6 Top Tips for WFH
When I used to say to people that I worked from home, their eyes would sparkle and they would say, “Oh how lucky, that must be great!”. However, now working from home has become a reality for many, whether full time or as part of hybrid working arrangements, I think we can all agree it’s much harder than we thought.
Having to work at the uncomfortable dining table, summoning the discipline to stay at your laptop and not secretly binge watch the latest Netflix series are all real challenges. I have been there myself and having worked from home for a few years now, I wanted to share some of my top tips for making it that bit easier!
1) Make it comfortable
This seems so obvious but the number of people who are sitting on dining chairs that give them back ache, or an old desk chair where the arm rest is broken and the padding is non-existent, is too many.
Desk chairs are bulky and you my think ‘it won’t fit’ but you really need to make it fit. Your long term health is worth it. I used to use a lovely country kitchen style chair at my desk – how twee it was – but soon I had an ‘odd’ sensation emanating from my right hip that travelled up my spine. I got a cushion. It continued. Yoga temporarily relieved it but it kept coming back and I was told it sounded like the beginning of sciatica (you don’t want that) I finally invested in a ‘desk’ chair.
The reality is it’s actually a gaming chair! I figured if it’s designed for those who sit for hours gaming it should work for someone who spends hours working. Many gaming chairs offer multiple adjustments to the lumbar area, arm-rest height or angle, and a good amount of padding – all for about £100 which is cheap in the world of chairs. I did look at official desk chairs but the options were limited and many felt like they were for style rather than actual comfort, particularly in the lower price bracket. I have heard of companies offering subsidies for buying desk chairs or even letting you take one from the office so do check for this option!
The chair is critical but you must also make sure you have the right posture when sitting in the chair – be strict with yourself! Also think about having a little blanket, a fan or maybe even a nice diffuser around to help keep the temperature right for you. Storage also should be thought of to stop you having to type over a heap of papers and notepads. I recommend having a look at craft and hobby websites as they have great storage drawer units where you can keep your bits and bobs.
2) Make it personal
Linking to making things physically comfortable, I found personalising my work area really helped me mentally feel at ease.
It does depends on where you’re working, but having a houseplant, photos or your favourite artwork around you can make the space much more inviting and you won’t mind sitting there for 8 hours. If you like minimalism that’s great, but for me having a candle I can light, an old retro desk light I love and a Pikachu pen pot bring a little smile to my face when I sit down to work. If your workspace doesn’t allow for more permament items e.g. you’re working at a dining table, maybe think about choosing stationery that’s visually appealing to you, perhaps some fun coloured writing pens (I use pink and green biro a lot), or even motivational stickers you can put on boring notebooks and the laptop.
If you’re short on inspiration have a browse on Pinterest or a casual browse on stationery websites – I’m sure there’s a style that’ll catch your eye! The baseline is, the work you’re doing may be boring, but the space you’re in doesn’t have to be! Go wild!
3) Make it easy to rest
I love my tea and coffee breaks but I realised when I started working at home I was taking rather too many and disrupting my work flow. So my tip here is to make it easy to make it easy to grab a cuppa to take to the desk.
It sounded odd to me at first – taking a trip away from the desk is good for you! But sadly working at home has so many more distractions than an office environment. As you head to the kettle you notice the floor needs vacuuming, a plant needs watering, you were going to look into some new cushions for the sofa. Then you make the fatal mistake of sitting down on the sofa to drink your tea or coffee….it’s so hard to get up again! I admit this does depend on your working style and perhaps it’s not an issue for you – I’m jealous! For me, I sit down for lunch away from my desk, but for tea breaks, the tea comes with me. To make this a pleasant experience I have a nice clear teapot for brewing my looseleaf tea in and a selection of Japanese cups. This means I can stay at my desk for a prolonged period with a drink on hand when I want it, and by choosing nice crockery it adds to the comfort factor of my working area.
I wouldn’t say you had to have a kettle in your work area and almost a mini kitchen to hand, but the key is to minimise the opportunities for you to get distracted so do what works for you.
4) Make it less lonely
One of the biggest issues that has arisen with working from home is loneliness. Although we all complained about the office at times, it provided a social backdrop to our work, a chance to catch up with colleagues by the kettle and a clearly defined work environment. For some the solitude at home is brilliant for work but for others it really cripples their motivation.
I don’t have any work colleagues as I work solo, but I am lucky enough to live with someone else who also works from home. We work in separate rooms but shout when each of us is having lunch or boiling the kettle which acts as a prompt to pop downstairs and a quick chat. You might also be in a similar situation – great. If not, don’t worry! Another tactic I have found is using Discord. My sister works from home too and so we agree to login and essentially act as ‘work background noise’ for each other. We either choose to have just audio on or video (sometimes muted), depending on what we’re working on. It really is amazing how just hearing someone clacking away on their keyboard can help you mentally get in the work zone too.
This is possible with other platforms too and your office may already have an online platform setup that you can use. There’s also the chance to team up with a friend who isn’t within your office, but the key is to avoid messaging systems which can be especially distracting as they require you to type a reply and take you away from the screen you’re on.
5) Make it semi-smart
Now I’ve told you to go wild, I am now saying keep it semi-smart. Obviously you don’t want an embarrassing background for video meetings, but I am really talking about what you wear here.
My desk is in my bedroom. I admit I have literally rolled out of bed and worked in my PJs. It seemed wonderful (in a reclusive way), but I don’t recommend it. Aside from looking unprofessional in video meetings, I’ve found over the years dressing for the occasion really shifts my mentality. When I’m in my PJs I just think constantly about how I want to nap, have a hot drink etc. which is understandable considering that’s what you usually do when wearing PJs. Wearing smarter clothing helps me focus and enter the right mindset. Somedays if I really need to apply myself I might even put on a suit. For me, putting on work clothes also helps with time differentiation; when I put on my work clothes it’s work time, and when work is done I change into my relaxing, Netflix-bingeing trousers and top and (hopefully) switch off for the day.
When working from home you really need to be strict and add ‘barriers’ and zone your work so you don’t feel like you’re living with it 24/7. Having been self-employed and living with others who are also self-employed, I know just how hard this is and I also know it makes a difference.
6) Make it hidden
Like changing into your relaxing clothes can help you switch off mentally, so can being able to hide your work.
If you’re lucky and have an actually office at home you can just shut the door when work is done to help you forget about it. As well as this though, I recommend having a ‘shut-down’ routine, a bit like you have a bedtime routine before sleep, to again help you mentally. Make a to-do list for the next day on a pad, tidy up your paperwork and just make it ‘tidy’ so when you sit down the next morning you don’t have an overwhelming heap leftover from the day before.
Another trick I’ve learnt from living in Japan is to cover your monitor with a cloth or nice fabric. This is particularly good if you have to leave your monitor on display and also helps keep your screen dust free. However, don’t do this if you’re going to leave it running as it might overheat! As a laptop and monitor user, I have an IKEA Elloven desktop stand with a drawer; it has a gap underneath the drawer where each day I slide my laptop away to clear my desk.
There are a number of ways to try and hide your work and devices which can make sue any shared spaces remain relaxing and every time you look at the TV you don’t notice your monitor in the corner and think of work.
In the end...
Some days working from home is a nightmare and other days it’s a blessing. Overall, I think it’s a good revolution and will allow us all to gain a better work/life balance as we cut out commuting, and are given a bit more flexibility in working hours. However you need to make sure it’s working for you! I hope that some of the tips above can help you find the right balance and create a working environment that gives you what you need to do your best.