5 Tips To Help You Win The Working From Home Battle

We all know the feeling – the alarm is blaring, the sun is creeping through the curtains, and your bed has never felt comfier. It’s a common theme for those of us who have been working from home these past few months and, if regulations are to stay in place, it looks like we’ll be doing it for a little while longer yet. With that in mind, we all must continue to do everything we can to keep in the right state of mind when it comes to working from home – whilst it isn’t ideal, it’s a necessary evil that we need to abide by if we’re to beat this virus once and for all. If, like us, you’ve found it tough finding the motivation to keep productive at home, don’t worry – we’ve put together a handy guide to help you get back on track and ready for the run-up to Christmas (yes, it really is November this weekend!). 

1) Setting Boundaries 

One of the things that we think is most important is ensuring that you’ve set boundaries between the different parts of your day. By splitting your time between work time and personal time, you’ll be able to find a clear cut off point in the day where your time is your own, rather than your employer’s. When you’re in the office, finding this cut off is easy – it tends to be the moment you step out of the building doors, but at home, it’s not quite that easy. To combat this, try to have a defined workspace set aside – this can be a study, a certain seat at the dining table, or just a chair in the living room, just make sure that this is the place where you work during the day. By having this defined workspace, you give yourself the ability to escape work when you leave that area, in turn leading to a more defined boundary between the spaces where you spend your work time and personal time.

2) What To Wear

Another thing to pay attention to is your attire; it seems all too easy to sit there in your pj’s all day, but it’s a huge productivity killer. Try to make an effort to get up and get ready just as you would if you were heading into the office, as this gives your working day a little more familiarity and helps you to get into the right mindset for the day ahead. Nobody is asking you to be fully suited up, but a pair of jeans and a nice shirt could make all the difference to the way that you tackle the day. 

3) Breaking Up Your Day

It’s hard sitting and staring at a screen all day, especially on those days where you feel like you’re making no progress at all. If anything, trying to force yourself to be productive in those situations can actually make you less productive, which is why you need to make sure that you’re taking regular breaks and focusing on things that aren’t work-related at points during your work hours. 

When you feel like your productivity is being stifled, try getting up to make a coffee, reading a chapter of a book, or going outside to grab a breath of fresh air – the boost that these little breaks can give you is incredible!

4) Keeping Active

Perhaps the most important thing on this list is keeping active, something that we should all be making a conscious effort to do during these trying times. When you’re sitting working on a big project or trying to meet a tight deadline, it’s easy to forget to get up and stretch out every once in a while, so try setting reminders or alarms for specific times so that you always know when it’s time to get the blood flowing again.

If you find the time, heading out for a walk (if you’ve got dogs you can even kill two birds with one stone on this one) can be a great way to clear your head and refocus for the rest of the day – the combination of exercise and fresh air are underestimated motivators when you’ve been stuck in your house for so long.

5) Earn Those Rewards

At the end of a long day of work, we all deserve a little treat and the same applies when we’re working from home too. Rewarding yourself for the progress that you’ve made during the day is a great way to maintain productivity levels – if you haven’t done this already, we encourage you to try this one out! Things such as a glass of wine or two in the evening can be a fantastic treat for a job well done, but you could also think outside of the box and perhaps make fun plans for the weekend after completing a particularly tough task or receiving good feedback from a satisfied customer!

We’re doing all we can to stay productive and positive here at Embryo Digital whilst we’re working from home, so we hope that these tips can help you to start getting more out of your WFH situation. You can check out some more of our marketing tips, working from home advice, and beyond over on our Thoughts page!