WORKING FROM HOME TIPS
my advice on how to be productive out of the office
A year ago, I graduated from the University of Toronto and started working for myself full-time on my YouTube channel. Over the course of the last year, I’ve worked to find strategies that make working from home a bit easier, and I thought I’d share some with you today because I know there are many people who are being forced to work at home for the first time right now. Although working from home seems like it would be the best thing ever (and let me tell you, I think there are a lot more positives than negatives), I know that people can struggle with it at first— especially when you’re used to working in a specific environment.
My go-to work uniform— jeans and a blazer :)
1. Get Ready Everyday
When you’re working from home with the expectation of seeing no one, it can be tempting to skip getting ready altogether and stay in your PJs. I won’t lie to you, this can be fun for a few days, but I quickly discovered when I started working from home that eventually too much loungewear will make you feel sluggish.
These days, even though I work for myself, I wake up at 7 AM and apply light makeup, style my hair, and put on a proper outfit every day. Some days nobody—not even anyone through social media— sees me, but the act of getting ready for the day makes me instantly feel more motivated. It also makes me appreciate my PJs so much more at the end of the day when I get to put them on.
2. Use Sound to Your Advantage
If you’re not working from home alone, it can be hard to tune out the life happening around you. Something that’s been really helpful these past few weeks when working from home at my parents’ place is putting on noise-canceling headphones (normal headphones will work as well). I turn on a playlist that is ONLY for working so that my brain knows when it hears certain tracks that it’s time for focusing— not instagraming or youtube-ing or tik toki-ing haha. Not everyone has the room availability in their home/apartment to distance themselves from other people in their household, so sound can be a really helpful tool to trick you into feeling like you’re in a different environment.
On the note of sound, the other day I came across an Office clip from season 8, episode 6 (if you haven’t seen The Office, consider this my homework for you). In the clip, Andy blasts “Closing Time” by Semisonic at 5 o’clock and it’s revealed that this has become a tradition he’s established every day. It got me thinking…why am I not doing this?!? When working from home, one of the most difficult things is switching your brain from work mode to life mode, but having a special “I’m done work now, wahoo” song may be a fun way to separate the two periods of the day!
3. Lunch Breaks Away from Your Desk
When you’re spending 9-5 in one spot, lunch is your opportunity for a break! Make your lunch and eat somewhere else in your home, whether that be at your kitchen table or comfy couch in front of the TV! It’s also a good time to get outside so that you don’t feel too cooped up at home. Not only will this help your brain stop focusing on your to-do list, but it will also help separate the morning from the afternoon. It’s a simple point, but I think it makes a big impact on the flow of your day.
4. Put the Laundry Down!
Picture this: you’re at your desk, typing away, and in the corner of your eye you see a laundry basket filled with dirty clothes.
You think to yourself, “let me just quickly throw that in the washer while I work.”
Then 40 minutes later you hear your washer finish and you think to yourself, “let me just quickly throw that in the dryer.”
And then another 40 minutes goes by and you think, “let me just quickly fold everything and put it away.”
AND THE CYCLE NEVER ENDS, MY FRIENDS!
“Let me just quickly____” tasks are not your friend when working from home. These tasks, no matter how quick they may seem, can disrupt your working groove. I totally fall into this trap more often then I’d like to admit, but I’m trying to be better with this because— as I mentioned above— boundaries between work and life are hard enough when working from home; doing life tasks when you should be working is further allowing those lines between the two to blur.
So drop the laundry, ignore the dishwasher and resist that vacuum. If there’s really a task you want to do, save it for your lunch hour. Protect those boundaries. Doing life tasks when working may not seem like a big deal, but when you’re in life mode you’ll appreciate not feeling any guilt to do “quick” work tasks.
5. Tidy up your work station at the end of each day
This tip is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s one I want to highlight because this is another great way to create a ritual that marks the transition from work to life mode. Organizing your space at the end of the day also means you will be ready-to-go the next time you have to get work done.
A clean and organized space will result in a much happier working experience for yourself. Our environments can have big impacts on our mood, and when work is in your home, you don’t want stacks of loose paper and uncapped pens to stress you out when you’re bingeing on Netflix after dinner.
I hope there was at least one tip in this article that will help make your working-from-home-life a bit easier. It took me a few months to find my groove with it so don’t feel discouraged if you still are struggling to adapt….you got this!
Until the next one, Xo —C.
