Here’s How to Work from Home and Actually Be Productive.
As someone who has done the transition from working full time for someone else into working at home for myself, I know what itโs like to try and be productive while youโre sitting on the couch with the dog. Especially when your family is home, too.ย
Owning my own business means that I keep really non-traditional hours, so sometimes (okay, almost every day) Iโll be working at 8pm, or 730am, or whenever an idea strikes me or I have a pressing deadline.ย
Nobody else cares that my kids are running wild or the dog is throwing up – all they care about is that my work is in on time.ย
And because my income and my livelihood depend on that too, Iโve developed a system to ensure that I can do what I need to do, do it well, and not lose my shit while I do it.
Yeah, it can be a challenge to work from home, especially right now, when you might not be alone in the house.
Working at home is actually the best. Youโre not under the watchful eye of anyone whoโs watching what time you take your lunch and how many times you go pee. You can make a hot lunch, wander down to get a coffee, or take a spin class in the middle of the day.ย
Doing some of that stuff now isn’t possible, of course, but normally it is. Itโs the very definition of work-life balance.
Of course, some of you might do better having the structure, check-ins, and collegial interaction that come with an office job. But since it looks like weโre going to be in this isolation situation for a long time, itโs time to get some work done.
Hereโs how.
ย Have a routine. And yes, that includes getting dressed.
Because working at home is otherwise unstructured, it helps to give yourself some firm guidelines. Get up at the same time every day, eat breakfast, get dressed, do work.
I never sit on the couch in pyjamas. Itโs not Christmas morning, itโs a work day. If you stay in your sleep clothes, youโre gonna feel like, well, sleeping.ย
Acting like youโre going to work will get you into the mindset for productivity.ย
Turn off the TV.ย
Turn off the goddamn TV. I know you might think that you can work from home effectively with 90 day Fiancรฉ in the background, but you canโt. Having the TV on makes it super tough for your brain to focus on the task at hand, because the movement on the screen and the compelling content (omg Angela and MichaelโฆAGAIN?!) catches your eye and breaks your concentration. Youโll get work done, but it wonโt be nearly as quality as if you gave it 100% of your brainpower.
Even if you choose to work on your couch in the TV room, keep the TV off.
Get out of the house.
Yes, youโre supposed to be working, but working efficiently and staying sane means taking breaks in – and out of – the house. Allowing yourself time to be in the fresh air, and really using that time to recharge, can help your work in the long-run. Go grab a coffee, or go for a run or a walk. When you work from home, getting out can restart your whole day, and itโs great for productivity. Some of my best ideas have come to me while Iโve been walkingโฆincluding the actual idea/hook for my book.ย
In other words, forcing yourself to sit all day and work can really backfire. Donโt do it.
Eat regular meals.ย
When youโre working mere steps from your kitchen, itโs sometimes hard to stop yourself from eating all day long. This happens especially when youโre trying to do something thatโs boring or that you donโt want to do – a reality in everyoneโs job, except that when youโre in an office, itโs tougher to procrastinate by going to the fridge 100 times in an hour.
Eating regular meals away from where Iโm doing my work is one way that I get away from the snack-all-day mentality. I also make sure that my meals are balanced – vegetables, protein, and carbs – to keep me satiated and satisfied for hours. My meal and snack times follow a schedule, too – so I can add some structure into my day and ensure that I get up from what Iโm doing to take a break, and nourish myself at the same time.ย
Donโt do all your errands in one day.
I am so guilty of this, and maybe itโs not as applicable now as it is in normal times, but itโs a real productivity killer. This doesnโt apply as much during a pandemic, but if youโre a regular WFH-er, this is good advice!
I think I sometimes schedule a bunch of errands and appointments as a passive aggressive procrastination technique, but thatโs just me. Anyhow, itโs important to realize that as much as I want you to get out, every time you hit the gym, or go to the grocery store, or do whatever, itโs probably going to be take longer than you think it will. If you schedule a bunch of stuff in the same day, youโll probably find that the window you have for doing work will shrink to basically nothing. This is true especially if your kids are out of the house and youโre trying to work around their schedule. All of a sudden, itโs 4pm and you havenโt done anything work-related, and now itโs time to make dinner.
Take it from me: get out, get some stuff done, refresh your mind, but be reasonable.
Do what needs to be done first, first.
Prioritization is what makes the work-at-home world go around. Spending time on easier, more fun assignments is tempting, but it can leave you scrambling.ย
Do the most urgent stuff first, and get it out of the way, even if itโs the work youโre dreading the most.
Find a place where you work well.
Itโs not necessarily a table and chair. I do a lot of my work on the couch or in my bed. Those places are more comfortable for me, and they have minimal distractions. I can sit in my bed for half the day and write without stopping (or napping). Yes, I know that you shouldnโt use your bed for work, but it works for me. I think thatโs because I can close the door and sequester myself, an option I donโt have on our open-concept main floor. Find somewhere that works for you, and use it.ย
Take care of your mental health.
It can be really isolating to work from home, this can sometimes affect our mental health.
Part of taking care of your emotional wellbeing is realizing when you need help. Whether that help comes in the form of a day off, a chat with a friend, or an appointment with a therapist (even remotely!), itโs important to understand when things are starting to affect you, and to catch it before it snowballs.
Connecting with other people from your company or profession is also important. Not only can it can help with loneliness, but it can also give you positive reinforcement and support.ย
Make sure everyone knows that youโre working, and enforce that boundary.
This is honestly the hardest part for me: making sure my family respects my working time and understands that I canโt make them a snack/find their phone charger/play hockey in the driveway and on and on and on. Iโve explained to my kids a million times (and continue to do so) that although itโs 830pm, mommy has work to do.ย
While I try to not work outside of business hours, any one of you who owns your own business knows that it isnโt always possible to keep it 9-5.
My kids are 9 and 12, so itโs pretty easy to get them to understand that I work from home (although they donโt always give a crap). If your kids are younger, this is a great opportunity to teach kids about respecting boundaries. Same goes for partners: if your partner is always trying to lure you away from work to watch Netflix, and you have a deadline youโre trying to make, hold your boundary.ย
Itโs important to note that you also need to set boundaries with yourself.ย
You also need to teach yourself when to stop working. That can be really hard!
Getting into the groove of working from home can be a process, and itโs a lot of trial and error.
Make sure you have support and a routine, and youโll figure it out!