Ground Rules For Working At Home

Looking for some tips on working from home?

With many folks now stuck working from home far longer than intended, it’s important to set some ground rules for a work-life balance. While it may be hard to stay organized and keep yourself motivated, here at Office Upgraded we have a few ways to help. There are a few great ways to do maintain a good work-life balance, including:

1. Creating Structure and a Routine
2. Prioritizing what is Important
3. Staying Connected at Work
4. Taking Time for Yourself

A great way to start is creating a realistic schedule so you can complete your top priorities during your peak times of productivity, especially when you have the most energy and aren’t as distracted by kids. That may mean conducting important phone calls or video conferences when the baby is napping or the older kids are watching TV.

Even if you don’t have children, pets, friends, and family can be distractions during the day. Setting aside time to work by yourself and sticking to a schedule will help.

You Can Also Create Structure And Routine…

Set up several daily 15-minute breaks for chores, gardening or even short bursts of exercise. Taking a break will help you stay motivated and opens up room in your schedule for both productivity and fun.

Set alarms to remind yourself to come up for air throughout the day. Along with taking breaks, you can set alarms while working to remind yourself to grab a cup of coffee, take a quick walk, or take care of that pile of laundry that has been building up.

Mentally disconnect from work at 5 PM by taking a walk, picking up kids or tackling yard work. If you have your email connected to your phone (don’t we all?) set it to do not disturb. Do the same with calls. After 5 pm, unless you enjoy working later in the evening, is your time. Don’t let work interrupt or take over your life.

It is Important to Remain Connected…

Even workers who enjoy remote work say they miss the rhythms of a shared workspace including bonding rituals like coffee breaks, lunch dates and birthday celebrations. You can still do these things, especially now that vaccines are becoming more common and social distancing guidelines have been eased in many states and countries.

If you still aren’t comfortable working or seeing people in person, virtual events like coffee hours and happy hours keep remote workers in the loop. You can suggest to your boss that a virtual team bonding event would be a great addition to the work week.

Boost morale with surprises by sending containers of gourmet popcorn to worker’s homes or other little thoughtful gifts. If you really want to stay connected (and want your coworkers to love you) sending a quick, small, and thoughtful gift can open the door to good teamwork, maintained friendships, and good morale.

To Sum Up…

While we know working from home can be both isolating, challenging, and time-consuming, a few time-management tips can help improve it. Check out our other article on Time Management Skills to Improve Your Work-Life Balance.

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