5 Ways To Create A Productive Work-From-Home Routine
The typical “9 to 5,” in-office work day used to be the “norm,” but in recent years, that’s all been changing. A lot of people are now working from home, being their own bosses, and living outside-of-the-box lifestyles.
As great as working from home, or working on your own time sounds, it can be very difficult to create a structure that keeps you productive and disciplined enough to get your daily tasks done.
It’s important to create routines and have strategies to incorporate into your daily life to help give your work days structure and direction.
Create a “morning” and an “evening” routine
Whether you work regular hours or not, it can be extremely helpful to create a pre-work AND post-work routine, no matter what time of the day those are.
A pre-work routine will help you prepare and energize yourself for your day. Part of this routine can include anything from washing your face, making a cup of coffee, meditating to journaling, making your bed, or stretching/doing a workout. Whatever helps you wake up and get excited to have a productive day is what you should incorporate into this routine. It should set your day up for success.
A post-work routine will help you decompress and destress from your day. Part of this routine can include things like taking a bath, reading a book, reflecting on your day or even going out to dinner with a friend or family member. What you do at the end of your day should help you enter a state of true relaxation so you can start your next work day feeling recharged.
Get dressed and ready
It’s SO tempting to stay in sweatpants all day long while working from home - which is totally fine if that works for you! But, when you feel yourself getting in a funk or start to have a hard time concentrating throughout the day, doing something as simple as changing what you normally wear or getting ready as if you’re leaving the house can make a bigger difference than you think.
What “getting ready” or “getting dressed” means is totally up to you. For some people, it’s more effective to get fully put together - doing your hair, doing your makeup and putting business or professional attire on. Look good to feel good, right?
If that sounds like way too much for you, simply throwing on jeans instead of sweats can make all the difference. Some people just need a little bit of change to find that groove again. Whatever you decide, do what makes you feel good and ready to go.
Set boundaries
Setting boundaries is a HUGE way to create a productive and healthy work-from-home balance.
One way to set boundaries is to have a dedicated space to work. I know, it’s super easy and comfortable to work from the couch. If that works for you, go for it! But, at least have a spot that you can call your regular “workspace,” even if you don’t work from there the whole day. It’s important to keep where you sleep and relax separate from where you work (most of the time), or else you risk intertwining the conflicting energies of these spaces.
Another way to set boundaries is to have “working hours” of some kind for when you work/when you are available. When you work from home or on your own time, it can be easy to feel like you need to be available to work or respond to people at all waking hours - which can be very overwhelming and stressful. Make sure that you cut yourself off at a certain point - that may mean turning off email notifications at a certain time each day, or stepping out of the house for a while to detach.
Whatever you do, having balance and separating your personal time from your work time, will keep you sane.
Create a schedule
One of the best ways to set yourself up for success is to have some kind of calendar/schedule you can follow. Start your day with planning. Plan and list your tasks for the day, and, if needed, create time blocks for each task/project. There’s not one right way to do this, so do whatever works best for you. This is a trial and error process.
It can also be easy to get lost in your work, especially when you aren’t in an office environment or a workplace that has scheduled breaks. Make sure you plan out a few breaks throughout the day to eat, decompress, and re-energize. Taking a short walk can help you reset. If you need to, set a few alarms to remind yourself when it’s time to get up, move around, and take a moment to yourself.
Remove distractions
The distractions when working from home or working on your own time are endless. There’s nobody to tell you to stop scrolling on your phone and get back to work except yourself. Holding yourself accountable and having a few strategies to keep you on track is super important.
If you’re easily distracted by your phone, like most of us, utilize “do not disturb” or “focus” mode to stop unimportant notifications. You can also try a productivity app to help you block off times of your day to stay focused. T.V. can also be tempting to just throw on in the background, but don’t fall into that trap. Try putting some music or soothing background noise on instead.
Working from home and being your own boss sounds easy and luxurious, but it’s definitely hard work! It takes a lot of planning and discipline to get into a solid routine that works for you. Make sure you have strategies and procedures in place that will help you be the best you can be so you can go out there and kill it!
