How to Create Autumn WFH Bliss

@tomsommers1

Now into our third COVID19 calendar season there are cooler-weather ways you can enhance your work-from-home (WFH) experience. It's amazing how seven months into the pandemic we've sadly become accustomed to rising case numbers and routinized the idea of wearing a mask.

Since COVID's not disappearing anytime soon, I wanted to share ways I've discovered through trial and error, to optimize my office space and work experience. Some of the Marchuary anxiety has distilled into routine, and some of the WFH tricks will work well once the pandemic is a memory.

Making the most of your home/work situation comes down to:

Drawing. Boundaries.

The more you can draw lines between your personal home and home-office experiences, the happier you'll be as an individual/spouse/parent and more productive as an employee.

As someone who's historically wrestled with sitting in one location for an entire work day, I've had to be more creative when lockdown means limited out-of-house options. As we head into the chillier months, the options may dwindle until phase III-IV re-openings make more available options (e.g. indoor seating at coffee shops).

Steps to Destress Your WFH

Here's how I've made WFH better. Even small tweaks in your routine can make for mental and physical improvements.

1. Don't set an alarm clock - who needs the pressure and buzz to wake when you can rise naturally? When you establish a routine go-to-bed and wakeup routine, your body will adjust and work naturally. There's no commute, so foregoing the alarm is one less stress to manage.
2. Open your windows - the autumn sun and heat are less intense so open your home to the fall breezes, fall scents, and songs from birds migrating south.
3. Use the first hour to meditate/read about the day ahead. Stay off of email, texts, and social media, reserving this time of the day for peace and quiet (me time).
4. Ditch the morning shower. Similar to the alarm clock, what's the point of everyday bathing when you're less likely to see other people. You can use the shower time for something else. There are exceptions, and I'm not suggesting to be unhygienic.
5. Change into work clothes - even a pair of shorts/jeans and a golf shirt can feel more professional than sweats and/or your sleepwear. Dress as desired knowing that a step up can enhance your performance and help distinguish between work and personal focus.
6. Sit on a chair to work; sit on/in your bed to sleep
7. Never work from the top of or sitting under the covers of your bed. Aside from your bed being a place associated with rest or personal time, because of that link, you may be less alert for work when in bed.
8. Spruce up your office space with photographs, fresh flowers, house plants, kids' drawings - anything that you would take to a downtown office - put near your work space.
9. Have alternative workspaces. Just because WFH includes "home," doesn't stop you from working on your outside patio, a local park, a coffee shop with outdoor seating. And with the fall foliage starting to appear, enjoy the scenery that's outside of your home.
10. Catch the fall foliage - exercise every day - it can be a walk, a bike ride, calisthenics, weight training - something outdoors to break up your indoor time and offer a mental break. Nature can have a calming effect, and who doesn't need more tranquility this season?
11. Talk to friends/family at least once a day - especially important when you're single/alone at home or on the extroverted side of the continuum.
12. Have a hard stop for ending work at night. When you don't have a boundary for start/stop times, you'll burnout faster at home from overdoing it. For example, my goal is to start at 10 a.m. and stop by 9 p.m. with productivity and breaks ebbing and flowing throughout the day.

Please share ideas that have worked well in your WFH environment.

Thanks for making time to read and sharing.

Tom Sommers is a Washington, DC-based marketing writer and data analyst who advocates for LGBTQ asylum seekers. Connect on LinkedIn today or follow on @tomsommers1.