Clean the clutter: Our first tip is like filing your tax return – unexciting but necessary – and it’s clean your house. We’re not talking about your regular run-of-the-mill kind of surface wipe down but a full-blown Marie Kondo-style declutter and vacuum-the-couch-cushions kind of clean before you attempt any kind of working from home situation. The reason being that by eliminating the mess and odd jobs, you are also eliminating the possible distractions that can rob you of valuable work time. Plus, productivity dies in a dirty office.
Desk goals and shelfies: In the office, you’re probably pretty limited to the kind of embellishments you can add to your space without it being considered over-the-top, but at home, no such rules exist. Whether you’re keen to recreate the dreamy light-filled home office nooks you see on Insta with excellent #shelfies or you are parking yourself on your newly cleaned couch (risky move, rookie) carve out some space and make it yours. Grab your favourite coffee cup, a pen and plonk a plant down because nothing says ‘professional home office’ quite like a plant – tip, Zanzibar gems work a treat because they thrive on neglect, so you won’t be tempted to water it eight times whilst procrastinating.
Don’t procrastinate, pro-caffeinate: Failure to plan is planning to fail and it’s especially true when it comes to working from home. Implement the same kind of structure to your day as you would in the office – that means if you have a coffee at a set time each day, stick to that routine. Dedicate time for a lunch break, go outside and breathe in some fresh air to avoid cabin fever. Most importantly, stick to your start and finish times. When you aren’t commuting to work it can be easy to just roll in a little earlier and work a little later, which is all well and good, but know when to close the computer because work-life balance still applies at home.
Business up top, party on the bottom: There should be some comfort benefits to working from home, but you also don’t want to be caught out if a colleague or client unexpectedly video calls you. Make sure your top half is presentable, but opt for comfy pants (or none at all) and people are none the wiser – it’s brilliant, even if we do say so ourselves.
Resist the vortex: If you take one thing from this article at all, it’s to switch some music on first thing when you get into the ‘office’ but keep the television off. As much as you want to binge-watch Judge Judy on your lunch break, it’s just not going to end well. The same goes for pointless trips to peruse the contents of your fridge and pantry. We promise, the magical snack fairies have not been in the last three minutes to replenish your supplies – sorry.