Tips on Working From Home (WFH)

Tips on Working From Home

Like many of you right now, I am holed up and working from home. Living in NYC is great and all until you realize you have to spend all day in your one bedroom apartment, or worse, studio! And to top it off, many people, like myself are dealing with this alone- I need human interaction!!

Anyways, very blessed to have a job among this entire crisis so I’ll stop complaining! Instead let’s talk about tips to make working from home not dreadful and to stop the days from blending in (all day I thought yesterday it was Tues when it was Wed).

Tips

1. Make a schedule! I cannot stress this enough! Write down everything from the time you want to wake up to the time you want to go to sleep. It will keep you accountable and productive. Even for projects (personal or work) if the deadline isn’t asap, allot a number of hours for it and then move on!
   
2. Drink Water I noticed that at work, I get up to refill my water bottle the minute it is empty. At home though I wasn’t doing that- no easy filtered cooler. So I purchased my Brita replacement filters and got a cute large mason jar and started setting water goals (include this in your schedule/to-do list). Also, spice up your water with lemon or chlorophyll.
   
3. Take Breaks In the office you are probably getting up a few times a day whether it’s for a meeting or to talk to a friend or to grab lunch. You are also moving more to actually get to work vs your living room or home office. Make sure to schedule in a quick lunch break walk and then an after work walk or jog. Keep step goals going.
   
4. Workout There are so many at home workout videos available for free that there is no excuse. Whether you want to do yoga, tone or do HIIT, there is something for everyone on YouTube. Also, now during quarantine, a lot of your favorite studios are live streaming workouts as well as posting videos on their websites. Schedule one in morning, at lunch or after work.
   
5. Create a Morning Routine If you listen to some of the most successful people in the world, you will learn that they have a morning routine. I started one a few months ago and let me tell you, it makes a difference. I feel calmer and clearer and honestly have better days. What better time to start one than when you are at home and have the time. Mine includes a quick 5-10 meditation where I say what I am grateful for and then do a couple breathing exercises followed by a stretch and a few yoga moves (or a 30 min workout if I have time). I then drink warm water with lemon and make a celery or fruit homemade juice.
   
6. Listen to Music Whenever I want to put myself in a better mood, I put on music. There are so many fun stations to explore on Spotify that I never get bored, and you can search by mood too. Put some on even in middle of the day and dance it out like no one is watching (because no one is!)
   
7. Check in on Friends Whether you are quarantined alone or cooped up with someone, text or facetime your friends. You never know who might need some companionship and it is also good for you to interact (even virtually) with people other than who you are with, just as you would at work.
   
8. Don’t work in Bed Understood that this might be hard if you have a really tiny studio, but if you can make space anywhere else then do so. Your bed should always be your space to sleep. You shouldn’t even have electronics in the bedroom and having a dedicated space to work will make you more productive as well.
   
9. Get Dressed Do NOT stay in your pajamas all day. Throwing on sweats is fine but also make sure to change them up a few times a week.
   
10. Sign Off I find that I am still sitting at my computer some days until 6pm and unless an emergency comes through at the last minute, try to sign off at 5 or 5:30. This way people will see you are unavailable and won’t expect a response that evening.

Stay Sane Everyone!