I am not going to lie, when I got word that we would be working from home because of the corona virus, I was excited!! I have always glamorized work from home jobs and thought this was going to be so easy! Before this, the only work from home I had done were days when my kids were sick.
I thought it was going to be easy peazy! I was definitely wrong! The first week, I didn’t have any plan at all and thought I would just play it by ear. That was the worst thing I could have done. I was stressed and all over the place! My mental health plummeted and I got minimal amount of work done.
The second week (last week if you’re reading this right when it comes out), I had a much better game plan and things went a lot better! I wanted share my tips with you in hopes it’ll help out!
1. Stick To A Schedule
This might sound a little obvious, but it really does help. Typically, I time block everything in my planner. The first week I was planning on going with the flow and that just didn’t work. So I made a schedule and time blocked like I normally do. I kept the same time blocks as I typically would if I was in the office. I time blocked my morning work, my lunch hour, and then my afternoon work. I know that I won’t be able to stick to my time blocking as closely since I have to watch the kids, but it helps keep me on track!
When creating a schedule, I also kept the normal time I woke up. This helps so much and I can’t suggest it enough. This helped me get into the groove of working rather than dragging my feet. It also helps so much to get up before the kids get up so I have time to take care of myself and get a plan down for the day. The first week, I was just rolling out of bed and opening my computer. I do not suggest this!
2. Be Flexible
While it is important to stick to a schedule, it’s also so important to be flexible! Working from home has been nothing like I thought it would be. I thought my kids would be good and just play quietly with their toys and understand that mom needs to work. Nope, they ask me for snacks every 2.3 seconds, tattle on each other, and get into everything that is not nailed down! So while I have a time blocked schedule, I also have to remember that things are not going to go 100% according to plan. This can be hard for me because I really like things to go the way I want them to go. With kids, that’s just never going to happen!
When I am working from home, I have to give myself grace or I will get super down on myself. These are weird times and the adjustment from office full time to home full time is not going to come easy. As much as I want to think it’s easy, it’s not. I have to learn to be okay with that and know that while I have things I need to get done for work, the safety of my family comes first, which means I need to be home.
3. Get Dressed
It’s fun to stay home and stay in your pajama’s all day long! When you do it for days at a time, it just gets depressing, at least for me. I learned that I feel so much better when I get up, get dressed, and get ready a little bit. Now I’m not saying I am getting up and putting on what I would wear to the office, but I am getting up and putting on a clean pair of yoga pants and a clean shirt! I am brushing my hair and putting a little effort into my appearance. Getting dressed and ready just makes you feel better about yourself and can easily pull you out of a funk. If you’re really feeling in a funk, try to have a stay at home date night with your spouse!
4. Have Your Own Work Space
This is something I learned the hard way. Week one I was trying to work in the family room, eating in the family room, then hanging out in the family room, and finally trying to relax in the family room. It was driving me nuts and it felt like I was quarantined to one room in my house! I finally set up a little office area where my kitchen table is. This way I could still see the kids, but they were at a distance, and I had different spaces for work and relaxation.
Having a separate work space helped in so many different ways. It gave me a slight illusion of being at work which really helped motivate me and got me into the headspace I would be in at the office. It also in a way signaled to my kids that mom was working and they needed to play on their own. Now don’t get me wrong, my kids are young and I know they need things and I still help them out. My children are also very independent so I know they can handle playing on their own while I am simply in a different room.
5. Create Boundaries
When I am in work mode, I like to work. I work hard and I want to get everything done. Bringing work into the house can be difficult when you have this attitude. You can end up working well beyond an eight hour day. It’s easy when I leave the office because my work doesn’t come home and then I am present at home. When I first started working from home I made a list of what I wanted to accomplish that day. I found myself working way more hours trying to get those things done. Now, I give myself grace and when 4pm hits, my laptop closes. I typically leave the office at 4pm, so as long as I start my day at 7am, I’m shutting my laptop at 4pm. It’s very rare that I will work past 4pm. If my company doesn’t like it, they can take a hike because we are all trying to navigate these hard times!
I have found these tips so helpful when working at home and I hope you do too! Drop any golden nuggets you might have in the comments!