5 Tips On Working From Home
You didn’t want to work from home. You had no idea that one day you’d be facing three months of working from home. And yet thanks to the dreaded Coronavirus, here we are, forced to try and be productive within the same four walls - day in, day out.
Far from the dream most imagine it to be, working from home can quickly get wearing; from working-from-bed-backache to a bad case of cabin fever, there are plenty of issues that can pop up for the unprepared and uninitiated.
So, for everyone who is unexpectedly working from home, here are our ‘How To’ tips for staying well and keeping motivated.
1. Create a workspace that fuels your ‘Get Up and Go’
- Make it beautiful - bring the outdoors in, add a little greenery. Bringing plants into your workplace can increase productivity by 15%
- Keep it light and bright - sit (ideally) by an airy window. A global study found that natural light and greenery in the office resulted in a 15% higher level of well-being, a 6% increase in productivity levels and a 15% increase in creativity compared to their counterparts who have no natural greenery and sunlight. Time to soak up some Vitamin D?
- Make it motivational - with notes of your personal goals, reminders of your purpose, photos of the kids and pets, and your favourite music on play
- Keep it away from your home life - use a room that doesn't double up as your everyday living space, so you can physically and mentally ‘shut the door’ once your working day is done. This is Psychologies magazine’s number one tip in their article ‘Making Working From Home Work For You’
2. Keep your daily work schedule going
- Hit the shower to wake yourself up. Step into your work clothes
- By all means, grab those extra five minutes among the pillows and duvets on a Monday morning, but try to keep your ‘get up’ time the same for the most part (routine is important in letting your body know what’s happening and when). All of this makes for a work-ready mind-set
3. Prepare for plenty of (pretty) planning
- Start by knowing your goals for the day ahead. Make them tangible and write them down. Keep them short-term (achievable within the day or week) to help you focus and be motivated
- There are plenty of productivity apps out there but if you are more of a paper and pen kind of person then treat yourself to a good-quality notebook
There’s nothing quite like writing tasks on paper and then having the satisfaction of ticking them off one by one… definitely beats the computer-induced eye ache you can get from staring at the screen for too long
Have you browsed our notebook range? We recognise that every person likes to organise and use their notebooks differently which is why we sell lined, dotted and plain notebooks :)
- lined notebooks - these work well for lists, organisation and everyday work notes
- dotted notebooks are brilliant for brainstorming and bullet journaling
- plain notebooks are perfect for those day-dreamy doodles and freeform notes
4. Take regular breaks
No matter how squeezed for time you may be, you should factor in a break of at least 30 minutes a day.
In a ‘normal situation’ the recommendation is that you take a break from your desk for at least 20 minutes every four hours, even if it’s just for a brisk walk and a breath of fresh air. However, in the current circumstances, this may be difficult. Whatever limited time you do have outside, please respect the Government’s Social Distancing measures.
If you want something a little more strenuous than a walk, check out Joe Wicks’ YouTube Channel - the Body Coach. Here you’ll find everything from kid-friendly workouts to kettlebell tutorials (better yet, he’s said that he’ll donate all the money he makes from YouTube to help the NHS in their efforts in tackling Coronavirus).
5. Connect with your feelings - jot them down in a journal
Your mental health is important and can come under ever more strain when confined to the same four walls. As well as exercising and getting outside for a short while, journaling can help support your well-being and improve your mood by helping you prioritise problems, fears, concerns; and acknowledging all the good stuff in your life all at the same time.
That brings our tips to a close. Do you have any other suggestions on how to effectively work from home? Let us know in the comments below!
While being stuck indoors might be boring, it really needn’t be devoid of colour and creativity. The Design Palette is all about the bold and the bright - the diverse and individual, in colour, pattern, and style.