If you’re new to working from home either due to COVID19 or else you have just started a career with a home based job, you already know that working from home productively is not easy. The work from home life is not that glamorous at it looks. Your best friend who is also working from home might find it great, but you are not really getting a catch.
You may wonder why even the best productivity apps are not working for you. Well, since your work from home can be of a different nature than your friend’s, you may face unique challenges depending on your industry and nature of job.
Moreover, the nature of the job is not the only factor, two friends working from home can also find themselves in totally unique situations because of their different personalities, lifestyles and habits.
Yes, there are perks of a work-from-home lifestyle, but it requires changing many of your habits and developing a healthy routine to make working from home a success. The first question that pops in your mind is, “How do I create a work from home routine?”. Some more questions that you might be looking to get answered may include:
- How do I schedule my work day from home?
- What days are best to work from home?
- What is the best way to work from home?
- Is working from home bad for your health?
- How to manage time working from home?
- How can I improve working from home?
- How do I keep my work/life balance working from home?
- Why is working from home stressful?
- How to break a monotony of working from home?
This article will answer all the above listed concerns by guiding you to create a healthy and productive routine for working from home.
1- Set Working Hours
It is very important to set your working hours, else you may end up working day and night with getting much done. Decide which days are best for your work from home routine and what timings suit you most.
For instance if you are a working mom with kids at school, you might want to take break during the weekdays and shift work over the weekends or so.
2- Create a Morning Routine
As a matter of fact, the earlier you start, the better it is. But, considering the late risers who’s greatest benefit is in waking up little later, you can devise a flexible start time.
Deciding you’ll sit down at your desk and start work at a certain time, and then stick to your decision. Develop a habit that ensures you must start working by that time, i.e. set an alarm, do breakfast, get ready as you are going to office and start your home office.
3- Use a Planner
There are tens of free apps available, but you might also want to keep an old school notebook to catch up. Some people better follow a schedule when it’s handwritten, so yes, notebooks are equally effective.
4- Create a Schedule for Flexible Breaks
You can schedule your breaks based on task or time, i.e. every two hours or after finishing a certain task. These breaks are a must, as they let you re-energize for the rest of the day and keep you going. Sitting for longer periods can also cause health issues.
Keep these breaks shorter and make most of these breaks, either with a physical activity, meditation, a cup of coffee, or a quick nap. Using gadgets and social media won’t help much, as it may cause more digital distractions when you resume work.
5- Create an End the Day Routine
By ending the day means, ending the work day. Depending on when you start working, decide a time to close your home office and get back to the family. Since it can be really tricky sometimes to end your work day while working from home, because you are so tuned in that you just want to do more, so better develop a habit that creates an urgency to end the work day.
For example, it can be an evening dog walk, a yoga class, gym or anything that urges you to shut down your computer and move on to the next urgency by a certain time.
6- Take Time for Socializing & Outing
Working from home can be stressful at times, and it can impact work life balance. A great way to remedy the situation is increasing number of outings during non-working hours. Even if you do not want to spend anything on outings, a simple walk with family in different locations can greatly help improving the mood.
Joining a sport can also be a great way for socializing and outing; if there’s no one to join in due to COVID, may be some sport with family can also be equally effective.
The Bottom Line:
A routine can be more powerful than a clock at helping you get started each day. Not everyone who works from home may want to follow a nine-to-five schedule, but some may still want to keep up with it. The key to a healthy work from home routine is identifying working hours, scheduling tasks, taking frequent breaks and ending the work day right on time.
