Working from home tips

Seven top tips for working from home during lockdown

With the UK in continued lockdown, more people are working from home than ever before. However, working from home isn’t without its challenges and hopefully, our top tips will help make working from home during this time a little bit easier for you.

1. Stay social – Make sure you are still talking to people. Whether you’re talking to people within your household or set up video calls with any team members or even just friends or family, socialising is important.
2. Take regular breaks – It’s all too easy to get lost in your work, so make sure you’re taking short regular breaks. When you’re at work, you will often have a little chat with your co-workers, or pop off to the kitchen to get a tea/coffee. Make sure you get these regular breaks, especially if you’re sat in front of a screen all day.
3. Make sure you get some exercise – It’s essential to ensure you’re still getting some exercise when working from home. You might not realise it but you probably get a significant amount of exercise throughout the day, which you’ll not miss while working from home. The government have encouraged people to go outside for local walks, runs, bike rides etc to ensure we’re still getting some exercise – but remember to keep in mind social distancing while doing this.
4. Buy some flowers/plants – You may be surprised by what a difference a few flowers or indoor plants can do to lighten your ‘home office’ up. There are also many health benefits to having plants inside the home. Get some nice flowers from the supermarket or get some delivered from your local florist.
5. Set a designated working area – Working from the sofa may seem like a great option at first but it isn’t. You should set up a desk (or dining table) to work from during the day. Having a consistent space to work from is essential to keeping a home-work balance when working from home.
6. Create a schedule and stick to it – Have a look at your workload and create a plan for your week and your day. Assess your workload and understand that you might not be as efficient (to start with) as you are when working in your office and if you have a family at home – expect some interruptions. Be careful to make sure you don’ get too carried away and work through your lunch break or into your evening.
7. Take a breath and relax – working from home is stressful so it’s essential for your work efficiency and even more importantly your mental health that you take a moment to yourself, breath and relax. Make sure you do this regularly throughout the day. Set some time aside in the morning or during your lunch break to just sit (or lay down) breathe and relax. Meditate or do some yoga to rebalance yourself or just close your eyes and listen to some music for 10-15 minutes.