Tips for working from home

Working from home is the ultimate lifestyle designer dream!

The thought of being able to stay in your pyjamas all day long, prepare a nice lunch in your own kitchen and be professional from the comfort of your super snug sofa can be really inviting! But when it gets down to actually getting that all important work done it can become hard to stay focused and productive.

We’ve put together some of our top tips for having a productive but comfortable day working from home!

1. Get up early

Now you’d usually get up early to make that drive to work, the small walk through town or to catch that 8.10am train (that one you usually have to run to catch!). So knowing you don’t need to get up particularly early to get to the office feels like a sigh of relief. However, getting up early even when working at home puts you into that ‘work mode’ mindset. Studies also say that you are naturally more productive in the morning than you are in the afternoon. So get up early and start tackle those tasks you deep down know you can’t avoid anyways, get them out the way and reward yourself with a hearty lunch made from the comfort of your home!

2. Sit at a table

We would all love to lounge around on the sofa, wrapped in our favourite cozy blanket for extra comfort, especially on those colder days. However if you’re all cosied up on the sofa it probably does not feel like a natural working environment (but if it does: please tell me where you work! That sounds amazing!). Sitting at a desk can really help keep up that motivation to work, having good posture when sitting and focusing on what’s in front of you, will only help your workflow.

3. Set targets and time

Before starting your day of work at home it is good to set yourself targets to complete that day. This will help you keep on track with what needs to get done and helps you with not getting lulled into a false sense of security that you don’t have much to do anyways (when really, you do!). Once that list of targets is jotted down, set yourself a time frame, just like you’d have at work! Say you usually start at 9 and finish at 5 - do the same when working from home! Setting yourself those normal working hours will also help to give yourself a full day off work, without cutting corners. When 5 comes along you know your day is done so you can switch off the laptop, close your notebook and put all work related things away. NOW it’s time to go and lie down on that sofa you’ve been staring at all day or - even better - go out for a quick walk or run and get some fresh air!

4. Give yourself a break

Working at home can be enjoyable and comfortable but at the end of the day you’re still working and you still need a break. So make sure to give yourself that tea break you usually take at the office, step away from your desk, maybe get a quick breath of fresh air or simply stretch your legs a little. And when lunch time comes around you can make yourself a delicious homemade lunch, rather than having to queue up to heat up that leftover dinner in the microwaves at work!

5. Avoid distractions

It’s easy to get distracted at home, especially if there’s a task you’re not particularly keen on doing or other family members around offering an easy distraction. Being careful with small adjustments can help: e.g. don’t get tempted to turn the TV on for ‘background noise’, you’ll only end up with your eyes glued to the screen and get engrossed in the latest episode of Jeremy Kyle. I you feel like you need some background noise, turn the radio on instead. This is one of the benefits of working from home rather than the office, there’s no need to put your headphones on! If there’s family members around, better tell them not to distract you unless it’s really necessary in advance (even if you might secretly hope for that distraction every now and then). It makes a nice little break to chat to them when you’re away from work for your lunch or tea breaks though!

6. Stay in your PJ’S!

Since you’re working at home we think that it’s TOTALLY acceptable to spend the day working in your PJ’S! You’ve taken all the other precautions to have a productive work day: You’ve avoided lying on the sofa, sat at an actual desk, and turned that TV off, so you’ve absolutely earned yourself the comfort of your PJ’S! And should there be an important skype call coming up at some point, just grab your blazer (and maybe another top), because noone can see those fluffy pants you’re wearing from the right angle!

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(This Article was first published on visuable.co )