Working from home won’t be forever.
In the meantime… A few working-from-home tips to get you through the day
AIR
Make the most of our new lower pollution/lockdown air quality. Step outside with your mug of coffee, or open a window, breathe it in and enjoy the bird song of spring!
5 min makes all the difference and repeat this throughout the day.
TIME DISCIPLINE
It might be tricky, but its important to maintain that boundary between work and leisure. Set a start and an end time for your working day, so that when you are in the zone you stay focused. Outside of those times, itâs personal time!
Stick to your time patterns, Donât have the laptop open when eating your cornflakes as soon as you wake up, or sit with it on your lap watching TV.
LAPTOP STAND HACK
Working on a laptop solidly isnât great for your back, or posture, which is why in the workplace we have ergonomic chairs, laptop stands and adjustable monitor arms, to reduce backache, RSI and so on. Lifting your laptop up at an angle can really make a difference, so dig out an old ring binder, or be a little creative and wedge something under the back of the laptop â wine corks seem to work well too, and youâll appreciate the difference.
Do you need an ergonomic task chair delivered to your home? – click here
STANDING DESK HACK
Sat at dining room table all day on a fixed chair might also start to take its toll, so how about straightening out that back. If you have a bookcase you could try this⌠Place your screen eye level on one shelf and use the lower shelf for your keyboard and mouse.
Alternatively next time you are at Majestic make sure you get at least 12 bottles of wine and get yourself 2no. wine boxes that you can stack up on the dining room table and ta da, Standing working achieved, and wine to hand.
STAY CONNECTED
At the office, you get the tea point chat, the typical water cooler brainstorming moments, hugs from your bestie and banter!
Donât lose this!
Book a 10min call, skype, zoom or facetime with one of your office regular catch-ups and âshoot the breezeâ.
The digital world is now a very noisy place indeed so maybe even a good time to limit the âmindless scrollingâ and not to forget weâre a voice call away â should you want to reminisce over the workplace and geek out on some furniture chat.
FOOD & DRINK
Resist the biscuit tin/cookie jarâŚ. the booze cupboard. (at least you can avoid the temptation of donuts in the office kitchen)
WFH is a big change in itself donât make it harder changing your dietary habits. If your normal Mon-Fri is a bowl of cereal or porridge stick to it. Just because the frying pan is staring at you, it doesnât mean itâs ok to whip up a full English every day! Equally donât punish yourself, we all need a treat when weâve earned it, and the off-licence is now on the essential businesses list. đ
DAILY EXERCISE
For some of us the daily commute, walk to the station or jump on a Boris bike to the office offered a form of daily exercise, even if carried out in a zombie-like early morning state. When working from home you will have to replace that with an alternative.
Perhaps exchange running up the escalators for a run in the park or walk around the block to the station and back to get yourself in the zone, or even get a virtual class up on the TV and get stuck in.
If you are running or cycling set your self up on Strava, pick a route and try and better yourself each day. đ
LEARN/TRY SOMETHING NEW
With the long commute out of the way, I guess for the first part of lockdown, you might have made the most of a few lay-ins. Probably feels a bit like a holiday, but donât get into a bad habit â that will only be worse once you do get to go back to the office!
Utilise that extra hour or two to learn something new or try something different. Why not plant a sunflower and tidy up the garden, learn a new language, bake a cake (eggless perhaps), conquer the Rubix Cube, Read that Book, or just focus on some well-being and odd jobs around the house.