My Top 5 Work From Home Tips

Happy Friday friends! I hope you had a good and productive week. This week I spent time with friends enjoying the beautiful weather and chatted with a college friend about our businesses. It was a great week but I am ready for a relaxing weekend!

This week I want to share my top 5 tips for working from home. It's been a year since the pandemic started and some of us may still be working from home. This time last year I was told I would be working part-time from home and part-time at the office (where I worked was considered essential). I am not going to lie the idea of working from home made me happy but also nervous. I am someone who likes to have seperation between work and home.

I never really got a rountine down while I was still working my 9-5 but now that I am self-employed I feel like I have a better grasp on working from home. Here are my favorite tips for working at home.

• Plan your day out - I am somone who loves to have a plan and not having a plan stresses me out. At the end of each work day I sit down and make a list of all that I need to accomplish the next day. I check my calendar for appointments with clients and make sure I don't have any deadlines coming up. After I make that list I prioritize what needs to get done first and what can wait for later on in the day or can be done the next day. The following day when I sit down at my desk I can start right away on what needs to be accomplished. Having a plan for my day is important for me because it makes sure I stay on track and holds me accountable.

• Dress like you are going to an actual office - This one is a tough one some days. There are days where I just want to throw on a hoodie and leggings. I have noticed on those days I get less done and find myself scrolling on my phone compared to actually working on growing my business. I try everyday to dress nice. For the most part I put on jeans and a nice top. Some days I will add some minimal jewelry and some makeup. Dressing like I am going to an office really helps my work ethic. It reminds me that I am not just hanging out at home and creating content but working to achieve the goals I have set for myself and my business.

• Change up where you sit every couple of hours (if possible) - I have found sitting at my desk all day is not productive for me. I have a space in our living room that is considered my office. I love this space and have really made it my own but it does not get a lot of sunlight. I am somone who loves the sun. Sitting in a space that is bright and warm really helps my mood. Sometimes in the afternoon I will gather my stuff and move to my kitchen table where there is lots of sunlight. Sometimes I will even sit outside! I found that having a change of scenery allows me to clear my head and allows for creativity to happen. Sometimes I just sit there for an hour or sometimes for the rest of the afternoon.

• Take plenty of breaks - I try to step away from my computer every hour for at least 5 minutes. During that time I will refill my water or coffee and just walk around. Sometimes I go outside on our deck and just sit. Other times I will visit my husband in his home office and just chat for a couple of minutes. One of the biggest struggles of working from home for me is not having an co-workers (shoutout to my old co-workers....miss you guys!). Now that the weather is nicer I will take a longer break after I eat lunch and go for a quick 20 minute walk. This allows me to clear my head and have a productive afternoon!

• Have a clear start and end time for your day. Aka establish boundaries - This one is super important! It can be so easy to wake up, roll out of bed, and start working. It is so important to take care of yourself when working from home. The same goes for the evening. There are many times where I find myself sitting at my desk after dinner instead of spending time with my husband or just relaxing. I try to start my work days around 10AM and try to finish for the day around 4pm. This allows me to do my morning rountine and a relax for a little bit before cooking dinner. Setting boundaries allows you have a balance between work and life. It can be so easy to bring your work home with you when you work from home.

I hope you find these tips helpful! Please share your favorite tips with me.

Have a great weekend friends!

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