From the outside, working from home seems so glamorous. You can wear pajamas all day long, choose your own hours, and go see a movie in the middle of the day. Sure, all of this is true, but I’ve found working from home to be a lot harder than I ever expected. Over the past year I’ve developed a few ways to not go completely insane.
First and foremost try and set clear working hours. This is probably the hardest thing for me to do since a lot of what I do for a living started out as my main hobby. It’s so hard to turn off and do other things when before those other things were what my job is now. If I had my way I would work from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep. That’s definitely not healthy. No matter when you wake up or want to sleep, set definite working hours so you aren’t constantly working and leave yourself no time for relaxing or breaks.
Along that same line, take breaks. Another thing I’m terrible at but something every other person who has a job gets to do. Take a lunch break. Take fifteen minutes to read a blog post or watch a YouTube video. Brains need time to reset and recharge before starting another task. I’ve found that although I hate taking breaks, I work better when I do. Things get done faster, and better when there are breaks sprinkled in.
Go outside. Take a walk around your neighborhood or take a break outside. Fresh air works wonders and helps you regroup. Sometimes Alex and I will go a good day and a half without going outside. We find ourselves getting stir crazy and snippy for no reason. We go for a nice 30 minute walk around our neighborhood and immediately feel better.
Try and have a designated work space regardless if it’s an office or you set up camp in a guest bedroom. I find I work best in bed, but working in the bed that we sleep in makes it really hard to separate work from the rest of our life. So I set up shop on our guest bedroom bed. I still get to work in a bed, but don’t see our actual bedroom as my office. Even if it’s just a small corner somewhere, having a place you go specifically to work can help keep the rest of your home from becoming work spaces.
Don’t work from home. Sometimes the best thing to do is to not work from home. I go to Panera or a coffee shop and set up a mini office there. It gets me out of the house, puts me into a clear working zone, and helps to add some variety to the day.
Working from home truly is the best thing that’s ever happened to me work-wise, but it’s not all sunshine and pajama filled rainbows. I actively have to work towards not going nuts and these tips definitely help me stay motivated and inspired.
Do you have any tips about working from home? If you don’t work from home, is there anything you’re curious about?
