How to get the most out from working from home
Working from home is very different from anything. It is also amazingly hard to write about this topic for me as I feel, it is about home, a very personal matter. As a personal matter, it is different for everyone. I am going to approach this with a mix of my own experiences, as I am mainly working from home and not from coworking offices and I will also generalize the topic as I don’t think we are very much different at all. Treat this article with a grain of salt though and only apply the tips here if you feel them personally working for you.
I am working from home since mid-2014. I tried coworking offices, and I still pay some regular visits to them, plus I only work from coworking offices when I am on the road. I hate to work from cafes and public spaces, they are not my thing, they are too much distraction and they are not tied to a working environment. Sure you can work from a library but what if you need to take a call with a client or coworker? Sure you can work from a café but what if the WiFi goes down and the noise is too much? I only work from a café or public space if I have to and there are no other alternatives. I only work from a coworking office if I miss the office environment and want to meet new people. However, I stick to my home when it comes to deep, meaningful, and focused work.
So the critical challenge of working from home is how to stay productive. Here are my tips on how to achieve and overcome this challenge.
Have a routine and stick to it. It depends on your schedule or the work you do. If you are a morning person, do fantastic work early in the morning, so no one disturbs you. If you are a night owl, do the legwork after 9 pm. It is your schedule and your preferences, and you are at home, you have the freedom to stick to your plan. Have your routine, figure it out for yourself and stick to it, protect it and embrace it.
Go to work mode on-demand but go to home mode if needed. When you work from home, the work-life balance becomes a sort of irrelevant, and it is under heavy pressure. There is only one great thing about commuting to an office: getting yourself ready to enter or exit from work mode. When your home is your office, this getting ready feeling comes instantly. To switch between modes, have a trigger. To me, there are two things. Space and tools. I have a separate room, a study, where I do most of my work. When I enter that room, I am in work mode instantly. When I open up my laptop, I am semi-work. These are my triggers, but I think it is essential for everyone to establish a trigger system that tricks their brain when they are at home working or just at home living.
Invest in tools and equipment. It is your home so you can do whatever you want. Buy the best and most reliable laptop or computer you can. Buy the best and most ergonomic chair you can. Buy a desk – I recommend an adjustable table that can be converted to a standing desk if needed. Subscribe to the best internet connection you can get. Buy the best alternative mobile internet tools you can get, in case the cable is down. Have the proper tools for conference calls, a steady mic, and great headphones. Seriously, you can optimize your workspace as you need, this is a luxury you won’t have in an office.
Have a low-maintenance hobby, so when you need to step away for a few minutes, you can comfortably relax and recharge and get on your feet again. If you are doing the Pomodoro technique or you work with hourly short breaks, it is great to have a reliable hobby that you can do every time. The hobby should be non-pixelated as well when you are doing a 10-mins break, and you want to step away from the screen.
Let everyone know about your schedule. Your coworkers will know, but let your family and friends know too. It is easy to get distractions when others know you are at home. To this day, people still don’t think that working from home is working. Let your relatives know that they can’t just phone you up or ask some stuff to sort out, just because you are at home.
Enjoy your time! You are working from your home for God’s sake. You are pouring your coffee from your espresso machine – I love my espresso machine! You are listening to your music. You wear what you want, and if you want, you can live up to the stereotype and wear only pants at work. Enjoy your time, and you are at home. Save thousands of dollars on working from home. No need to spend on public transport or gasoline, no need to spend that much on lunches and snacks, and not much to spend on your office look. Enjoy the reclaimed time, no need to commute and spend hour-long breaks for lunch. Enjoy the absence of pointless marathon meetings and small talks. Spend your freedom, time, and money well with this newly found luxury setup.
Get social – not just on the net. This is the biggest challenge, at least for me. Since you are working from home, you are not spending time with others mandatory. You have to be proactive if you want to meet others. You can always go to a coworking space for a day if you need the noise and people. Do some team sports to meet non-work related people. Go to meetups based on your interests.
Working from home is amazing, and I don’t believe the statement that ‘it is not for everyone.’ If you do it right, you can enjoy the benefits and overcome the challenges, even if you thought ‘it is not your thing.’
