Working from home because of COVID – here are our tips

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 5338

What a great time to be alive and what a great time to work from home! For those of you new to the concept let me be the first to welcome you. Working from home is a hot topic right now and as such, please ignore the experts out there during this work from home revival and hear me out. With 5338 days under my belt, let me provide 6 expert tips of working from home in the homeplaceofthefuture. Welcome aboard! You will love it.

1. Have a dedicated workspace. While the temptation is strong to work in your bedroom, kitchen table, bathtub or back porch. I would highly recommend having a dedicated workspace where you conduct the majority of your business. Flexibility in moving around is totally acceptable, but trust me you’ll want a set place to answer your emails and save the world working on those all-important PowerPoint presentations.
   
   
2. Have a uniform. Don’t listen to the “experts” out there, I never dress for work like I did when I went to an office every day. Why waste time wearing business casual clothes, the cleaning, the pressing, the tucking in of shirts so that no one can see you? Untold power and energy await you when you don’t have to decide what to wear everyday, I wear the same clothes every day and over the years have quite a collection of black t’shirts. It’s easy, it’s cheap and fashionable.
   
   
3. Don’t eat all day! I learned this the hard way when I first started and gained quite a bit of weight. In 15 years of working from home, I actually have a food journal that I write in with my hand! Imagine that. If your food choices are written down in your own handwriting, you should feel guilty if you often write down Twinkies or Fried Twinkies, red hot Cheetos, etc. I’m not food snob, but the lack of people around me and a pantry full of junk for the kids you need to find your own way of being accountable. Alcohol doesn’t count however because #daydrinking
   
   
4. Don’t feel guilty. Imagine how much time you waste in the office looking out the window or taking long walks to the coffee room. If you’re quarantined to the homeplaceofthefuture don’t feel guilty if you want to do a load of laundry, talk to the mailman (no handshaking!) or preparing a meal. Studies show that we work best in bursts – personally I go all out for 45-50 minutes every hour and if time and call volume allow, I get up and walk around, do chores, look at Facebook for the last 10 minutes of every hour or sometimes longer…shh don’t tell!
   
   
5. Be social! Listen up, the longer I have worked from home the more I hate people. It comes with the territory, but out of the 7 billion people on this planet, I like about 25 of them and those people who are local to me I regularly schedule lunches with, happy hours with or other after work activities. You will drive yourself mad working from home and never seeing people – we are meant for connection and although most people suck – you should know a few good ones to hang with.
   
   
6. Exercise. I can talk about this one all day, but do something. Sitting is the new cancer and in all seriousness get up and do something throughout your day. Odds are your employer won’t notice and you’ll feel great.