10 strategies to make Working from Home a success

Working from home?.Its going to be relatively new for alot of you this week.

I’ve been relatively used to it as I’ve been doing it for a decent chunk of time and have found

1) What works, 2) what definitely doesn’t work !

First thing is you have to treat it like work and not a day off, yes you are at home, but you have a job to do , and sitting on the couch watching netflix isn’t it.

Much like your normal job you have start and finish time’s with set breaks, this should remain in tact.

1) Structure:
Have clear and defined times that you start/work/break/eat/finish at .

This can easily get out of hand and productivity goes down the toilet, potentially along with your job.

2) Where you work from:
Have a specific place that you work from, clear out the spare room or office .

The kitchen , living room or bedroom aren’t a place of work.

They are associated with different activities, much like you wouldn’t work from the canteen in work , don’t work from your kitchen.

3) Keep a work uniform:
Sounds a little odd but wear work clothes , you don’t have to put on your best suit or dress, but wear clothes you associate with working in, not gym leggings .

Keep it specific to the task at hand, most definitely dont work in your dressing gown. Again theres an association to sleep and chilling, as opposed to actually working/productivity

4) Routine:
If you have a usual routine around work, keep it. If you train early in the morning , train at home before working, if you walk to work, go for a walk before starting , literally leave the house with the objective of walking to “work” once you get back its go time.

5) Work/home boundaries: 
Explain to those in your office i.e your family , house mates etc that you are working if they aren’t , and cant simply log off to do what ever they suggest. Maintain structure and discipline, but have a convo asking for understanding on this that you are “at work”

Declare your times that you are and are not available .

6)Use apps to help
Pomodoro timers are excellent. ?
Set periods for intense work and the same for breaks in-between , generally we have 20-25 minutes of actual attention span, set the timer for blocks of 20 mins with 5 minutes in-between each block , do a stretch , make a coffee, put on your next meal in the oven, what ever you need to do , do it between the 20 minute blocks,

I also use Trello alot for all my organisation with To-Do’s and Done lists,

7) Great Coffee:
Life is too short for instant coffee.

8) Airplane mode:
When you are working work, not scrolling because your boss isnt there to keep an eye on you, nothing will break concentration or focus like a “quick look” on social media that ends up in you taking 25 quizzes to find out what type of potato you are.

9) Music:
Music generally without lyrics allows for far more productivity, particularly when needing deeper focus on more difficult tasks, This is why you’ll often see me listening to classical or piano music when working then for something i need less focus for ill put something on that ill tap my toe to !

10) Discipline = Freedom
Jocko coined this term, but its more than true here when working from home,

The work needs to be done, when you do it is dictated by your discipline, you’ll often see those posting about working late into the night after a busy day (laptop closing boomerang lol ) this is more so a sign of “i f**ked around all day and left it too late to do my work”

Do the work = Gain the freedom

10 simple ideas that are brutally effective for WFH put these into practice and you’ll nail this