Nov 20, 2020
Working from Home — Top Tips
Working from home has pretty much become the new standard in our working lives. But the reality is, it has also made the line between work and personal life really blurry and sometimes it’s hard to switch off or to separate the two of them.
Let me give you some tips that have certainly worked for me when working from home and have made my work-life balance much more attainable.
Set your schedule, respect your schedule
I can’t even begin to stress how important it is for you to be strict with yourself and with the timings you spend working. If you’re doing a 9–5 then you’re doing a 9–5 and you’re not doing a 9–9.
Working from home shouldn’t mean you have to work more (unless you really really want to) just because you save time in commute. Working from home should mean you have the flexibility to save commute time and give yourself more time to manage your day.
It doesn’t matter what time you start your day, just make sure you do your expected hours and not more. The reason I say this is because it’s easy to get side-tracked when working from home.
Imagine this, it’s 5:30pm, it’s time to finish but you want to just do a couple more things and you tell yourself it’ll just be 1 more hour, next thing you know it’s 9pm and you haven’t even had dinner!
If you can set your schedule and your hours and above all you are able to respect it, then you will benefit more and live a healthier work-life balance. Stick to your 9–5, employers respect people who can get the job done in the expected hours and not people who take double the time to achieve the same amount.
Define your work from home “office”
A lot of people may be fortunate enough to have an extra division in the room that is their office in the house, but on the other hand there are a lot of other people (including myself) who do not have a home office, so we got to make do with what we have.
Find somewhere in the house that you believe would be a good place to work from. Ideally somewhere with a desk, chair, good lighting and perhaps quiet. This could be the living room, the kitchen, maybe your room? Whatever works best for you, but just ensure that is the place where you do all your work.
Having a dedicated space in which you do all your work gives you a clear line to separate your work and your personal life. You know every time you step away from that desk that you’re doing non-work related things.
Take breaks, your physical and mental well-being need it
Working non-stop the whole day is not healthy for you, both physically and mentally. There’s no need to have breakfast or lunch at your desk, let alone you staring at your screen for 8 hours straight.
Take breaks, in fact schedule your breaks in your calendar the same way you schedule your meetings. Take a mini-break halfway through the morning, make sure to take your full 1 hour lunch break, and ensure you take another mini-break halfway through your afternoon.
Taking time off-screen is not only important for your health but also beneficial to your brain. Sometimes we’re dwelling over a specific problem and we have been at it for so long, that once we take time away from the screen and come back, our brain feels refreshed and ready to tackle and solve the problem.
Go for walks, sometimes what your body and mind need is to feel refreshed and relaxed, and taking a walk is generally a really efficient way to get you there.
And those are some of the tips I highly recommend following in order to work from home effectively and efficiently. Remember to prioritize yourself, work will always be there for you to pick up tomorrow, so look after yourself whilst managing your workload effectively.
I’m a Podcast Host @ What’s Up & What’s Next? Podcast — I’ve shot an episode on “Work-Life Balance” with a very special guest, that shares tips and insights relevant to today’s conversation. Check it out below:
