My Best Tips for Working at Home
I've been working at home for years now, but I realize this is probably new territory for so many of you. That being said, I thought I'd share my best tips for working at home! Huge thank you to those who are doing your best to stay home and social distance. You might be bored stiff, but we can do this!!! You can be productive or you can watch Netflix for hours, but whatever you do, do it at home.
You can see my full home office reveal here!
Now, let's get started! I'm not perfect at the below, especially since having Taz, but I strive to do all these things every single day. They help my work flow, help me feel good about myself, and overall help me use my time productively. At this time, I don't have any amazing tips for working at home while your kids are home, too {it's much easier for us with a small baby}. For parents in this situation, it's probably just going to take a lot of patience, giving yourself and your kids grace, and a lot of juggling with your partner.
During the work week, don't sleep in.
If you typically have a commute, obviously you don't need to get up as early, but don't sleep your morning away! Most people are most productive when they first wake up and taper off as the day goes on. Get up at a normal wake hour and get going!
Make your bed every morning.
I promise this will help set the tone for your morning. I can't work in a messy workspace... and that includes my own home. I even do any dishes the night before so I wake up to a clean kitchen. Making your bed takes two minutes and yet it's the most simple and easy way to feel productive right off the bat.
Change out of your pjs.
Don't want to shower and get fully ready working from home? No problem. But change out of your pjs, even if that means putting on a clean pair of leggings and a tee {me, most days}. That mindset of changing out of what you slept in and into another outfit is another way to trigger your productivity levels.
Tackle your biggest project first.
Remember how I said *most people* are most productive in the morning? If you leave your biggest project until the end of the day, chances are you're going to put it off for another day or end up working really late! And both aren't great for working at home or feeling productive. Instead, tackle that endless inbox first thing and get it down to zero {if that's your goal}. You'll feel like a million bucks when you've already accomplished your biggest project by lunch time.
Stay hydrated and eat at regular meal times.
I always keep water at my desk and sip the entire day. It's so important to stay hydrated, especially when you're sitting all day and if you're headache prone like me. Also, try your best to eat at regular meal times. I used to wake up, jump straight into work, and not eat, shower, move, etc. until 4pm. The rest of my day just felt OFF after that, and I would end up crashing and burning. You want your work-life to feel balanced as much as possible when working from home! Eat a good breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack as needed, and of course graze on some OREOS, hehe.
Snag a pair of blue light-blocking glasses.
Once again going back to being headache prone, but if you're used to breaking up screen time with in-person meetings, leaving the office for this or that, etc. and now your hunkered down looking at a screen for 8+ hours a day, chances are your eyes will not be used to it. These are my favorite pair of blue light-blocking glasses for under $15 {I have the pink pair}! I swear by them and wear them all day while working.
Pro-tip: You can change the light settings on your iPhone to yellow light, instead of blue light, too. Just hold down the lighting button and tap "Night Shift Off or On."
Take breaks to move your body and get some sunshine.
Every few hours, get up and move! Walk around your home/apartment, take a lap around your neighborhood {you can even do this when on a conference call}, and on a lunch break do a 20 min yoga sesh on YouTube! Keep your blood flowing and get some Vitamin D to feel your best. I know you can't go to the gym right now, but you can go for a run around your neighborhood {I know parks are starting to close, too} or do a HIIT class in your living room!
Don't work in bed.
This one is IMPORTANT. Posture is so key when working from home. Let me tell you a little story. When we lived in SF, we only had room in our condo for one desk. Since Robbie does the majority of the business side of things, he worked at it every day. I would work in bed, on the couch, and sometimes {read: rarely} at our kitchen table. But mostly, I worked from bed {which also meant I was in pjs and my bed wasn't made... first mistakes!!!!}. After doing so for a year and a half, I woke up one morning with the worst kink in neck... as in I had a muscle so tense I couldn't move it without crying. We ended up going to a quick care to get me a muscle relaxer and then I did physical therapy for a few weeks. It was BAD. The culprit?! My posture working in bed! Learn from my mistake and pain and don't do it! If you don't have a desk at home, work from a kitchen table or any table + chair combo that gives you support.
End your work day at a regular time.
Back to the whole work-life balance thing, end your work day at a regular time. Especially since you aren't leaving the house much, you are definitely going to want "you" time at night to decompress and relax. This is also why I said tackle your biggest project in the AM! You don't want to have to work late after working all day. Close your laptop and Slack at 5 or 6pm, make dinner, break a sweat, hang out with your family and enjoy the evening.
Hope these tips are helpful as you navigate working from home! I know this is a strange, unprecedented time, but we can do this! Sending love and light your way. xx
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