Top Tips for Working from Home
Remote working is on the rise. Companies are finally seeing the value in having a remote workforce. It gives the company versatility, allows them to decrease their physical footprint, and lowers costs. The most important aspect of working from home is that employees prefer it. More and more job seekers are looking for remote opportunities. The younger workforce coming into the job market is asking for jobs that give them freedom of movement. Even the experienced workers want to work from home so they can eliminate commutes, spend more time with family, and live anywhere they want while keeping their job. There are aspects of working remotely, or from home, that differ from being on-site. Here are our top tips for working from home.
Try to Set a Schedule
Even if your company doesn’t insist that you be logged in from 9 to 5, set a schedule. It doesn’t matter what time of day you work as long as you are consistent with it. Get your body and mind used to getting up and doing work at the same time of day every day. A predetermined work time will also signal to those around you that it’s work time and that’s your focus for the next eight hours. Not having a schedule will mess your internal clock and lead to missing assignments and not answering calls and emails.
Get Up and Move
We are a sedentary society and love a good sit. The reality is that anyone that works remotely has a job that doesn’t require physical activity; it requires sitting, and lots of it. In the office, it’s encouraged to get up and get away from your desk periodically. The same rules apply at home. Get up and move around at least once an hour. Go get some coffee, go to the toilet, look out the window, it doesn’t matter. Just get up out of your chair and move your legs and body. A small gesture will go a long way to improve your physical and mental health.
Designate a Space
You don’t have to use an entire room to set up a replica office at home. Claim some space in your home that you will designate the workplace. Report to that place every day and make it your own. Let your family or roommates know that this is your work spot and ask them to respect your space. If you like to shift around and work from the couch or in bed you can do so, just make sure not to fall asleep in the middle of a Zoom meeting.
Stay Comfortable
Most remote workers don’t have trouble with this aspect. Comfort is the name of the game. Wear your most comfortable clothes and slippers all day if that’s how you feel best. Put on a shirt and pants if that’s your game. No one can tell you how to feel comfortable other than yourself. When setting up your workstation, just make sure you have a good chair that’s sturdy and comfy for the entire day.
Don’t Overdo It
What’s overdoing it? Overdoing it is setting a schedule for yourself and ignoring it. Overdoing it is also logging back in after dinner and continuing to work all night until you go to sleep. When you are working from home, it feels like the workday never ends. If you get to the point that your never stop working, you must stop. There must be a work/life balance for remote workers, just as there is for those that report to the office every day.
Avoid Constant Snacking
This is a tall order even in the office. Temptation exists in the office every day with birthday cake, donuts, supplied snacks, and nearby restaurants. Going into the office, you can mitigate the snacking by not taking a huge lunch with you. At home, you are surrounded by all your favorite foods and they are mere steps away. Sitting in your house all day, not moving and eating constantly are not healthy activities in any sense of the word. If you are a constant muncher, then buy healthy snacks and fruit instead of junk food.
Create a Morning Routine
When you wake and go to the office, you should follow a natural routine before you start working. Wake up, shower, shave, make coffee, eat breakfast, pack lunch, and run out the door. There is at least an hour from when you wake to when you start working in the morning. Do the same at home. Create a morning routine that involves getting ready for the day and not simply rolling out of bed and logging in. At minimum, hit the shower and wake up with some hot water and steam.
Take Your Breaks
This goes along with getting up and moving to get the blood flowing. Make sure that you take a couple 10-minute breaks during the day. Forget about your work for a minute and recharge your mind. You wouldn’t sit at your desk in the office for eight continuous hours, and you shouldn’t do so at home either. This is especially important if you are having a bad day. Walk away from it and focus your mind on something else so you can come back with a fresh perspective.
Leave the House
This is THE top tip for working from home. It is easy to fall into the “hermit” trap and never leave your place. Having to go into the office at least gets you out of the house and doing something. Engaging with the outside world is important for your sanity. Sitting in the house day after day isn’t healthy, so make it a point to leave. Where you go and what you do isn’t important, as long as you go outside and get some fresh air.
Ask for What You Need
Don’t be afraid to ask the company for what you need to do your job. They agreed to allow you to work remotely, but that doesn’t absolve them of their responsibility. The company still must supply you with the tools to do your job. The office supplies chairs, desks, computers, and phones to everyone in the office, and the same is needed for the remote team. If you are working on your personal laptop because you prefer it, that’s up to you, but the company can’t insist that you use your own machine. If you want a better chair or a standup desk, then ask for it.
Hopefully, our guide on the top tips for working from home helped you explore your remote work options. As a company, you can secure your remote team comfortable and ergonomic used office chairs in Chicago at Rework LLC. We have hundreds of chairs to choose from.
