It’s safe to say that life has changed in just a few short weeks for many, if not all of us. The large majority of us are hunkered down in our homes (shoutout to those essential employees still going to work to keep things running smoothly!) The advent of technology means a lot of us are still working, for which I’m sure we’re all grateful. But working from home doesn’t come without challenges in normal circumstances, and it’s especially challenging when you add in kids, “homeschooling” and a partner with a similarly demanding schedule and workload.
Today, we’re sharing our work from home tips, because we’re seasoned pros at this point. I’ve been working from home for nearly eight years, including several months juggling a newborn. Kate spent a large portion of the last year working from home, including snow days, sick kid days and everything in between. The juggle is real!
Get dressed. I’ve seen this one on just about every list of tips and it’s true. Even if it’s your workout clothes (because that schedule is also out of whack!) or sweats, change into them, splash some water on your face and brush your teeth. It marks a distinct change in the tone of your day.
Make your bed and do a quick clean up. Clutter is stress-inducing, even subconsciously. Set a 15 minute timer, clean up your desk and the area around it so you have a clean space to work. If mornings are tough in your house, do a quick clean up the night before so you can get right to work.
Set up a work station that is out of sight. This might not be possible for everyone, but if you can find a little hidden space, use it! Put a small table or desk in the guest room, basement or other unused space. It gives you somewhere to “go” to work and you can “leave” it at the end of the day. It’s less stress-inducing when it isn’t looming over you all day and night, and makes it a little bit easier to “turn off” in the evening.
Minimize distractions. This is incredibly hard in this new world of kids at home and a partner on a conference call in the other room, but if you can do it, it will maximize the short amounts of time we can work. It’s another reason we recommend finding a hidden space to work. It’s distracting to set up shop in the middle of the dining room, where everyone is coming and going.
Give yourself a set time to start and finish work (unless your company has specific work hours). This is helpful for all of us, but especially those who easily get sucked into working constantly. It’s okay to stop at 6pm. Go for a walk or make yourself a nice dinner!
Try to carve our out chunks of time dedicated to work. My husband and I sit down every night to schedule the next day. It doesn’t have to be a strict four hour block (that’s virtually impossible), but at least a two hour chunk for each of us, and then some smaller chunks thereafter. Plus, we both get to capitalize on our little one's nap time, unless there’s a nap strike, in which case we all just cry and start happy hour early.
It's also okay to multi-task. The flip side of limiting distractions, is that sometimes you have to juggle other real-life things in your household. Throw in a load of laundry or wash the dishes, just don't get lost in household work and lose sight of important work-related tasks for the day.
Capitalize on night time. Regardless of what happens during the day, I can consistently rely on the 7-11pm window at night. I don’t recommend relying on that time block everyday, because it’s really easy to burn out. And if this time block doesn’t work for you right now, that’s perfectly ok. We’re exhausted by the end of a normal day. These days are far from normal, and there’s a tremendous amount of stress around this scary and unknown time. It’s exhausting. Don’t beat yourself up if you really just need zone out.
Take breaks. Even short ones. A quick walk outside, a home workout, a snack or meditation. It’s ridiculously hard to pull yourself away, and we are more than guilty of staying at our desk for too long. But it will ultimately keep you going longer and help you get more work done.
Ultimately, this is uncharted territory even for the most seasoned work from home pro. It won’t be perfect, and every day will probably be a bit of a struggle. But we’re all in this together and it truly is for the greater good. Hang in there!