With nearly all of the UK population joining the working from home club now that coronavirus is peaking, I’ve listed some of my top tips to surviving what can be quite a lonely time and staying productive.
Set an alarm
Trust me when I say I am guilty of definitely slipping into sloth life and snoozing that alarm. I put it down to the fact that I’m a night owl but lets be honest, replying to Linda at 10pm is not only useless if you need a response but just slows down the productivity of your day/week. Set an alarm that gives you enough time to get up, scroll through your phone, enter tiktok hole, get up, brush your teeth/ shower etc., get dress, and have breakfast before the working day starts. Basically, what you would do normally but with a slightly extra lie in because you don’t have the commute (I believe in as much sleep as possible although just be ready for the day the office doors open and you have to get up an extra half an hour earlier or so).
Shower please
Just because we aren’t coming into contact with people doesn’t mean that we stop maintaining personal hygiene – especially now. With washing your hands for 20 secs, was that sweet body too. Clean face, clean body, clean mind.
Ditch the trackies and get dressed
By spending the day in trackies all day everyday we risk falling into a slump as wearing these clothes are usually associated with lazy Sundays or hangovers (well for me at least). I’m not saying wake up and put on your best suit to walk into the living room but even putting on a pair of jeans rather than your usual baggy joggers will already change your mindset to be more productive I find. Sometimes if I’m not feeling jeans I wear my activewear around the house with trainers as I find it encourages me to move more. Weird right? A small change like this can just perk up the day and get your mind focused.
20 minute stretch or work out
Because we aren’t moving as much as usual, with our daily commute cut from 30 minutes or more to under 2 minutes, we need to remember to move. If you can fit in a 20minute work out then great, if not maybe some stretching when you wake up or after sitting down for a few hours. It’s important to keep our body moving for our joints and to release any pent up anxiety from being stuck indoors.
Avoid the sofa
I know she’s very inviting but try to avoid doing work on the sofa. Obvious reasons are that whilst we are likely to be spending a lot of time at home for the foreseeable future, you want to keep work-time and down-time separate. Relax during lunch on the sofa to break up the day but try to make sure your office is set up – next to natural light is even better. Plus it’s much better for your posture guys.
Kill the silence
Working from home can get lonely. Sometimes I will go the whole day and then realise I haven’t spoken to anyone. Put the radio on in the background to distract you from the fact that you’re home alone. This way you also avoid feeling like you have to find a distraction and you get to ignite that voice box every now and again when singing along to that Little Mix banger.
What tips do you have for surviving working from home?
Wear Juti Eats 