Just because you work from home, doesn't mean that you should work while in your bed, sporting your favorite pajamas.
If you want to successfully work from home, you're going to have to establish a few habits that can ensure your success.
Below are some great tips for working from home.
Tips For Working From Home
Working from home can be a challenge, especially if you don't have any prior experience doing it.
Here are a few great tips for getting into the groove when you work from home.
Morning Rituals
Morning rituals are an excellent way to provide routine, clarity and mental preparation.
This can be something as simple from getting up and making your coffee exactly how you want it. It can also be as complex as you want.
A few other things you can add is some stretching, drinking water, meditating, a gratitude journal.
It's also important to have a full, complete breakfast. You can meal prep breakfasts ahead of time so you don't waste those precious morning hours.
Set Your Hours
If you work remotely for a company, you might already have to be logged in for certain hours.
However, if your hours don't matter, you'll want to set your own hours and designate them as "work time".
Similar to the morning ritual, it will keep you structured and it will allow you to compartmentalize between work and off hours.
Even though you work from home and might not have a normal 9-5, there's no reason that you should aim to "take work home with you".
Within these hours, you can use something like the Pomodoro technique to have short bursts of intense focus, spread out throughout the day.
Dress Up For Work
While it's tempting to live the fantasy of working from home in your pajamas, dressing up for work can help you shift into work mode and take yourself a little more seriously.
Dressing up can help you get in the zone, helping you separate work from play in a psychological sense.
It can be a great part of your morning ritual. It doesn't have to be complicated and you don't have to dress to the nines, but getting out of your sleepwear and into different clothes can signal to your brain it's time to work.
It's little details like this that can set yourself up for success.
Get Out of Your House
A really good strategy for staying productive when working from home or remotely is to go out and work.
If you have a budget, invest in a dedicated coworking space or an office. There are dedicated ones that have multiple branches in many big cities. There are also membership style ones that give you access a certain amount of hours a day to many different coworking spaces.
There are also countless establishments that have wifi now, including coffee shops, malls, and even some restaurants. So if you're tight or on a budget, you can work at coffee shops, malls, or other public areas.
There's nothing like working outdoors! Choose whichever one fits your style.
Distraction-Free Environment
It's important that you have a distraction-free environment when you're working from home.
Ideally, you want to have a separate office specifically used for getting work done. You want to avoid having your workspace in the same place as where you sleep.
If you don't have enough space, at the very least you should invest in a room separator to separate your desk from the rest of your room.
It might look like a cubicle, but that along with your morning ritual, dressing up, and these other tips can help you stay focused.
This is not limited to just your physical environment, this is also important for your digital environment as well.
If you're a writer, you can try to turn off your internet for the first hour to actually get writing in. You can also use various software and apps that can block you from your most distracting sites.
Another important thing to keep away from you while you work is your smartphone. Put it on Do Not Disturb, Airplane mode, and stash it in the other room, where it's difficult for you to get it.
A Night Ritual
Just like a morning ritual is important, you should also have a night ritual that includes planning out your most important tasks for the next day.
Getting to bed at a reasonable time with no screens at least an hour before bedtime has led to higher quality sleep.
Quality sleep will ensure that you're well rested, focused and ready for the next day of WFH.
Getting into the habit of planning your next day will ensure that you're ready to go as soon as you wake up and finish your morning ritual.
Separating Work from Play
The main challenge when working from home is getting into the mindset of working as opposed to relaxing.
Our homes are where we relax, and it can really blur the lines between work and play when you mix up work time while being in pajamas or in bed.
Just because you aren't in an office working 9 to 5 doesn't mean you should get rid of your work routine.
Establishing a routine will allow you to be able to mentally separate your work from your leisure time and let you be an effective work from home employee.
Hopefully, this WFH article has given you some valuable tips for working from home.
There are many opportunities to work from home now and even more coming in the future.
If you're interested in some great work from home opportunities, read this article.
