Working From Home Tips
Posted by Veronica Dearsley on
Working from home is my favourite. I went through the motions of getting a studio for my business, because I thought that was the mark of a successful business, before realising it was a load of crap and I hated it. So now I figure the whole world is discovering what I consider the joys of working from home, it seems like a good time to share my top tips to keep everything on track.
1. Now I want to start by addressing the outrageous rumour going around that if you wear pyjamas you can't be a useful person. I work best when I'm comfortable, so I like wearing pyjamas for work. However, I know that's not the same for everyone so wear what you want to wear, seriously.
The only thing I would say is to make sure that before you start work, you get dressed into fresh clothes OR pyjamas, whatever your preference is. And don't feel bad about it, something good has to come from this madness, and if that good thing happens to be a boom in the work pyjama business sector then I am over the moon.
2. Along the same lines. I don't care how you look, society has no place bringing its expectations and outrageous beauty standards into your new place of work, but you need to feel good. So keep on top of that shit, even though it is tedious and you can't wait until we enter an era of Jetsons-esque personal hygiene conveyor belts to take care of all our needs. I certainly can't.
3. Commuting: can be tedious, involves lots of crowds and germs, the same every day. "Commuting:" can be a fun physical activity, ranging from dancing around the kitchen to Lizzo, doing 5 minutes of stretching, or walking around the block while you still can.
You might hate your old commute, but it's a useful framing exercise for your working day. Replacing the physical act of commuting with a different, hopefully more pleasurable physical act is a good habit to get into.
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4. If you are the sort of person who is going to be tortured by the knowledge that there is washing to put away, do that before you're due to start work. The same goes if you are the sort of person who will sit at their desk, desperately thinking of ways to procrastinate. Get your domestic procrastination done before your day is supposed to start, make sure you have a place to work you feel happy-ish in and ideally doesn't mean you are staring at a part done DIY project, and begin in the knowledge that you are ready to go.
5. I have never really been one to get excited about lunch, until I worked from home, when it became the focus of my entire life. Plan what you're going to have ahead of time, because firstly it gives you some kind of reward to look forward to halfway through the day, and secondly it stops you form roaming around the kitchen, picking through the cupboards and freezer, and eventually landing on some weird, elaborate concoction that will take you 2 hours to prepare. Same goes for snacks, something about sitting on the sofa under your computer increases your snack-ppetite exponentially, and you don't want to get through your corona stockpile in the first couple of days.
6. This one is fairly straightforward. Make a list. Make a list. Make a list. Seriously.
7. Okay so I don't like to be too strict with this, because it's important to make the most of a slightly more relaxed way of living, however, having some kind of rough timetable helps you keep you brain and your tasks in order. Plan in regular breaks, just because "the man" has taught you that people that work from home are lazy and achieve nothing, it's not true. You deserve breaks, they'll make you work better. Hooray! PS. Don't spend an hour colour coding and laminating it, you might want to change it later.
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8. Following on from the last point, notice if there are certain times of day when you feel overwhelmed by being a garbage person that is incapable of getting a single, tiny thing done. Go back to your schedule (I told you not to laminate it) and see if you can put easier tasks in your garbage hours and shuffle things around to make your working day work best for you.
9. If you live alone and aren't used to needing the heating on all day, you might want to find other ways to get cosy. You might feel weird bundled up in a blanket with a hot water bottle, but you'll get much more done if your teeth aren't chattering.
10. If you're used to people taking turns to make cups of tea in the office it can be easy to find yourself sitting all dried up. Getting a drink is not only an extremely exciting diversion from your work, but is also generally good for you. Like it says in the drawing, everyone truly is a winner. No cocktails though, sorry.
A few more that seemed too obvious to dedicate drawing time to:
Don't spend the entire day on social media.
There is software you can use to make your life easier. I don't know what you need made easier to make recommendations, but you can google it.
If you find a way of working that is good for you, stick with it. If you need the radio or Buffy on in the background, you crack on.
Best of luck in your new life!