These are weird times – to say the least. While most of us are getting accustomed to a completely new and unfamiliar day-to-day life with Facetime hangouts and daily walks, we also have to get used to the brave new world of working from home. After a month of trial and error, we at Southcoast Conferences feel like we finally got the hang of it and are here to share our best tips and tricks on how to stay productive and focussed while working from home.
Structure your day from the get-go
The most important thing is to remain structured. While Erika loves long to-do lists and sets herself one daily project to stay creative, Louise prefers splitting her day into chunks of 1-2 hours, dedicating each chunk to different tasks and projects. It’s about finding what works for you, but also most importantly: sticking to it.
Keep to a daily routine
Laura always makes sure to get fully dressed in the morning. Lounging around in her PJ trousers all day just doesn’t increase motivation. Laura also makes sure to keep to a morning routine to start the day off right: “I'm getting up at the same time in the morning, making my pot of coffee and having a listen to the radio before I fire up the PC for work.”
Keep active
Keeping active is vital in keeping your head clear and your motivation high, making working from home just a little bit easier. Louise suggests taking your daily exercise right when you finish work to separate your work day from your evening. Laura also highlights the importance of moving throughout the day and likes the get out from behind her screen once every hour to move about a bit – she has even resorted to running up and down the stairs in her apartment building: “I look like a crazy person but it works for me.”
Stay in touch
Yasmin’s favourite tip is to make sure to break up your day with social interaction like you would in the office. If you are lucky enough to work from home with family or friends, take the time to chat over a cup of tea. If you are alone you can call a friend or loved one for a chat during breaks. And of course, stay in touch with your colleagues, whether this is over a platform like Microsoft Teams, email or Skype. Checking in and talking about life for a moment with your co-workers will provide a sense of normality which is more than needed these days.
Have something to look forward to
It is so, so important to make sure your day has more content than work and bare minimum house chores. Make sure you have something to look forward to when the workday ends. This can be a new episode of a Netflix show you are obsessed with, a delicious dinner or simply just a great cup of tea in front of the window to wind down and relax.
And finally… Coffee
Lots and lots of coffee.