I have done a combination of working from the office a couple days and working from home the rest of the week for around four years now. I absolutely love the flexibility it gives me but it doesn't come without some challenges. Like everything in life, you have to find a balance with this and here are 5 guidelines and routines that I have personally put in place to help me keep that healthy balance.
Eat lunch away from your desk | At one stage I was finding myself working straight through lunch every single day without fail. When you have a lot to get through and no one to pull you away it is easy to keep going...and before you know it it is four pm, your sugar levels have plummeted and you are in the cupboards looking for a quick chocolate fix. Not only was I finding myself digging into the chocolate tin almost daily but the lack of a break also meant that by the afternoon I was making many more mistakes than what I normally would. One of the ways that I try to keep myself accountable in this area is by adding this to my daily tending list on my monthly PowerSheets and I have been finding that having that reminder there has really helped me make the decision to step away and grab lunch.
Breath fresh air | In my opinion, all five of these tips are beneficial and worth implementing into your day, but for me this one is especially important. I have experienced how easy it is to find that days have passed and I haven't even been out my front door and so I have had to become super intentional about getting fresh air each day. Depending on the weather, I have a list of activities that I choose from in order to get me outside. This list includes a morning or evening walk, eating my lunch or dinner outside while enjoying my garden, doing some errands or even taking my office to the local library or coffee shop if I feel like a change of scenery.
Honor office hours | When I used to work in the office, it was much easier to keep office hours. The office building doesn't open until a specific time and at the end of the day all of your colleagues are packing up to head home. But when at home you can basically work at any time of the day and having your work emails accessible on your mobile makes dipping in and out of work at the weekend or the evenings even easier. Now, from time to time there is a genuine need to work additional hours and when that is the case then it really isn't a problem. It's when the occasional becomes the norm you know that you are no longer living in balance. So the things that I actively do to help keep that balance is to turn off my work phone in the evenings and weekends so that I am less tempted to sneak a peek. I also set myself an alarm 30 minutes before the end of my working hours so that I have a tangible reminder that I need to finish off what I am working on and close things down for the day.
Create a dedicated work space | It is so tempting to spend your days laid out in bed or on the couch working away..... and on days when I don't feel 100% I totally do that. But most days I try to work from my office. I am fortunate enough to have an office that I can use (to be fair it is the office/craft room/spare room) but you don't need an office, just a dedicated workspace which could be as simple as a desk.
Reach out when you need to | Once you get over the excitement of working from home, you can soon start to feel very alone and isolate when it comes to work. These feelings can be amplified even more when you have a lot of changes going on at work or when you are picking up a new project. Communication is key when you have a team of people who work remotely so when you are feeling isolated, unsure or overwhelmed make sure that you reach out to others in your wider team or your manager. Sometimes just talking things through brings clarity and helps you to make progress with what you need to.
These are my top tips and by implementing them I have found that they have helped me to be more productive, more effective and all round happier. If you have any tips that you use I would love to hear them so please do share them below.
