Working from home has become a lot more common in the last few years. It can seem like paradise if you’ve never experienced it before but working from comes with its own challenges. Talk to any freelancer who uses their home as their office and you’ll usually hear how difficult it is to resist small distractions and temptations. Don’t worry though, we’ve got you covered. Here are our top tips that will help you love working from home!
Follow your rhythm – consistently
One of the keys to being successful when working at home is to be disciplined. This means creating a daily routine and sticking to it. The flexibility of working from home comes from the fact that you can make your own hours perhaps, so follow your natural rhythm, paying attention to breaks and recharging moments to avoid burn out. Just because your office happens to be at home, it doesn’t mean that you’re not at work! Coming up with a daily schedule to follow can help to provide structure to your day and prevent you from getting distracted by temptations around your house, like social media or TV.
If it looks like an office, it feels like an office
When working from home, it can be easy to feel that the boundary between work and home is being blurred. For example, if you sit in front of the TV with a laptop doing work during office hours and then spend your time-off sat in front of the same TV, it is easy to become distracted and less productive. A good way to reinstate this work/life boundary is to create a special area in your home that you completely dedicate to your work. This can help to keep work separate from the majority of your home life. It could be something like a small room, a study, the loft or even a dedicated space in your living room.
Focus on health and balance
Rather than getting distracted, people who work from home can sometimes get so focused on going through their task list that they actually forget to take breaks and nurture their well-being. Moving from office work to housework and family commitments without taking care of yourself can build up into burn out and fatigue. Breaks are an important way to refresh your mind, clear your head and divide key parts of your day. Enjoy the space and quietness and take a 15 minute yoga and meditation break, or take a 20 minute walk around the neighbourhood for some fresh air – include that in your daily routine and you will feel the benefits in your energy levels and mood.
We hope our tips help you find more contentment in working from home, but if you feel your current dwellings don’t reflect your current lifestyle anymore, we can help.
Clyde Property is a leading independent, multiple award-winning estate agent with 30 years’ experience in selling and letting property in Scotland. Just call your local Clyde Property branch today, for friendly, impartial advice on letting and renting property.
