8 Ways To Work From Home and Keep Your Sanity

The times have changed. And it did so in such a way that we weren’t ready and didn’t see this new wave of remote work coming. However, a large portion of us has worked from home before. Being thrust into the mouth of a kitchen office madness doesn’t seem so daunting. The rest of us most likely need some help with figuring out ways to work from home and keep your sanity.

Let’s go through a few tips:

Tip number one: Organize your new space.

Whether it’s a room dedicated to a home office or a spot at your dining table, your new digs will need to be organized. In my case, I’ve used a spot in my living room/office for the past decade or so as my home office. Soon that will change. Yes, there’s an official room in the house I’ve designated as the space for this new office. Until then, I have no problems making my spot at the dinner table a hybrid position. 

Tip number two: Remove distractions.

This one should go without saying. However, limiting attention hogs is not always easy to do. Kids can be a huge distraction. This goes for both young and old alike. Attention hogging via older kids can be as simple as talking about or playing a new Xbox game. No, we don’t want to hear the gunfire in Gears of War echoing in our ears while we work. Help your teenage or older child understand that gaming time will have to wait. Or they will need to find an area to self isolate themselves Problem solved.

Younger kids present a different challenge for home workers. If you have a spouse at home you can rotate the time they need between each other. If not then you will have to take note of vital activities in their daily schedules. When are they most active? Do they need toys as a distraction? Can the kids play with each other for a while without creating a melee? Being observant and answering these questions will help you develop a routine.

Tip number three: Create the best aesthetic for you.

If you work in an office and you’re used to hearing various noises (copiers, fax machines, coffee pot chatter, etc.) then you might need to make some adjustments. White noise apps can help with this. On the other hand, if you’re used to trudging along in a relatively quiet environment then things might be more challenging. It could be that you’ve found yourself caught up in one of the scenarios from bullet point #2.

Or for whatever reason, you don’t have the luxury of a silent work environment (enter neighbor who plays Game of Thrones reruns at full surround sound blast). Time to get creative. For the young kids’ issue, review the tips in bullet point 2. Help your older kids understand that game time has to be limited or moved to a different area altogether. Neighbors are an entirely different story. If peaceful confrontation isn’t an option then use noise-blocking headphones to play soothing music. Or use a wireless speaker to create the environment you need. 

Tip number four: Take frequent breaks.

When working from home we generally don’t have the same setup as we do at work. This means there are no walking trips to the printer. The bathroom is accessible and sometimes only a few feet away. And the yummy brownies leftover from the previous evening’s meal awaits in the kitchen behind our seating area. Get up and walk around. Head outside and soak up a few minutes of sun. Stand up and run in place if you have to. Don’t fall victim to a sedentary lifestyle. Keep in mind that we will return to work at some point. You don’t want to fall behind in the game when we go back. Also, keeping ourselves in shape helps boost our immune systems. 

Tip number 5: Get dressed.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to go full-on office gear with makeup included. However, it does mean that you need to get out of your bed and remove your bedclothes. Wear some of those cute items that you just recently bought online from your favorite store. This is a great time to put them to use. Hygiene plays an important role in productivity. If you jump out of bed and take it with you to your home office then guess what? You will spend most of the day feeling like you overslept. 

Tip number 6: Tidy up your home.

While a nice clean home is always a fabulous thing, spot cleaning your digs will especially help your productivity during this time. Work can be stressful. We all know this. If you’re sitting in a spot that smells like last night’s spaghetti meal then that’s not going to help the situation. Take some time on the weekends to clean up. Or use this time during one of those frequent breaks you’ll be taking to vacuum your office area. Many studies show that a fresh and organized space creates a productive one.

Tip number 7: Make a to-do list each morning.

Distraction comes easily when you work from home. It took me a while to get my routine in place. I found that making a to-do list at the start of each morning gave me a sense of normalcy. This doesn’t have to be an extensive or detailed document. At the very least, you should try to organize the day’s workload by what’s most important. This step gave me a tremendous boost in confidence. 

Tip number 8: Use productivity apps when possible.

Again there’s something about working at home that presents a different type of freedom. Checking the internet becomes second nature. It’s hard to break that habit if you’re not used to working from home. Recognize the times when this happens. That way surfing your favorite online spot doesn’t cut into your productivity. There are several productivity apps that do things like blocking the Internet and setting a timer for work sessions. Freedom and the Pomodoro app come to mind first. I’ve used these in the past and still do at times to get chunks of writing done. They worked for me and I believe they’d do the same for you.

That’s all the work from home tips I have for now. I hope you find this list helpful. Do you have other tips for working from home that wasn’t listed in this article? Let us know by sounding off in the comments below.

Stay safe everyone!

If you need help putting together a home office plan then KaSonndra Leigh Designs is here to help. Have a look at our portfolio and get in touch with us today!