As a self employed blogger, working from home is no foreign concept to me. It was definitely daunting when I started though, I quickly learnt it was important to set boundaries between my home life and work life, even if they were happening in the same place! Here’s a few of my top tips for working from home.
Plan your day
I like to make a to do list either before I go to bed or in the morning when I wake up of all the things I’d like to achieve that day. Don’t be unrealistic, if you know you’re having a down day or have a couple of extra jobs to do around the house then keep your list manageable. There’s nothing more demotivating than seeing a long list that you know you won’t achieve.
Get ready as if you were going to work
It can be oh so tempting when you work from home to stay in your pj’s until noon but this does nothing for your get up and go attitude and is likely to make you extremely unmotivated for your work day. Instead, get up and washed and dressed as if you were going to work, have your breakfast and aim to get your work day started at a reasonable time.
Allow yourself breaks
Making time for breaks is vital when working from home and I don’t mean a break from writing while you reply to emails. I mean a proper break where you turn off your laptop/phone, get up and go and make a coffee or get out of the house and have a quick walk around the block. If you were in work you’d be allowing yourself a proper lunch break and be having a few coffee breaks chatting to colleagues so it’s important you allow yourself to do that at home too.
Have a switch off time
I will admit I’m the worst for this, because my work is always with me I have an awful habit of continuing to work long into the evening. I try my best to make sure I switch off properly for at least 4 nights out of 7. Ideally though I should do it all 7 nights a week!
Let others you live with know you’re working
There’s nothing worse than being in the zone with work and then getting interrupted by someone asking for something. Communicate with the other people you live with and let them know when you’re working so they can keep interruptions to a minimum. I appreciate if like me you’re a single mum with a toddler who certainly won’t get the memo that they can’t interrupt you to go and read them a story or play a game with them, if that’s the case then make the most of nap times and bed time to get as much work done as you can (but still allow yourself breaks too!)
So helpful! I am attempting to work on my blog more during lockdown because my partner is here to look after our toddler! I work too long into the evenings too 🙈
Katie x
http://www.katiefloss.com
I didn’t realise the importance of just planning your day until recently. When I set myself a to-do list, I get a whole lot more done throughout the day.
During this lockdown I have found it important to try and differentiate my weekends somehow – it’s hard to get away from your computer when you can’t just go out for the day.
Hayley || hayleyxmartin