Whether you are new to working from home or you’ve been at it for a long time, it’s seems more important than ever to organize both our time and spaces well. Our homes have become the place where more and more is being required from us. Whether it is schooling, exercising, working or resting – we are needing to juggle more and more within our four walls.
So, to help you better navigate these unavoidable challenges, here are seven tips to help you balance the “work at home challenge.” (Yes, that’s what we’ll call it because doesn’t it feel like a challenge?
While in many ways it can be a time saver and a gift of flexibility, it can equally be hard to manage your time because too much flexibility is required of you!
Seven Tips for Working from Home
- Get Dressed and Ready – make a point to get ready for the day by getting dressed! How you look and feel helps with both mood and motivation. Don’t underestimate this piece.
- Set Regular Work Hours – following a schedule will help keep the separation between your work and home life. And it will also help you to set up boundaries to help with your productivity.
- Designate and Organize a Productive Space – creating a space that will function well will make sure you function well! Set up things for efficiency and ease so you can keep checking off your to-dos!
- Schedule Breaks and Mealtimes – breaks and mealtimes can be either too frequent or infrequent. Be deliberate about taking the breaks required to recharge and stick to a meal plan, this will ensure your energy levels stay balanced.
- Plan Activities Outside of Your Home – you need to get out of the house every now and then! (And maybe even at least once a day.) Make a point to plan outside activities to help change up your perspective and place.
- Over Communicate Boundaries and Expectations – this really should be number one. This is the critical part of keeping some sort of balance and harmony between work and home. Discuss with other members of your household what you need from them and how they can best honor your work time. Communication goes a long way in getting in front of challenges.
- Find Ways to Connect and Socialize – it’s easy to work, work, work. However, we all need time away and breaks from our projects. As intentionally and safely as necessary, find ways to still meet up with others and connect. You need community and your community needs you.
Like everything in life it’s all about finding a sweet spot when it comes to balancing our work and home lives.
I encourage you to keep reaching for somewhere between being super flexible and super rigid. A little bit of rigidity is helpful as is some flexibility. Just not too much of either!
Happy Working and Organizing!