Day 8 – March 26th, 2020 – Work from Home Tips

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Work from Home Tips

It has officially been a week since I started working from home. Here is a few work from home tips and tricks I have learned so far.

Dress for Success

My first work from home tip is to dress for success. This is not just a fun phrase people say. If you want to be motivated and work productively, dressing for your job will help separate “home” and “work” time. I see a lot of posts lately about people working in their PJs. I have found that even if I wear leggings and a nice top, I am WAY more likely to keep to my work schedule. Otherwise, it is too easy to go back to bed or lay on the couch for hours! That is just not productive. You can always change back into comfy clothes after your “work” time is up.

Set a Schedule

My second work from home tip is to have a consistent daily or weekly schedule. This will help keep you on track. By clearly defining your working hours, you, your colleges, and your family will know when is the best time to communicate with you.

My emails are connected to my phone and it is so hard for me to get an email from a student, parent, admin at 8pm, and not respond. Separation from your home life and work life is even more important when they are in the same space. In the first few days, I remember stopping mid-conversation with my husband to check my phone and respond to student questions. I will be with him a lot longer than with my kiddos (students). If it’s not urgent, it can wait until morning.

This is also very important if you are not the only one home during your “work” hours! We are lucky that my husband can still go to work. However, on the days he has off or he goes into work later in the day, it was important that I let him know when my working hours were. We are a young couple and it was tough the first few days for us not to stay up really late knowing that I didn’t have to physically be at school the next morning. But, I did need to be working the next morning. Communication of your work schedule is important to help your household run smoothly.

See my post here for my Quarantine Routine.

Create a Workspace

My third work from home tip is the create a workspace. This will help you disconnect from work more easily. When your working hours are done, leave the space. Also, remove distractions from your space so you can focus on the work.

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Take Breaks

My fourth work from home tips is to build breaks into your routine. This new schedule will be difficult and working longer hours will not solve all the issues. Take time to get out of your workspace and allow for some “me” time.

If you’re struggling with some ideas of “me” time, here are a few that I am working into my schedule currently.

• Walking the dog
• Walking to the gas station to pick up a local paper
• Read a book
• Play Farmville on my phone
• Go for a run
• Do a bodyweight HIIT workout
• Latch hook while I watch Netflix
• Take a nap
• Play with the new kitten
• Watch an online lecture
• Deep clean an area in my house
• Work on home projects
• Work on coursera online course

I like to build throughout my workday to make sure I don’t go crazy doing one thing for too long. Check out my Quarantine Routine here.

Give Grace

My final work from home tip is to give grace, to yourself and others. The internet may not always work, the kids may be crazy, your husband may need a hand, you may get sick yourself! We are all trying to figure this out as we go.

What tips have you discovered to be successful while working at home? – Mrs. Pettit