Lifestyle

‘I’ve been WFH for years, here’s how I get things done’



As a writer and consultant I’ve worked from home for the best part of a decade and have been through a fair bit of trial and error. 

Here are my tried-and-tested tips on how to be productive, stay sane, and, most importantly, look after your mental health and keep your ‘happy’, while working from the confines of your home.

Morning routine

Try and stick to usual bedtimes and early mornings. It’s tempting to binge watch ‘just one more episode’ and have a lie in in the morning, but waking up to 20 emails from colleagues and clients because you got to your laptop late just gets the day off on the wrong foot. Keeping with your usual routine will help your sanity levels, I promise!


Make the most of your morning ‘commute’ time. Whether it’s a coffee and journaling session to set up your day, finally picking up that meditation habit you’ve never had the time for, or getting out for a quick walk around the block for some fresh air before you sit down to your desk, your happiness levels will thank you.

Shower, dress, and pop on a bit of makeup (if you usually wear it) every single day, regardless of whether you’ve got online meetings. It’ll help you feel human, and you’ll be ready to jump on calls with friends, family or colleagues at any time.

After so many years I’ve got a whole working-from-home wardrobe sorted, which mainly consists of soft slacks-style trousers and cosy jumpers. You’ll want to be comfy enough to work without distraction, but professional-feeling enough to keep up the productivity. Invest in a few affordable basics means having one less thing to think about in the morning, and being dressed also means you can dash to the shop (keeping a safe two-metre distance from everyone, of course) if you run out of milk, without needing to spend half an hour getting ready.

Creating an enjoyable work space

Try to set up a productive workspace. Whether it’s a corner of the kitchen table where you can spread out, or a desk in your room, it’ll be much easier to work if you have everything you need in front of you. Some people can get their work done sitting in their pants on the sofa in front of daytime television. I am not one of those people. You can pick up a folding desk pretty cheaply online where you can create your space for now, and in a few weeks time, when routines have returned to normal, they can be easily folded and stored.

Create an enjoyable atmosphere. Crack open the blinds, throw open the windows, choose a playlist you love – Spotify has hundreds of ready-made playlists to choose from to help set your mood. Light a candle, make a coffee and get down to it.

Try to stick to all your usual deadlines and break times. So, work on your usual tasks in the morning and stop for a tea break at 11am, and then again after lunch at 3pm, etc. Having some snacks and biscuits in stock is definitely good for productivity…

Walks with a coffee and a podcast is a great way to get outside after lunch and helps prevent that afternoon slump. Though naps are also proven to be good for creativity, productivity and mental health, so if that’s what you want to do, we won’t tell anyone.

Helpful apps

If you struggle to focus, here are some of the tools and tricks I’ve picked up over the years. No need to use them all simultaneously, but you can pick and choose what you need when you need it:​​

  • Noisili is a chrome extension that generates the sounds of a coffee shop as background noise. You can tailor the sounds to your mood, and the calming babble of noise will help make you feel less like you’re in your bedroom and more like you’re in a creative east London cafe.

     
  • Use the Pomodoro technique for time management, working in 25 minute bursts and then stopping for a quick phone break.

     
  • Forest app – with 24-hour news, and endless notifications from bored friends and family, this is a great little app if you can’t stop looking at your phone. Plant virtual trees that will grow while you focus, and die if you close the app. Set a timer for anything between 5 minutes to 2 hours, and earn points to buy more plants and grow your virtual garden. Surprisingly effective!

     
  • I find that literally attaching myself to my laptop with my headphones helps, both to drown out distracting noise and to prevent me from getting up and wandering around every time I think of a task that needs to be done around the house.

Keeping happy 

Working from home can be an introvert’s dream, but for extroverts, people who are usually highly active, or anyone who’s self-isolating away from family and friends, it’s ok if it feels overwhelming and unsettling. Here are a few ways to cope and to feel less alone:

  • Tune in to the radio for some live chat and community spirit, where you can join in or chuckle along with daily phone-in features. Lauren Laverne’s breakfast show on BBC 6 Music is entirely dedicated to sharing positivity and lifting spirits.

     
  • Aim to finish work by your usual time, and plan something to look forward to afterwards to keep you on track. Whether it’s group Whatsapp ‘after work’ drinks with pals, an online yoga class (like these from Benk + Bo), or guided  meditations via Instagram Live (see The Calmery for tips and sessions shared daily at 6pm) there’s loads of virtual activity going on. Get involved.

     
  • Connect to a community. Set up a Facebook group with all your family members for sharing funny goings-on from the day, or use this time as an excuse to virtually connect with your neighbours. Join ‘The Happy Place’ on Discord app – an online community that works in a similar way to Slack and Twitter, but where everyone is keen to share light-hearted chit chat rather than doom and gloom.

The booze question

By all means unwind with a nice glass of wine in the evenings – you deserve it! Just a word that if you’ve been stockpiling wine and booze then you might be tempted to reach for a gin early in the afternoon. We’re not here to judge, but it’s worth being mindful of healthy habits, and giving yourself a few guidelines to stick to; i.e, allow yourself a glass of wine a couple of times a week as you wind down your emails at 5pm, or stick to a ‘no booze until after 6pm’ rule.

If you do find yourself reaching for something strong in the daytime as a coping mechanism then try to take note, and see if you can find something else to help ease your anxiety (one of the online communities mentioned above, for example).

And finally – the current situation is not normal.  We are in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic, and if you’re struggling to keep up with your usual routine that is ok. Be kind to yourself. If all you can manage right now is watching Friends in your pyjamas and looking at baby goat videos – that is totally ok! This will pass. You can be productive another day.





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