For years, business professionals tried to learn how to work better in the office. They read tons of articles on managing their time better and working in a chaotic environment, but everything changed a year ago when the global pandemic hit. Now, everyone is trying to learn how to work from home. Some are finding it easy, but the adjustment hasn’t been smooth for everyone.
Even after a full year of remote work, some of us are still finding it difficult. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of healthy habits to develop while working from home. We’re aware that you might have heard or implemented some of these before, but even if you only take away one from this list, that’s a win for us and, hopefully, for you too.
Get Back To Normal Work Hours
Many places of employment started to implement rolling start times when they began remote work. They understood that this was a big transition for their employees and didn’t want them to feel obligated to clock in at the same time they usually did. Plus, people with hectic home lives could plan their work schedule better around other responsibilities if they could start whenever they needed.
Unfortunately, some of us used this leeway as an opportunity to get some extra sleep, and once you start sleeping in, it can be a hard habit to break. A shifting schedule can quickly lead to an unhealthy work-life, but you can easily fix it. Going to bed sooner will make waking up on time more manageable and, eventually, help you get back into your standard in-office schedule.
As a side note, don’t be one of those people who literally rolls out of bed and starts working. Running through your morning routine helps get you in a productive mind space so that you’re fresh and ready for the new day.
Create a Routine
Speaking of routine, setting up a work one is another healthy habit that you can do for yourself. We’re sure you had one back in the office, so use parts of your previous processes to schedule your at-home ones. Start your day by checking emails, planning your work, and catching up on anything you might have missed from the day before. Don’t be afraid to take the time to make some coffee or converse with some colleagues. These are all things you used to do when you were on-site, so doing them now isn’t a bad thing.
Setting up do-not-disturb times with the people you live with is an excellent way to make sure you can focus on work for a couple of hours. Taking regular breaks is another way. When you’re sitting there all alone, it can be easy to work the whole time continuously. Dedicating consistent blocks of time for breaks is a great way to keep yourself from burning out.
Dedicate an Area Specifically for Work
If you’re still working at the kitchen table, you need a new game plan. Working in areas that you typically use for other things makes it more difficult to get in the mind space for work. If you’re in the kitchen, your brain will subconsciously be thinking about food. If you’re in the bedroom, sleep and relaxation will be on the mind. Making yourself a dedicated office will help your brain know that it needs to be in work mode.
If you can’t possibly reserve a whole room for your office in your house, try to use an area that you don’t go into very often. A finished basement is a good spot since you’re unlikely to go down there every day and use it when you’re off the clock.
Stay Connected With Coworkers
One of the biggest changes to deal with when working from home is the lack of human interaction. Sure, you still message your team whenever you need help on a project and hold video calls often, but nothing quite duplicates the feeling of seeing each other face-to-face.
Luckily, COVID-19 restrictions have slowly been getting lifting, so meeting with a colleague in person might not be so difficult anymore. Just to be clear, though, we’re not encouraging recklessness. You should stick to socially distancing yourselves and wearing a mask when you can, but meeting with a coworker to go over plans for your next big project is now a possibility.
Dynamic meetings are becoming more common due to the pandemic. You can grab lunch at an outdoor venue with your team or go on a walk together at a local park. If you are really looking to stay connected without involving work, you can set up after-hours gatherings. Find a workout buddy or meet a few friends for some nightly drinks. All we ask is that you are careful when doing any of these and take the precautions necessary to do so.
Get Outside
When you don’t have to travel to the office every day, you might go days or even weeks without realizing you haven’t left your house. Of course, this is never great for your overall health. However, now that the weather is getting nicer, consider working outdoors. The fresh air can help your productivity immensely.
If that’s not possible with the work that you do, find reasons to get outside once you’re off for the day. Go for a bike ride or run some errands. Anything that will get you out of the house will greatly improve your mental health and, depending on what you do, your physical health as well.
Try Something New
There are so many healthy habits to develop while working from home that we certainly can’t list them all, so get creative. Develop a new work style, or set up two monitors for better multitasking. Transform your regular desk into a standing one with one of our simple standing desk converters. The list of options available to you is endless.
We urge you to give one of our tips a try or think up something on your own. If it doesn’t work for you, there’s nothing wrong with that, but you don’t know until you try. Regardless of how you do it, creating more healthy habits while working in your own home will benefit you in so many ways.
