Working from home tips every successful home worker follows

There has never been a greater need for working from home tips. According to research from The Martec Group, only 16% of employees said they loved working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Although I love WFH life now, that wasn’t always the case. I struggled to adapt and initially questioned whether it was the lifestyle for me. 

I spent lots of time searching for working from home tips to help me transition from office life. I needed help to feel more motivated, productive and connected to the outside world. 

Only 16% of employees said they loved working from home during the coronavirus pandemic 

As I applied the hints and tips I found, I started to settle into remote working. I discovered ways to overcome some of the WFH challenges and developed my own strategies for working from home effectively. 

This list sums up the best tricks in the trade for learning to love WFH. Whether you struggle with switching off, finding balance or being productive, these working from home tips will help you to become a more successful home worker.

WORKING FROM HOME TIPS TO MASTER WFH LIFE

 

 

Don’t be tempted by the lie in

Without the need to catch an early train, it can be very tempting to roll from bed straight to your desk.

Don’t give in to temptation! While I’m not suggesting you wake up at the crack of dawn, getting up earlier can help you to ease into the day. 

I personally get up between 6.30am and 7am. You may think that’s mad given I don’t start work until 9am, but I like to use the time to do some non-work things that I enjoy. Whether it’s exercise, reading or simply catching up on the news, having some ‘me time’ before work helps me to set the right tone for the day ahead.

 

Find your rhythm

The most effective home workers establish a routine that works for them and stick to it. No matter what.

You have to stick to a regular working schedule if you want to get the best out of home working

Research has shown that routine can have significant mental health benefits, including alleviating stress and anxiety. The consistency of a routine can also help to boost creativity. 

Whether you’re contracted to work a 9-5 schedule or you have the flexibility to choose your own hours, you have to stick to a regular working schedule if you want to get the best out of home working. It doesn’t matter what your pattern is. As long as it works for you and you keep to your schedule every day, it’s going to do wonders for your productivity.

Operate a clean desk policy

Every evening once I’ve finished work, I put all my equipment away. I hide my laptop, notebooks – everything – in drawers as a signal that the work day has ended and home life has begun. 

Having a clean desk is not only a good tactic for separating work from personal life, but it also helps you to think more clearly. Papers piling up over weeks and months does nothing for your productivity and hardly inspires you to get the job done.

 

Write tomorrow’s to-do list today

Right before I put all my work equipment away, I write down my to-do list for the following day. I find this really helps me to stop spending my evenings worrying about all the things I need to do. By spending a couple of minutes thinking about what needs to be done tomorrow and prioritising my list, my mind is free to enjoy my evening.

Accessorise your desk

While I’m a huge advocate of the clean desk policy, accessorising your desk a little helps to brighten your day. 

Whether it’s a family photo, art print or quirky lamp, find a desk accessory that makes you smile. Adding a couple of homely touches also helps to integrate your desk into the rest of your room if you’re like me and work from an open plan, multi-functional living space. 

My accessory of choice is a set of affirmation cards. Not only are they pretty, but they spur me on, particularly if I’m having a difficult day.

Up your stationery game

I’ve always been a stationery fanatic. My love for pretty pens is something I thought I would eventually grow out of. I’m still waiting for that day to come!

Apart from our laptops and phones, stationery is the thing we interact most with during our working day. If we’re spending so much time scribbling down our ideas and to-do lists, we should make sure we’re doing it in style!

There are so many amazing stationery brands that I love. For some inspiration, check out my post on home office essentials to brighten your day.

Wear clothes you wouldn’t be ashamed to go outside in

A working from home tips list wouldn’t be complete without discussing clothing. Some people relish the idea of working from home in their PJs. However, this is going to do absolutely nothing for your productivity if you do this day in, day out. 

If you want to be a successful and motivated home worker, you have to wear clothes you would be perfectly happy to wear in public. While I’m not suggesting you get dolled up to the nines every day, making some effort in your appearance will help you to get into ‘work mode’. Besides, it’s always good to be prepared for those unannounced video calls. Who wants to be caught on Zoom in their dressing gown?!

Avoid the sofa!

This is one of the most important working from home tips in this list. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A DEDICATED WORK SPACE IN ORDER TO WORK FROM HOME EFFECTIVELY!!

Working from your sofa or bed isn’t going to cut it. Mixing your work area and relaxation space (or work with pleasure if you will) is never a good idea.

I live in a small apartment and have a desk in my open plan living room/dining room/kitchen. It’s far from the perfect set-up but I still have that split between work and leisure. I spent over a year working from home in a house share, which basically meant I lived/worked/socialised in the same room. It was a small space but I made it work with nifty divisions of my space (a folding desk really helps – you should check them out). 

Working from anywhere other than a desk is also bad for your back. Invest in the right kit now to avoid potential health problems later down the line. Find out more about how to avoid back pain when WFH here.

Get squatting!

Working from home means that we can – if we let ourselves – lead even more sedentary lifestyles than if we had to commute. Research shows that leading a sedentary lifestyle can contribute to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some types of cancer and even early death. There’s also a link between a lack of physical activity and developing a mental health disorder. 

This is why we HAVE to make extra effort to exercise. Getting more movement in your day is also great for improving your sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 67% of vigorous exercisers report having a good night’s sleep. 

Use your breaks to get moving and re-focus. Whether it’s a quick 10-minute walk or some squats while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil, it’s surprising how often a movement break has helped me recover from a work rut. 

If you don’t enjoy running or hitting the gym, check out my guide to the best YouTube workouts for some inspiration.

Never forego your lunch hour

If exercise is going to be a bigger part of your WFH life, you’re going to need to refuel. 

NEVER skip meals because you think you don’t have enough time or you’ve got too much to do. Food is everything and working through lunch is only going to make you hangry. 

