Your guide to work from home - BRIDGE OF MEMORIES

It has been over a month now since I am and many of us are in isolation and working from home. Working from home has not been a new concept for me, but staying in the same place for such a long time is indeed a challenging thing for all of us, especially when it comes to concentration and motivation.

I have learned and kept adjusting my way and would like to share with you a few tips on how to make the best of working from home, and not only during this quarantine time. Whether you have WFH before or not, turning your house into a professional working space can be challenging. I thought it may be helpful to share some home office essentials and tips to make your working from home more effective and productive.

Structure your day like you are going to the office

Try waking up at the same time as you would wake up to work, and use the extra time in the morning to get yourself slowly prepared, change your clothes, make yourself breakfast, and do some yoga, meditation, or exercise in the morning. The worst thing to do is to get up, brush your teeth, and go immediately to sit in front of your computer where you are stuck for the rest of the day.

Make a dedicated workspace that inspires you

Home is now where you will be splitting your time between work and personal space. Therefore make a dedicated space where you can work effectively. Whether it is by a bright window, on a large dining table, or in a small intimate room. Whatever works for your concentration and work. Think about the background you will have behind you when you have video calls or think about people you live with, whether they need that space for something too. Such as your workplace in a living room or kitchen can be disturbing if you will have someone walking behind your back all the time. Think about the daylight in your place, surround yourself with plants ideally, and decorate your desk so it keeps you going. If it is worth it, try to invest some money into home office equipment, like a proper chair, a monitor, a desk if you don’t have one, whiteboards, or even simple notebooks and pens so you can write down your thoughts all the time. Make an effort in swapping things around or shop some of my picks below to add to your interior home office:

Commit to doing more

I know how hard can it be to stay motivated and effective whilst at home. However, commit to doing more during this quarantine time. Set a goal, an objective you would like to achieve. One, two, or more. Set something achievable by the end of a lockdown or set the time duration yourself. You should set up both personal and professional objectives for yourself. Such as learning a new language, upskilling yourself in Excell, starting a blog, or reading one book per week. Whatever your goal is, it should be rewarding and contribute to your self-development. Download an app or simply write down your goals for the week or month on a piece of paper or on a whiteboard so you can have it always in front of you.

Plan your to-do list ahead of time and write a checklist

It helps me to continue doing a to-do list or a checklist of things I need to do by the end of the day or tasks broken down to complete a project. Make sure to follow the list and plan ahead for the next few days or even the next few days, as it will keep you on track and motivated. Whether you will decide to track your work on paper or an app, is entirely up to you. The only thing that matters is a willingness to stick to it and to regularly update it. I am keeping a list of both work and personal tasks. From the shopping list, and home cleaning to work-related things. It keeps your day busy, you are organized with what you are doing and you can easily kick into work efficiently day by day.

Listen to your body and mind and adopt

As much as you try to make it work, pay attention to your body and mind. Take regular breaks during work, try to exercise as much as you would usually do, and stay healthy. Listen to your body and mind, don’t do something that you are not comfortable with. That being said, if you feel extremely tired and low motivated, don’t pressure yourself into something. Take a break, take a nap, take a walk, it is ok to switch off for a day if you can. Moreover, since we are being locked at home with minimal room for exercising, make sure to use some free time to go outside for fresh air, for a run, or exercise at home with some simple equipment. Whether it will be at your desk so you don’t sit and work the whole time or you will dedicate time for exercise.