9 tips to make it easier to work from home

I’ve been working mostly from home for years, so I thought I would share some tips for anyone who is trying to figure out how to make it easier to work from home.

Some of these might seem a bit basic but hopefully there are a few things in here that you haven’t heard before

1. Leverage a routine

Eat at the start of the day – and have some kind of plan/structure for when you’ll be eating throughout the day

Move your body in some way – stretching is really helpful to get your energy flowing

Change out of your sleep clothes – even if you’re not getting dressed in your usual work clothes it’s good to atleast get out of the clothes that you associate with sleep

2. Know what you will be working on before you sit down

Whether you plan for the next day the night before, or plan your tasks out for the week, I find it that most of the time it’s best to plan these things upfront so that you don’t get stuck trying to make decisions when it’s the best time to get things done

I have a weekly task sheet that I use for planning my tasks – you can find it in my Fill Your Jar guide which I will link below

The exception to the previous tip is:

3. If you are procrastinating, try something different

If you are not feeling any motivation, if you are procrastinating on your planned tasks – try something different.

→ Ask yourself what would feel most exciting, or easiest, to work on today

If you are procrastinating, that task is likely not as pressing as it might seem – so you might be much more productive by working on something that feels good to work on.

If you have a task you “have to” work on because of a deadline, you’re not as likely to procrastinate - you’ll just get it done. Right?

4. Have a spot where you work – and do something to make it inspiring

This will help your brain jump into work mode as you sit down in the same spot every day. But – if you throughout the day feel the pull to work in some other spot, do it!

5. Get away from the home distractions sometimes

Spend some time at a coffee shop or other location that takes you away from the distractions of home.

Getting out of your home helps not get distracted as easily, and being around other people who are working can feed your own energy to get things done

This is what I would normally do 2-3 times per week, but that I’m of course not doing right now I prepped the balcony for getting work done, so that once it gets a little warmer I can go sit out there with my laptop

6. On separating home and work

A lot of people will say that you need to 100% separate home and work, but I don’t completely agree!

I actually like putting a load of laundry on, and then I’ll get focused work done for an hour while the washer is on, and hanging the laundry up will be a bit of a break from work.

That way the laundry or the dishes are happening while I’m working, and it doesn’t have to be a big project to start up at the end of the day, it’ll all be done!

The trick is to only do the types of home chores where you don’t need to be a very active participant – if you start dusting or vacuuming you might get sucked into doing more and more. You could do something like vacuuming as a break between tasks – but maybe set a timer or be very clear on the one task you will do to make sure you don’t clean the day away

7. Cowork with a friend

I’ve coworked with a fellow photographer once a week for almost two years now - we’ll either be at our apartment or at her house and get things done – and enjoy the lunch break together.

This way we save money by not going to a coffee shop and buying lunch out, but the most important part is the accountability and the company since being a sole business owner can get lonely.

Coworking isn’t possible right now for many of us, but in the future you can consider coworking days with others you know are also working from home – or you can cowork with someone by just having a video call open! 

8. Keep a distractions list

While you are working you’re bound to come up with other things you should be doing – so keep a notepad close by where you can write down these distracting task ideas that pop up

This way you don’t need to worry about forgetting them – and you can take a look at the list later and determine if those things were important - because we tend to come up with other tasks to procrastinate on the one we are working on.

9. Take breaks

Breaks are so important – and they don’t necessarily have to be very long.

Sometimes I just close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to help relax my shoulders, or I’ll do a grounding practice when I notice that I’ve gotten distracted from my tasks.

I find that it helps me switch back onto a task much easier than simply forcing myself to get back to it without taking that mindful pause.