Try and cook a healthy homemade lunch. Don’t be one of the 39% of UK home workers who said they opt for a bag of crisps for lunch most days!

Avoid the temptation to eat your lunch at your desk. That might have been normal when you worked in an office, but you’re at home now – relax! Even if you only take a short break, stepping away from your desk and eating your lunch elsewhere will help you to reset for the afternoon ahead.

Ditch the email and talk!

It’s no secret that working from home can cause feelings of loneliness. The State of Remote Work 2020 report found that loneliness, along with collaboration and communication, were the biggest struggles of working remotely. Another study by the Founders Forum found that 73% of start-up founders miss social interactions and 51% miss the face-to-face collaboration of the office.

Finding small ways to connect with others throughout the working day is important for trying to combat loneliness. Instead of emailing colleagues or clients, try scheduling some video calls. Seeing someone’s face, even if it’s via a screen, can help to humanise your daily work interactions. 

In normal circumstances, I would suggest trying a co-working space or finding a local remote workers group. These are both great ways of helping you feel connected with the outside world and were an immense help to me as I transitioned to home working. 

Given we’re living in a global pandemic, we have to think a little more outside the box. I recently discovered Big Orange Heart, a charity providing mental health support for remote workers. Members can sign up (for free or with a small donation) to access their Slack channel, which is a great way to connect with other home workers.

Mix it up every once in a while

Even the most dedicated workers get stagnant every now and again. When you spend most of the time inside the same four walls and don’t have colleagues physically close by to bounce ideas off, it can be hard to stay motivated and get those creative juices flowing. 

Anything you can do to mix it up can help to reinvigorate you

My go-to ‘mix it up’ tactic has been to spend one day a week at a co-working space. Since COVID-19, I’ve had to be more creative.

I’ve recently been testing out a standing desk from Deskmate, which seems to be working out well (watch this space for a review). 

Try something new to help break the monotony of the working day. Maybe cook a different lunch or listen to a new playlist. Anything you can do to mix it up can help to reinvigorate you.

Have some go-to background noise

Sometimes I look at my laptop screen completely blankly, unable to make myself work. I know I have a tight deadline, yet my fingers are not quite able to put pen to paper.

When I find myself in one of these productivity ruts, I tend to put on a classical music radio station or my favourite piano album on Amazon Music (Peaceful Piano – you should check it out if that’s your vibe). It’s amazing how having a little background noise can help you to focus.

If classical music isn’t for you, what about the sound of a coffee machine? Since the coronavirus pandemic forced mass home working, office noise generators have popped up all over the internet. MyNoise, developed by research engineer Stéphane Pigeon, has been a huge hit with new home workers.

Another site, The Sound of Colleagues, has attracted over 1 million views since it was set up at the height of the pandemic. It’s clearly turning into a genuine productivity hack for many WFH-ers all over the world!

Invest in decent fans/heaters

You won’t realise just how much you miss office air conditioning until you’re trying to work in your sweltering apartment in a heatwave. 

If you don’t already have decent A/C or fans, buy some right now. Even if the weather is terrible where you are at the moment, BUY THEM. You’ll thank me the moment a heatwave strikes and all your local shops sell out of fans.

Same goes for heating. Last winter I went FOUR MONTHS without proper heating. Trust me, it really isn’t fun trying to focus when your fingers are freezing over. Don’t be me and make sure you have decent heating before you need it. 

If you have a nice employer, they may even be able to help you with the cost. 

Don’t be afraid to share your troubles

The mental health challenges that can arise with home working are well-documented. Research from Nuffield Health indicates that 80% of Britons feel that home working has had a negative impact on their mental health (albeit these results were published in June 2020 just after the peak of COVID-19).

Against this backdrop, it’s really important to protect your mental health. If you’re going through a difficult time and need to talk, speak up. Lean on your colleagues and friends to help support you. 

I went through some emotional challenges recently and was debating whether I should say anything to my colleagues. I’m not one for opening up and sharing how I feel. I know I should, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. In the end, I decided to share and I’m so glad I did. Not only did I feel supported, but my colleagues understood why I was not as upbeat as normal. 

A problem shared is a problem halved as they say. If you don’t feel you have anyone you can talk to, explore the mental health support you can find through charities such as Mind. They’re there to help. 

Find your transition activity

Out of all of the working from home tips in this list, this is the one you need to master to be a happy home worker. 

Having a consistent activity you do to unwind at the end of the working day and transition into home life can help you lead a much more balanced life

Being able to switch off from work at the end of the day is crucial for achieving a balanced life. This is also one of the areas remote workers struggle with most. According to State of Remote Work 2020, 18% of remote workers find it difficult to unplug at the end of the day.

If you implement some of the other working from home tips listed here, particularly around sticking to a routine and planning out tomorrow’s work at the end of the day, you should already be on the right track. But having a consistent activity you do to unwind at the end of the working day and transition into home life can help you lead a much more balanced life. 

Whether it’s cooking a meal from scratch, going for a walk or calling up a friend, finding your transition activity will work wonders for your WFH happiness.

Keep the end-goal in sight

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, moving from one item of your to-do list to the next. Remote working can, if left unchecked, cause you to lose sight of the bigger picture. 

Home workers have to work harder to have a career plan with clear goals. Without the rhythm of the quarterly reviews you tend to get with a regular office job, the onus is on us to take ownership of where we want to go in our careers.

Write down your career goals for the next 6 months, 1 year, 3 years and 5 years. Regularly refer to them and honestly assess whether you’re on track for achieving them.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE WORKING FROM HOME TIPS?

I hope you’ve found this list of working from home tips useful! What’s your favourite tip? Are there any I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments below or get in touch!