How To Effectively Work From Home
Finding a reliable WFH setup/routine is not a walk in the park; it’s more like a sweaty marathon. Over the last 6 months of my WFH journey I’ve run into all sorts of muddy patches: from snoozing at my desk, to getting distracted by chatter outside, to struggling to maintain a healthy diet. My current setup is valuable if you're looking to enhance, modify, or start from scratch a WFH routine of your own.
So enough of the chatter. Here are my tips:
1. Separate your work zone from your fun/relaxation zone
This sounds obvious. But, how many of you still answer emails or send updates to your coworkers while on your bed? Many of you! I've been a big culprit of this in the past, but I’ve noticed such a difference in my work efficiency after distinguishing a productivity corner in my room.
The associations you make with your desk as the productivity zone and your bed as the relaxation zone seem subtle, but that’s because most of these associations are unconscious.
Another easy way to separate between work vs fun zones is to dress like you would at work. If you work in your PJ’s, it’s just one quick roll back into bed and you’ll be in a deep slumber. Look the work part and you’ll feel the work part.
2. Relax before starting the day
Take a few minutes or longer to start your day on a peaceful note. This could be with meditation, deep breathing, yoga, or whatever other means you find relaxing.
There’s an old zen saying that “You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Unless you're too busy, then you should sit for an hour.” For all you high achievers that quote may give you anxiety. But, the more stressed out you are the more you need to take a break. When you’re stressed you won’t be productive anyways. Your irritation, anxiety or anger will trickle into the work that you do, and despite what you think, the people around you or that work with you willnotice. It’s more productive to nip your qualms in the butt, take a breather, and then nose-dive into your tasks.
After a moment of relaxation, I like to set an intention for the day. By starting the day on a calm, intentional note whatever follows will likely stick to that theme. Plus, if you set an intention that really motivates you you’ll have a greater structure of resistance towards clicking off onto a Facebook notification or some other unproductive distraction.
3. Prioritize your top 3 tasks
Write down your big 3 to-do’s for the day, such that if you achieve only those 3 things in your day you’ll be satisfied. This is important because it removes the pressure for you to accomplish more tasks than you are capable of doing. Stretching yourself thin in too many places only makes you less focused in everything. An added benefit of tracking your top 3 accomplishments in the day is that you’ll be more aware of what you can handle on a daily basis. That’ll allow you to set clearer expectations to your coworkers, manager, or team as to what you can do each day.
4. Equip yourself with the right tools
Depending on where you’re located, you might hear kids screaming on the sidewalk, the TV blaring in another room, pots and pans clacking in the kitchen. It’s so frustrating when you’re doing your best to focus, but your head naturally perks up at every noise and instantly diverts your attention to that sound. For this reason I couldn’t recommend noise-canceling headphones enough. A free alternative is to play white noise in the background, which masks all sound around you.
Other setup advice:
Video meetings/calls: Zoom conferencing is the tried and true system to use. It works best for pretty much everything. I’ve done some experimentation with Hangouts, Fb call, and Skype, but none seem to be of similar quality.
Take care of your wrists and get an ergonomic setup. If you want something cheap for your temporary home set-up, a wrist rest like this (I use something similar) is nice
Basic essentials: Good WiFi, a reliable cell phone, and a functioning laptop.
For something more fancy schmancy: work treadmills are super cool!
5. Take breaks & get fresh air
Every 50 min - 1 hour of work you should take a brain break. After an hour it may feel like there’s still more brain juice left to squeeze out, but you never want to run your brain too dry. You may not be noticing the very subtle signs of overwhelm. Ignoring those small signals is ignoring a much larger later problem. None of us enjoy getting suddenly struck with a terrible migraine. We gotta be proactive and take a mental relax every hour or so!
Fresh air and sunlight are two of the best natural medicines. If you want to avoid going out and being around people, you can just take a step out into your backyard or crack open a window. A stuffy house is a stuffy mind. Make sure to also take Vitamin D supplements if you need it (you probably do).
6. Experiment with productivity techniques
If you aren't as productive as you'd like to be, you can try out productivity techniques. One good one is the Pomodoro time-management method that breaks down work into highly productive intervals. The intervals are typically 25 minutes in length and between each you get a short break. A notorious multi-tasker gave this technique a try and discovered that using the technique she was more zoned into her work than ever before. So if your day isn't packed with meetings, you might as well give this technique a shot. If it doesn't work, what's the loss?
7. Play some background music
You’re probably used to office chatter and the sounds of employees marching around. If you’re looking for an additional energy boost, music/sound does wonders to change up the scene. However, be picky about what music you choose! I usually put on some happy jazz music (like this video) because it reminds me of sitting in a crowded cafe with worker bees.
8. Schedule a check-in with a buddy
You can check-in with a work friend, your boss, a family member -- someone that will acknowledge your progress or inquire about your mental state. We all desire social connection. At work it’s easy and natural to randomly bump into a coworker, quickly chat about your day, and hear how theirs is going. Since you can’t have your normal dose of social interaction at this time, make sure to fill up your cup through other means. A Zoom video call can’t replace an in person coffee chat, but it’s better than nothing!
7. Stock up on healthy snacks
At work you can feed off of everyone else’s energy, but at home you gotta be the provider of your own energy.
I’ve noticed that most of my energy comes from snacking, meals, and drinks. Carbs, large snacks, and sugary juices knock me out and make me feel like a slug for the rest of the day.
If you’re like me and you eat/drink whatever is in front of you, surround yourself with healthy, energy boosting alternatives. Some finger food ideas: Carrot snack packs, grapes, bananas, wheat crackers, roasted almonds, hard boiled eggs, hummus dip and a huge jug of water!
8. Move your body!
Not having a morning walk to/from your office can really mess with your body. If all you have to do now to “get to work” is roll out of bed, it’s important to find a new way to keep your muscles active:
Easy, at home exercises:
Yoga -- you don’t even really need a mat for yoga. If you have a soft rug or blanket, that should be enough. My favorite free YouTube channel is Yoga with Adriene! If you’re looking for a quick body detox here’s my routine.
Weight training -- Unfortunately many stores have run out of barbells, so if you can't get some now it's time to get creative. Surely there have to be some heavy objects in your house. Lift heavy cartons of milk if you must! Otherwise you can do exercises with more simple objects. Good example: you can do dips, crunch kicks, leg raises, etc with just a chair!
Afternoon baking -- Have you noticed that professional bakers have ripped arms? Baking is truly an arm workout. If you don’t believe me, try whipping a big bowl of cream by hand (I warned you). By baking in the afternoon you’ll have a nice sweet treat to celebrate the end of your workday.
9. Have a stress relief tool handy
We’re already more on edge, so be prepared for stressful moments ahead
Some ideas: stress relief balls, calming aromas, punching bags, or fidget toys. You might not even need a physical tool. If 10 push-ups gives you a quick stress relief then go and do that instead. My favorite thing is to jump bubble wrap -- bubble wrap rolls at Target are only $5!
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While my WFH routine will not the perfect solution for everyone, I hope that it at the very least inspired you to improve or get creative with your own setup. Change is scary, so if you’re needing additional or more personalized support and motivation feel free to reach out to me. As a Strategic Intervention Coach it’s my passion to help you deal with life obstacles and take steps towards your goals. If you're experiencing anxiety from the coronavirus, trouble focusing at home, or simply want an accountability partner send me a message or email (anna@intentionallyanna.com) and I’ll try my best to support you. Stay safe and healthy everyone!