When you are slogging it to work every day on a packed train, the idea of working from home sounds blissful. But when your actually thrown into the work from home (WFH) situation you find it’s not as easy as it sounds. I first had to do it for a month during an office relocation. The thought of working in my PJS, radio on, TV for background noise – rapidly turned into the sudden need to be super woman! When I first started out it was often hard to remember the ‘working’ in working from home. And as a busy mum I became awash with guilt if I hadn’t, stuck some washing in, cleaned the bathroom, changed the beds and cooked a gourmet meal by the time everyone else was home. Would I have done all this if I was commuting to work every day – yes but not in work time.
In starting my own freelance venture, I have learnt to remember the ‘work’ element in WFH and come up with a few pointers from other blogs and talking to others along the way and just simply trying out what works:
- Get dressed
The idea of working in your PJs is great. In practice it doesn’t help to get you into work mode. Getting dressed helps to start your day.
- Do a journey to work
Easy for me, as I have to leave the house to do a school run. But on days I don’t, a walk around the block, helps to get me into a good frame of mind to start the day. Time to clear your thoughts and get started.
- Set aside a work area
A defined working space, makes home feel like work. My space is often converted to a dining table at the weekends, but during office hours its laid out as my office.
- Take breaks and don’t skip lunch
It’s easy for the day to merge into one. Make sure you take proper breaks so you don’t become bogged down. - Set up a ‘WFH group’
What I miss the most about office working (prob the only thing) are the people. Interaction and people to bounce ideas off. To overcome this, I have mixed with other homeworking freelancers and we now have days when we take it in turns to work from each other’s places- it helps!
Happy WFH days!
