Working from home

(working hard or hardly working)

The 7 things I learned from working from home and the 4 things to avoid

1 Have a workspace that is separate from your living area 

2 Wear your work clothes, you wouldn't turn up to work in a onesie? Video calls would be memorable for your client but not in a good way. Your morning routine should be the same as an office worker.

3 Have a work schedule that follows a typical workday, but you can start earlier as you avoid the draining commute. Break the day into chunks that cover all of your daily tasks, (answer emails, work on projects, update clients, etc) base the schedule on your daily peaks in energy, are you perkier after lunch? then that might be a good time for client calls. more creative in the mornings or evenings? Have a firm clocking off time 

4 Go for a walk - fresh air and light exercise are good for you and get the creative juices flowing. Lunchtime exercise classes are a two for one, meet people and get the blood pumping. 

5 Have a lunch meeting, it's good to meet people every day, mix it up a little with your home office, one day a week it could be the local coffee shop or library, be a micro digital nomad. If you are eating at home prepare the meals in advance, the evening or the weekend before. 

6 Set goals that challenge you - at the end of every workday update your to-do list. These tasks must be specific and achievable so you can state clearly when they have been achieved. Avoid vague tasks with unmeasurable goals. Aim to do more than is comfortable. 

7 Plan holidays - either with loved ones or take a day to do something you love. You have the flexibility that others would kill for. Use it to grow your life. 

Things to avoid

1 Avoid dropping in to work in the evening or weekends. 

2 Avoid Social Media, it craves your attention and you can easily lose a chunk of your most productive time, limit your access to lunch and breaks. (don't have the page open or in your bookmarks)

3 Make sure that if others share your living space that they know the workspace is for work. A coffee is appreciated but not a coffee and a natter. Let them know your break schedule. 

4 Avoid nibbling all day long, or as the proverb goes "he who grazes all day long will look like a burst sofa dumped in a layby"