working from home is the new normal, right?

Covid-19 has been around for a while now, and we’re faced with ever-evolving restrictions leading to office-home-office-home work days. Some of us also run our own small businesses and choose to work from home.

I’ve worked in both scenarios – the sometimes WFH model, and the regularly WFH model as a freelancer. Below are some of the tips that I’ve collected through practice and literature over the years.

1. Get the important things in before you start your work day.

2. Create a regular schedule.

What time do you plan to start work? Schedule breaks and decide what time you’ll log off. Decide who you’ll be (what hat you’ll wear) and when. By doing this, we’re not trying to be parent/spouse/roommate/coworker and individual all at the same time.

When you set specific times aside to focus on specific areas of your life, you feel more accomplished and energised. Your can rest at ease knowing you made time for what matters most, and set boundaries that support your goals.

3. Pause to plan out your work day.

What are the most important things you want to achieve today, and when are you going to prioritize them?

4. Take a break to change your scenery.

Make a coffee, take a 20 minute walk, water the plants; walk your dog, make a juice, read or listen to a podcast. It’s easy to skip this, but breaks allow ideas to percolate and for you to mentally refresh. It’s also a great reminder that life isn’t all work, and sets a mental status quo for your mind to recognise that.

5. Communicate your availability with those who need to know.

This will encourage people to reach out while you’re “in office” and to respect when you’re not. This also allows you to establish a clear on/off switch for yourself and be present when you’re offline.

If your employer follows-up with you outside of hours, is disorganised, or is unavailable when you are, schedule a standing meeting or manage up and send them an update before logging off for the day.

6. Add some ambient sound.

If you have a quiet office space and do better with a bit of ambient office noise – consider playing the radio or a podcast in the background. Likewise, if your home is bustling, playing a calming white noise in the background can help you keep your focus.

7. Get dressed for the day.

It will make a difference to how you feel starting your day. Change into loungewear or activewear, brush your teeth, comb your hair; whatever works for you.

8. Assemble all the tools you need for your day.

If you work from a kitchen table that you repurpose at dinner, consider getting an A4 or A3 storage box from Officeworks or Kmart. You can quickly store all of your paperwork, laptop, utensils, etc. and keep them neatly stowed until tomorrow.

9. Resist the urge to do your chores.

It’s easy to fall into this habit, but doing the laundry and tidying the house are just clever ways to reduce your productivity. The choice is yours – you can do your work over 8 hours, interspersed with chores, or you can be efficient and have more free time. I personally like the focused approach; having to break my thought to stop the dryer’s beeping or stir the pot on the stovetop, just interrupts my flow. Whereas, if I work diligently for 40 minutes, then intentionally take a break to do my laundry, I’m more present and feel more accomplished.

10. Work with your body’s natural clock.

I work best between 10am-1pm and 3pm onward, so I aim to do my most important work during those times. There’s a lot of research behind this (Harvard Business Review, Financial Review), and working from home presents a great opportunity to align with your own rhythm in a way that seldom works in an office environment.

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There’s really no “right” way to work from home; my best advice is to notice where something isn’t working and look for a way to address it. Google has a lot of tips in this space, and your friends or colleagues may also have some good ones to share particular to your business or industry.