“When you work from home there is no such thing as a holiday.” – Anthony T. Hincks
The one really difficult thing about working from home is that you have no real guidelines, a lot of it is up to you. If you have not experienced that kind of freedom before it can feel quite strange and a bit like you are walking into the unknown.
Although I have never technically worked from home I was homeschooled for most of my life and took some online classes at a community college. I completely understand how challenging it can be and am experiencing it firsthand right now.
Try to keep some resemblance of your routine
If you are new to doing stuff at home, trying to keep up your routine, which may sound stupid. Why would you get dressed for the office when you can stay in your pajamas and be in bed all day? Well, if you do that you are mixing up your home and work life even more than before.
If you have a podcast or playlist that you listen to on the way to/from work put that in while you are doing it and it’ll trigger the same cues in your head.
Get rid of all distractions
When I say all, I mean all. Your phone, slack messages, twitter, all of it. If something is necessary to check, like slack, for example, keep your notifications turned off and then only check it for five or fifteen minutes every hour. If someone really needs to get a hold of you they can find a way to do so. Don’t let FOMO be a driving force in your life.
Create new habits if necessary
By this, I do not mean, well I have been working for an hour time to go grab another cookie to reward myself. I am talking about healthy habits, possibly ones that you did not feel like you could incorporate into your life before.
Also if you are having a hard time distancing your work and home life create habits that help you do that. For example, find a place that you know is your working area. It may be something as simple as the angle you are sitting at, or something more drastic like the room you are in or where your desk is placed.
Explore how you work best
This is a great chance for everyone to find out what their optimal work situation is. Some may hate working from home but they’ve discovered that they work really well in the early morning. Others love working from home and they are a bit disappointed that they will have to go back to work. One other thing that you can implement if mini-workouts, either in place of your commute, after a meeting, after you use the restroom. Before you know it you’ll have a six-pack!
Understand why you are doing what you are doing
It makes sense that staying motivated during a time like this is hard, harder than ever some might say. If you understand why you are doing the work that you are it can give you a sense of purpose. Your sense of purpose can take you so far if you are just doing work to do it and not really sure why you are doing it that’s a perfect recipe for burnout.
Communication
One thing that is necessary is communication, especially if you are used to being able to reach over and tap someone on the should. Being able to actively communicate online is a tremendously difficult thing to do, and it can easily be overlooked when you are an in-person company.
Know what your goals are and reach them
Another thing that can be all too easy to do is working longer hours than you usually would, at the beginning of each day or end of each night write down your plans for each day. Either do not be too overambitious with these or be mentally prepared to not complete all of them. This is such a struggle if you are an overachiever, but try your hardest.
Now, that may be a lot of information, actually no. It is a lot of information, but pick and choose the things that you specifically piqued your interest and then implement that into your life.
Great ideas, Mia!