Working from home is the new permanent working style for many of us. Incorporate some healthy habits to your home office by following some of our simple tips.
Not keen on the idea of turning your home into your office and living space? It can be quite daunting and many of us may adapt where others may not. Introducing some of these healthy habits can better improve and support working from home productivity by:
- Creating a structured routine
- Keeping all your work in one area
- Communicating
- Organising and scheduling tasks
Healthy habits when working from home. Want to discover our top tips? Let’s dive right in!
Apply Do Not Disturb factors to your day
When it comes to working from home, your family may feel, because you are at home in a room, they can come in and do as they wish. When working, you need some time to get into the zone. The ‘zone’ as we call it, is where you have no distractions and your mind enters an area of productivity and creativity meaning you are in full control of what you are working on. You can take common distractions away with a few little features like, having a door plack saying do not disturb or, please knock. Things like this will help your friends and family understand when your at work, to not come in!
Bring structure to your day
Continue to get up in the morning, make yourself a coffee, rustle up some breakfast and get your children to school/college (if required). Take a lunch break as you would in the office and go for a stroll and get some fresh air. Working through your lunch and breaks may seem appropriate for the first couple of weeks but it isn’t the way forward.
Keeping a structured routine to your day will keep you focused. Don’t allow these bizarre changes take away a sense of normalcy in your day to day life.
A dedicated workspace
Floating from your kitchen table, to your bedroom, to the lounge isn’t the typical working style in the office so why work at home this way? When entering the office every morning you have a desk with your computer, paperwork and other bits you may require. You may be accompanied by your colleagues around you, but they all have a mindset to work and focus too, unlike your children who are really excited to have mummy or daddy at home.
Choose one place in your home where there are no distractions, and a good amount of working space for a simple desk and chair. This may not be as easy for some as you are already limited to space in your home as it is. Investing in additional space or utilising the area outdoors in your garden with a log cabin or a garden room could be an option to consider too.
With a designated office space in your home you’re not only avoiding distractions, but maintaining that healthy lifestyle balance. Working and home life need to be kept separate but is difficult when all being done under the same roof. Make it a priority to choose one space otherwise you will find yourself working 24/7 which isn’t healthy for you at all.
Stay in the loop
Keep the communication aspect of your office and team alive, and make an extra effort to host virtual meetings or phone calls even to just discuss the smallest of things. Remember, you are not alone! Still cooperate with your colleagues and discuss ideas and projects as you would in the office.
Find the best way to work as a team virtually whether that is having a group chat or weekly/daily meetings as this will keep you sane and feel a bit of unity.
Keep organised and stick to your own deadlines
Being in your homely environment can mean you lose track of your tasks and responsibilities. Similar to having a structured routine, having an organised task list with deadlines will enable you to stay productive and achieve the same results you do when in the office.
Depending on your role and responsibilities all task lists and deadlines will be different, so you may find you achieve more during the week in comparison to a colleague of yours. No matter how busy you may be, it is important to have regular breaks away from your desk and even your home to get a change of scenery.
Check out our article on 7 Reasons to Invest in a Garden Office.
Making these small changes to our new working style can make a big difference. Trying to continue as normal is definitely easier said than done. However, slowly adapting our ways one step at a time will make our mental and physical well being of working at home that little more stable and healthier.
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