Top tips for working from home

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Elaine Quigley
Elaine Quigley, CBR, CRS, GRI
57 East Main Street, Suite 217
Westborough, MA 01581
[email protected]
Business: (508) 366-4266
Cell: (508) 735-5161
www.EQRE.com

By Elaine Quigley

When you’ve been driving to the office day in and day out, sitting in that uncomfortable chair in those uncomfortable pants and enduring endless in-person meetings that easily could have been short calls, or even shorter emails, working from home can sound pretty darn good.

But working from home takes a certain kind of discipline. And flexibility. And finesse. Especially if your spouse is also working from home and your kids are out of school. If you’re new to this, we have a few tips that will help it go smoothly.

 

Eat and drink—the right stuff at the right time

It’s easy to get caught up in work and forget to eat or get enough water during the day. It’s also easy to take too many trips to the kitchen for snacks, and, before you know it, your healthy habits are going down in a hail of potato chips. Stocking up on healthy food and limiting the high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie snack foods can help you resist temptation.

 

Build in exercise

Working from home means you’re out of your regular pattern, which means you’re not getting to the gym. You may also find yourself sitting for longer periods while at home without the normal daily office realities of meetings and trekking to different parts of your workplace. There are tons of ways to get in a workout from home – especially now, since a number of gyms and fitness experts have put their workouts online. Many of them are also free.

Entrepreneur suggests you “take walking meetings when you can. If you have a phone call that you don’t need to be in front of a computer to take, pick up your Bluetooth headphones and get outside. It’s great for your muscles, your heart, your happiness and your overall well-being.”

 

Designate a work-only space

This may be easier said than done. In some homes, there just isn’t a dedicated home office or even a bedroom with a door you can close. You may find yourself having to work at the kitchen table or in the back yard just to get a little privacy. If you can, however, find a private space you can make your own while you’re working from home. It can increase productivity and allow you to separate work from life so, when you shut the door at the end of the day, you can be present for your family.

 

Get dressed in the morning

Or don’t. It’s totally up to you. Many people who work from home feel it makes them more productive if they get up, take a shower, and change into work-appropriate clothes. Others think working in their jammies is the best thing ever (we tend to agree). The trick to successfully working from home is figuring out what works for you.

 

Make a schedule

“Set a schedule, and stick to it…most of the time,” said PCMag. “Having clear guidelines for when to work and when to call it a day helps many remote workers maintain work-life balance. That said, one of the benefits of remote work is flexibility, and sometimes you need to extend your day or start early to accommodate someone else’s time zone. When you do, be sure to wrap up earlier than usual or sleep in a bit the next morning to make up for it. Automatic time-tracking apps, such as RescueTime, let you check in on whether you’re sticking to your schedule. They can also help you figure out what times of day you’re most productive versus when you slack off. You can use that information to your advantage by reserving your hours of high focus for your most important tasks.”

 

Be social

Working from home can feel isolating, especially if you get energy from your regular workspace and colleagues.

“One undeniable loss is the social, casual ‘water cooler’ conversation that connects us to people,” said NPR. “To fill the gap, some co-workers are scheduling online social time to have conversations with no agenda. Use Slack chats and things like that if you miss real-time interaction.”

Inc. has a few good ideas for how to be social during your break time. “Walk around your home while chatting on the phone with a friend. Move to a separate area – away from your email – to eat lunch for 30 minutes. Breaking up the day and moving your body enables you to refresh and can increase your productivity when you return to your work. When the weather is nice, I like to do conference calls while taking a walk outside.”

 

Let 2020 be your year in becoming a Homeowner!   I will put my years of experience in real estate to work for you…. knowledge, expertise, professionalism, reputation 508-735-5161, [email protected].

 

Elaine Quigley, CBR, CRS, GRI

57 East Main Street, Suite 217
Westborough, MA  01581

[email protected]

Business: (508) 366-4266

Cell: (508) 735-5161

www.EQRE.com

 

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