6+1 Easy Rules to Follow to Step Up Your Home Office Game
If you’ve been working from home since before the pandemic, you’re one of the lucky few that might already have a proven routine. For the rest of us, it’s still a real challenge to organize our workdays, maintain efficiency, and avoid procrastination and working overtime.
As with most problems, the first and most important step is to recognize that there’s room for improvement. Once there, you can follow these six simple rules designed to help you take your home office and your daily routine to the next level and be just as efficient as if you were working from the office.
1. — Choose your spot
Not everyone can afford to have a dedicated room for a home office, so usually, the kitchen, the living room or a bedroom becomes the work area. The most important step, of course, is choosing the right place to set up as your work corner. It’s all about finding a balance between your lifestyle and the way you work most efficiently. For example, if you have a family but you often take work-related calls, you should aim for the area in your home that provides enough privacy.
When it comes to your actual work setup, the minimum should be a desk with a comfortable chair. Depending on the type of work you’re doing, you may also need drawers and organizers. Also think about what other details will make your work more comfortable, whether it’s a footstool or a desk lamp if you are used to using them in the office. Get creative in decorating your workspace — adding some of your favorite photos or something as simple as a small plant can make a world of difference.
2. — Dress for success
As tempting as it may be to spend the entire day in pajamas, don’t give in. Morning rituals like having a cup of coffee, taking a shower are an important part of switching your brain into work mode, and changing is a crucial one.
That’s not to say you should dress up as you would for a day at the office, but a reasonable compromise between comfort and elegance is enough to help you focus and keep you in the zone for the entire workday. Perhaps the most obvious option here is a comfortable pair of jeans with a nice t-shirt.
And, if you usually wear perfume to work, who’s to stop you from putting on a few drops even when you work from home?
3. — Set up a schedule and stick to it
A well-set-up schedule will help to draw a clear line between work and personal life. Making it and sticking to it, however, are two different stories.
A day planner app will most certainly help, as will various time-management tools. They help you keep track of everything, including when and under what circumstances you are most productive. With enough discipline you can build on this information to fine-tune your schedule to perfection
Same as with your free-time vs. work clothes, you should use your work hours for work and nothing else and vice versa. It’s tempting to use your breaks efficiently when working from home, but plan your household chores either before or after your shift as much as you can.
Another trick to maintain a good work-life balance is to use your work email and chats only during the designated hours, and if you can, avoid using them on the same device.
4. — Eliminate distractions
If work requires increased attention and concentration, it is worth limiting all external distractions, such as social media, work-related calls, etc. If you have a family or roommates, discuss your daily routine with them so they know when your work needs your full attention. The same applies to relatives and friends who are eager to talk to you in the middle of the workday.
5. — Take regular breaks
It may seem that the habit of taking breaks contradicts the idea of productivity, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. There are two main things that are important: duration and frequency.
Take five-minute breaks every half hour and 15-minute breaks every two hours. This time should be spent away from the phone and laptop screen. It is better to devote it to a little physical activity. If there is a balcony, go out for some fresh air. A separate moment is the lunch break. It can last from 30 minutes to an hour.
6. — Forget multitasking
The home environment can indeed help to concentrate better. But do not overestimate your capacity and burden yourself with too many tasks at once. Multitasking is never sustainable long-term, or at the very least, comes with a compromise — if you want to do your work well and do it quickly, yet it become you’re your mantra to focus on your task and nothing else.
+1 — Draw a clear line
The environment we work in inevitably has an effect on the way we perform and the way we feel about our work. However, making the most out of both does require a bit of conscious planning and a proactive attitude. While the line will blur to some degree no matter what, remember that your home office should be just that: an office within your home and not the other way around.
Once the work day is over, move to a different place in your home, even if you’re still using your computer, say, to pay bills or watch an episode of your favorite show. Speaking of your computer, create a separate account for work and log out once the workday is over. Your mental health will thank you later.
