5 ms·

1. