Whether you’re an employer or an employee, here are some tips for how to work from home more effectively.
Have you been working remotely? Or has it sometimes felt more like you’re remotely working? While people have adapted quickly to changing circumstances, getting the most out of a new WFH workspace can still take some extra discipline and consideration.
It’s hardly surprising. Offices have all those subtle cues and associations that get us into a productive frame of mind. While your remote working space at home is in a location you (hopefully!) associate with relaxation and fun. Equally, a lack of structure can lead to overworking and forgetting those all-important screen breaks.
The answer? Develop a homeworking routine that sets you up for a day’s work, not a day snuggled up on the couch with your laptop while Netflix plays in the background, or working late into the night when you could be chilling out.
Get dressed for success
There’s no need to don a suit and shine your shoes for a day of remote work – although if that does the trick for you, we definitely won’t argue – but there’s a lot of power in wearing something that makes you feel energized and capable. Pay attention to what you wear to work. Jump in the shower first thing and put on something that makes you feel ready for the day.
To avoid the twin homeworking pitfalls of wearing pajamas all day and barely moving, Suzie Godfrey, Director of The Sweet Reason Company puts her gym kit on every morning: “Once it is on, I have to do some kind of exercise that day, even if it is only one short workout.”
Suzie takes all of her opportunities to exercise. “I run home from the school drop-off, for two reasons: for fitness, and also because it is quicker than walking, so I have more time to work. Even if it is only a win of seven minutes a day, in a week that is over half an hour. When you are running your own business, every minute counts.”