes obviously some of these tips may not be valid!
Routine
We like to stick to a routine and make sure that we wake up at the same time as if we were heading into the office. If you are due to start work at 9AM then make sure you give yourself enough time in the morning to have breakfast and get ready for the day! We sometimes like to go to the gym or for a run in the morning so like to factor that time in as well! If you don’t want to leave the house or cannot leave the house why no try a home workout. Lots of apps are available, YouTube videos or make up your own.
Shower
When we WFH we always make sure that we have a shower, it makes you feel super fresh, even if when you get out the shower you put a clean pair of leggings/joggers on! We always work in comfy clothes and this doesn’t affect our productivity, but if you know that it will then maybe put some clothes on like you would for work!
Drink & Eat Well
Often when at home it is easy to forget to have a drink or something to eat! Make sure that you start your day with a tea/coffee/water and constantly top yourself up! One of the things we like about WFH is the fact we can make our lunch and have exactly what we fancy instead of having to prep it the night before.
Have regular breaks
At work you are likely to have small regular breaks when chatting to your team so make sure that you factor in time to step away from your laptop at home. When we first started WFH we often felt guilty for taking a lunch break or stepping away from our laptop as we didn’t want our team to think we were not working! The truth is though you are entitled to your lunch break and getting some fresh air half way through the day will do you the world of good!
Don’t feel guilty
When you are in the office you often take breaks, walking down the corridor to go to the toilet or hanging about in the kitchen making tea/coffee. Often in the office you become sidetracked and can start chatting to people and taking a little break without meaning too. Therefore do not feel guilty for doing the same at home. If you miss a call because you’re making a cuppa, no worries and never ever feel like you have to excuse yourself.
Be sociable
If you have friends or family that are also working from home then why not work together! We quite often go around to each other’s houses and work, we are always super productive and it is nice to have a change of scenery.
Do something with the extra time
Think about all the extra time you are going to get back without commuting! Do something you like with this time; go for a walk, bake a cake, go to the gym, or even just watch your favourite Netflix show.
It isn’t going to be a walk in the park, and it seems that it is going to get a lot worse before it starts to get better! We all need to stick together and get through this…. oh and maybe stop panic buying EVERYTHING IN SIGHT! 🙈
