Turning your home into your office is tricky even in the best of times, but it’s so important to separate work and life when they’re both happening in the same place. As more of us are working from home to try to slow the spread of Coronavirus I thought I’d share some of our team’s life hacks;
- Get changed out of your pyjamas every morning. This will help you get motivated for the day and prevent any embarrassing unplanned video calls.
- Pick a dedicated workspace, ideally with a decent chair that will support your back, and if you’re lucky, a window view.
- Try to keep your bedroom for sleeping and relaxing. It’ll help make the work-life divide a little clearer.
- Stick to your usual morning routine as much as possible, like dressing for work, doing your hair and popping on some make up.
- Give yourself time in the morning to prepare for the day, both mentally and physically.
- Sign out and turn off notifications for work-related email and messaging when the day is over.
- Working from home can sometimes feel a little too quiet, so listen to the radio, Podcasts, music or put the TV on quietly.
- Make sure you take lunch breaks where you don’t look at anything work-related.
- Take frequent breaks so you don’t lose focus, even if it’s to make a cup of tea. You’d do this in the office anyway!
- Socialising after work over a video call will help keep the loneliness at bay.
- Don’t do household chores randomly throughout the day, it can get distracting. Instead, schedule a specific time for them before or after work.
- Communicate to people you live with if you have a video call with your team and need everyone to be quiet. Maybe put the dog in another room too, if like mine they like to get involved.
- Go outside! Even if it’s just a quick walk down the road, the fresh air will do wonders.
- Stay active. There are plenty of effective workouts you can do at home either before, in your lunch break, or after work. If you plan to work out at lunch or after work, I recommend wearing your kit for work! No excuses then!
- Keep in touch with your team, WhatsApp groups, Zoom and working in live documents over the phone are great for this. Two heads are always better than one!
If you have any tips let us know at marketing@peachpubs.com and we’ll add them to this blog!