Working from home is certainly not for everyone. With the Pandemic, many people who had never worked remotely had to hunker down in their homes in make-shift desks and navigate the new norm. Luckily, I wasn’t new to the WFH lifestyle. I took a new job a year ago that was fully remote and before that, I worked for a different tech company where I worked from home 2-3 times a week. Personally, I love the remote work lifestyle. I am the type of person who can get more done in my home office and I think overall it makes me a happier employee. At my previous job, I thought of the work from home perk as a privilege, so I never wanted my boss or team to think I was less productive working at home. However, with the perks of WFH come downsides as well. In today’s post, I am sharing WFH tips to improve productivity and help balance work and personal boundaries. I did a similar post last March, but being only 2 months in my fully remote job, I think I have additional perspective to share.
Note from ME: these tips are things I need to do better incorporating into my own routine because by no means do I have this figured out
- Create a “normal” morning routine: In the past I’ve been guilty of setting my alarm to the last possible moment to roll out of bed and log on to my work computer. However, I think when you are going from just waking up to jumping right into work that can add to stress and blends your work into your personal life a little too much. I recommend setting an alarm and waking up with enough time to have a normal morning routine before diving into the new work day.
- Take standing breaks: On super busy days, I will be glued to my desk and not realize how much time has passed without getting up and taking a quick brain break. Incorporate these brain breaks into your day even if that means listening in on a conference call while walking about your house.
- Better yet, TAKE BREAKS: Back when I worked at an office, I would take breaks throughout the day and do a quick lap outside around the building or walk to the employee kitchen and make a cup of tea on a chilly day. About a month ago, I realized that I hadn’t been outside in 3 days because by the time I wrapped up work, it was dark and cold outside and there wasn’t any reason for me to get out and about. I started making sure I took a mid-day walk to get away from the computer and get some fresh air. 10/10 highly recommend.
- Take a lunch: This is something I need to get better at doing. I have a tendency to just work straight through the day staying signed into Slack to ensure people know I am available. I don’t think that is healthy at all. I recommend to anyone reading this (and myself), to take an actual lunch break mid-day. For me, this means adding an away message on Slack that says “brb” or “lunch” and stepping away from the emails and notifications for an uninterrupted lunch.
- The notifications can wait: I know this isn’t the case for all lines of work, but most of the time checking your email or notifications at 7pm at night is not going to be any more productive than responding to the email the next morning. Plan a time each day to completely shut down work and not worry about it until the morning. Again, I know that some jobs do not have this privilege, but if you can, turn it off! cough cough, I am talking to you OLIVIA.
- Block your work calendar: I highly recommend this tip to anyone who has trouble dedicating time to tasks you need to complete. I will put working blocks on my calendar if I know I need to get something done and don’t want someone booking a meeting during that time. There will always a few of those people who really don’t care if you are available or not and will still send you an invite, but for the most part I find this works well. If I have an appointment or even a round of 9 holes scheduled around the end of my work day, I will block the last hour of my working day to allow myself enough time to wrap up my day and leave the house without rushing from a meeting.
Want more Miss Olivia Says? Check out my latest posts HERE and HERE and HERE
xoxo Olivia
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