A few times a year you’d trade the morning commute and melody of honks for a quiet extra hour of sleep. You got to take the day off from getting ready because sweats were more comfy. You even got to have the TV on in the background.
Working from home was wonderful!
Was.
What was once considered a special treat a few times a year, we now get every day for every meal.
With every aspect of our lives now being tagged “from home,” life has become too much of a blur. We never really know when the workday begins or ends. We don’t know if it’s a weekend or weekday. We’ve lost all sense of time and direction which can make the actual working part much more difficult.
Luckily, none of us are in this alone. As everyone experiments with ways to deal with all life from home, we’ve found a few ways to make working from home a little more wonderful!
Still go through your morning routine: shower, get dressed, make a coffee, eat breakfast. You could even get in your car and drive around the block if you really need to get in the zone. Going through the motion of going to work will help you focus on the fact that you do need to work, even if it’s from your living room. -Chantel
Shower. You may not see many people, if any, but you’ll feel more energized and appreciate smelling like a field of lilacs. -Wyatt
Create a schedule and use it to stay productive. Otherwise...see below. -Aaron
At the beginning of the day, take 5-10 minutes to create a to-do list. Categorize it by:
A: needs to get done today.
B: done in the next day or so
C: can get done throughout the week at some point.
-Amanda
Create a designated place that you can go to during work hours and step away once you are done working. Creating a separate WFH environment helps separate work from home life. -Amanda
Load up on power snacks that will give you long-lasting energy with no crashes. The less tempted you are to nap, the better! (No, vodka is not a power snack.) -Erica
Upgrade your wifi. -Erica
Find a WFH buddy* and check in at the beginning and end of each day. What do you plan to accomplish? Did you do it? Hold yourself – and each other – accountable! *While adequately judgy, pets are not preferred as WFH buddies. -Erica
Put the phone away or put it on ‘do not disturb’. Don’t worry, you can catch up on that group chat later, work needs to get done! Reward yourself with phone breaks every few hours or so. -Amanda
Working from home & home schooling your entire fleet of children? Increase communication with your work team and your home team to set everyone’s expectations about your schedule and workload. -Erica
Don’t work near the kitchen. It sounds efficient but really only is if you’re trying to put on a few (or a hundred) pounds. -Wyatt
Have an end-of-the-work-day signal to help you transition from ‘work mode’ to ‘home mode.’ Maybe it’s changing back into your sweatpants, taking the dog on a walk, or pouring a glass of wine. Whatever works for you. -Chantel
Designated happy hour area. A place to kick-back and throw a few back. Better yet, Zoom your friends and make it a party! -Wyatt
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Distractions happen at the office and they’ll inevitably happen at home. It’s weird times and you’re doing your best! -Chantel
When it comes down to it, if running your entire business from home is just too much to handle, there are more ways to lighten the load while continuing to exceed expectations!
