My top tips for working from home

What strange and unsettling times we find ourselves in. As people all over the world grapple with the impact of the current situation, many are finding themselves working from home for the first time – and it’s one of the few areas where I feel I can offer any useful advice, having done it for almost three years now.

When I left my job to go freelance back in August 2017, I naively thought that working from home would be easy. I’d done the odd day here and there while waiting in for deliveries, and I’m generally happy in my own company, but I didn’t appreciate quite how much of an adjustment not going into a busy office every day would be. It’s taken a bit of trial and error, but I’ve gradually got used to it and discovered some strategies for staying happy, productive and focused. For those of you who’ve found yourselves plunged into it with very little warning, here are my top tried-and-tested tips for effective home-working…

Set up a dedicated workspace

I find having a dedicated workspace is vital, as it helps me get into the right frame of mind each morning. As I’m permanently home-based I’ve turned our third bedroom into an office, but if you don’t have the room for that – or if you don’t want to bother making big changes for a temporary situation – you could try designating a particular corner or surface as your work station. Where it is and how it’s decorated can have a big impact on your efficiency and wellbeing, so experiment a bit to find out what suits you. I function best in a calm, clutter-free environment, but others might prefer to be surrounded by colour – it’s a very personal thing. Even if you end up working from a dining table or the kitchen counter, think about any small adaptations you could make to ensure it’s as comfortable and inspiring as possible – perhaps hanging a favourite artwork on the wall or shifting furniture so that you have a view out of a window.

Have one or two ‘break-out’ zones

In addition to my normal workspace, I have a couple of other areas around the house – an easy chair by a window, and a bench in the garden – where I go if I need to brainstorm, make notes or read. A change of scene definitely helps me refocus if I feel stuck or uninspired, and it stops the days from becoming too monotonous.

Create some separation between work and home life

When you’re home-based, it’s easy to fall into the trap of never properly switching off, and it’s certainly something I’ve struggled with over the past three years. So, I tend to stick to similar hours each day and try hard not to work outside them. I’ve also found it helps to impose some physical boundaries between work and leisure time. Having an office that I can close the door on is a big part of that for me, but even just shutting your laptop away in a cupboard or putting on some relaxing music can help signal to your brain that the working day is over. And whatever you do, try to resist the temptation to log back onto your computer if you remember something you’ve forgotten to do. Instead, make a quick note and come back to it in the morning.

Structure your day around when you’re most productive

Staying focused can be tricky, especially without any meetings or commutes to break up your day. I find it helps to structure things around when I’m most productive, and that differs from person to person. For me it’s late morning and late afternoon, so I save tasks that need a lot of concentration – writing, styling, taking photos – for those slots, and do easier things like photo editing at other times. And I always ease myself into the day with a coffee while I catch up social media and emails – sometimes in the garden, but more often than not in bed! Other home-workers I know like to rise early and power through for a few hours before stopping for breakfast – again, it’s a case of experimenting to see what’s best for you. The extent to which you can set your own routine will of course depend on your job and employer, but you’ll probably have a bit more flexibility at home than you normally would, so make the most of it.

Schedule breaks

Without colleagues around I can easily get absorbed in what I’m doing and forget to take breaks, so I set alarms to remind me to make a cuppa and have a wander around the house or garden. I also try to have a proper lunch break and either head out for a walk, sit on the sofa with a book or spend some time on a hobby (at the moment I’m learning Swedish). It can be tempting to work straight through, especially if I have a looming deadline, but I know I’ll be more productive after some time away from my desk. And it’s amazing how often the answer to a dilemma that I’ve been struggling with for hours will pop into my head as soon as I do something else for a few minutes!

Build some social interaction into your day

I’m generally fairly introverted, but I can still feel lonely when it’s just me for hours on end. If Chris is away, for example, I can go for days without chatting to anyone other than the cat! So, I think it’s really important to build some form of social interaction into your day. Heading out for a coffee or having a face-to-face catch-up might be a no-no given the current situation, but you could schedule Skype chats or phone calls with friends. You could even create an online support group for other people in your industry, so you can help each other and reach out if you need advice.

Be sensitive to other people’s needs

Working from home when a partner or housemate is doing the same can be a challenge, especially if you have very different roles or work in very different ways. Chris is now temporarily home-based too, and it’s meant a bit of adjustment for me as I’m used to having the house to myself. His job involves lots of conference calls, so he sits in the dining room and closes the door when he’s talking, meaning I can still listen to music upstairs. We also chat in advance about what we’ve got on each day, and I make an effort to schedule photoshoots around his calls so that I don’t disturb him by moving furniture around.

Enjoy the perks

Finally, whether you like working from home or find it disconcerting, try to make the most of the situation. If you’re normally based in an office, it’s a rare opportunity to create a working environment that’s tailored to you without having to worry about your colleagues. So, put on your favourite music, light a scented candle, wrap yourself in a snuggly blanket, have the cat purring on your lap, throw the windows open and listen to the birds… whatever you want to do! There are plenty of perks to working from home, so enjoy them while you can.

If you work from home and have any tips of your own to share then please do leave a comment below. I’m aware that I haven’t touched on how to cope if you have children as I’m not a parent myself, so any thoughts on that would be particularly welcome. I’m also aware that working from home is a privilege that isn’t open to everyone, but perhaps at the moment all those of us who can should – not least to reduce the risks for those who can’t. 

All images by Abi Dare