This year, many people began to regularly work from home after years of being strictly in the office. Now, a lot of companies are rethinking their office culture and leaning toward WFH as a more permanent solution for their employees.
Looking for ways to settle into your work from home routine? Try one of these ideas:
Maintain some sense of workplace normalcy.
Try to do a few things that will get you in work mode. You can start with actually taking off your pajamas and getting dressed in the morning. (It’s hard to get out of sweatpants and leggings, I know!) Or, you could make sure you start every morning by making the perfect cup of coffee before you check one email.
Having a routine – even a smaller one than you’re used to! – will let your brain click and turn on.
Get to know the tech.
Brush up on your Zoom (or Google, or Teams, or Slack – whatever platform your team uses) etiquette. Mute yourself when you’re not talking to eliminate unnecessary background noise. Remember that you are on camera, so your coworkers can see every face you make.
Revamp your communication with coworkers.
One downside of work from home is that it can eliminate those off-the-cuff brainstorms with your colleagues. But, you can still make that happen! Get together as a group and decide what communication and meetings work best for you, whether it's quick, daily check-ins or weekly deep dives and brainstorms.
Add some fun decor to your new workspace.
Spice up your home office – whatever that may be! – with some custom decor! Never lose track of the days with a Desk Calendar. Or, surround yourself with a visual oasis with some Acrylic Blocks or small Metal Prints.
Know what keeps you focused.
I, for one, cannot work in complete silence. I work well in an office because I have office background noise – random chatter, computers humming, phones being answered, et cetera – that acts as white noise. So, at home, I need to have a playlist going. If you're a silence is key type of worker, get some noise-blocking headphones.
Aim for no interruptions.
If you're sharing a space with a partner or some young ones, it's not realistic to have a completely interruption-free zone. But, you can give the other people in your home a heads up that now is not the best time to start screaming. Try printing out a sign that says you're on the phone, or in crunch mode, and tack it up on your door or above your desk.
Stuck on what to see? We have a few options for you - click here to download them! You can even get them Printed or Mounted.
Give yourself a break.
Especially if you’re feeling stuck, take a 5-minute break – for coffee, random dancing, screaming into your pillow, et cetera. Even at home, being in constant workworkwork mode isn’t really feasible. Go for a short walk. Make a snack. Get up and get moving – you’ll feel refreshed and even more productive!
And, at the end of the day, don’t forget to log off. Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you have to make yourself available 24/7.
What does your work from home routine look like?
