I personally am a full time university student that also works from home. That means i spend quite a lot of my time near my study/office space. In order to make sure i stay organised, productive and sane throughout my day, i have implemented and discovered various tactics to effectively work from home and keep up with my other responsibilities. I am aware of the fact that quite number of people that actually work from home are entrepreneurs, parents and especially stay at home mothers. Therefore, everyone has different loads of stress and schedules for their work at home. In order to accommodate to everyone i have broken down a list of some of my personal tips and tricks.
5 TIPS FOR PEOPLE THAT WORK FROM HOME:
1. GET A STANDING DESK OR WORK STANDING UP
It is so easy to sit at your desk the whole day whilst working away. I am sure most of have heard numerous amount of times regarding the major issues that sitting down for long period of time can cause. It is just straight out not healthy for humans to sit down for extended period of time without any movement in the body.
Invest in a standing desk if you can. Especially the ones you can roll up or down to your desired height at any time. However, i know that hose desks can be quite expensive as myself have not yet bought a standing desk. I personally DIY my standing workspace area. All i do is find something to elevate my laptop and notepad so that i can stand and work for sometime.
Another reason why i also highly recommend working standing up for sometime due to the fact that sitting down can often cause major strain for your back and neck. Give yourself a break by standing up whilst working so that you can avoid sore neck and back ache. It is way too easy to get carried away sitting at your desk for long period of time especially if you work from home.
Another reason why i also highly recommend working standing up for sometime due to the fact that sitting down can often cause major strain for your back and neck. Give yourself a break by standing up whilst working so that you can avoid sore neck and back ache. It is way too easy to get carried away sitting at your desk for long period of time especially if you work from home.
Listed below are some articles that explains some of the dangers related to sitting too long
I am currently typing up this blog post whilst standing in my DIY standing desk space. Practicing what i am preaching!
Timesheet? Sounds a bit too corporate doesn't it? Just trying to recommend some effective form of time tracking method. I have 3 major reason behind why i am recommending to implement some sort method to track your time.
- The obvious reason is to stay organised and productive. By tracking how you spending your time would help you to stay focused.
- Tracking your time will also help you to stop overworking pattern and take necessary breaks.
- If you work with clients and businesses, it is good idea to implement timesheet method to track your time spent on projects.
3. SET A SCHEDULED TIME FOR LUNCH
It is so easy to get lost in between work that missing lunch or having late lunch could become a frequent habit for people that work from home. It is important to schedule yourself a dedicated lunch break hour and take time to take care of yourself. Taking care of your body and nourishing yourself in timely manner is important for your own sanity. Don't
4. PLAN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE
When you work unsupervised under own terms and conditions, it is so easy to get side tracked and do whatever you want. Procrastinating and getting distracted by social media is a common problem faced by many people. Best advice i can give is to plan and schedule your social media usage to avoid entering the loop of endless scrolling in your social media feed as time pass by.
Some suggestions regarding how to effectively schedule your social media breaks:
- Work in intervals and schedule your social media time during break to check your notifications and reply back to any messages.
- Set yourself official "office hours" like for example 12-5pm. Only allow yourself to check social media accounts after "office hours"
- Minimise your social media accounts and news feed. The less clutter you have in your social media feed will help to reduce your social media activity.
When you work from home, you are literally by yourself in one space constantly working. Unless you have a family, sometimes you may not even have exposure to people and nature for hours and hours. It is important to go outside and get some fresh air. Consider changing up your work space by taking your work outdoor, coffee shops or even at a public library.
Maybe run some casual errands during your break to be able to get out of the house and recharge yourself. If you have a dog or even children at home, just go for casual walk around the block or at a park to get some movement and exercise.
It is also important to schedule social time to interact with other people. Maybe plan out coffee or lunch dates with your friends and family during breaks such as during lunch. Social interactions with others beside only communicating via social media will help you to maintain balance in life when you working from home.
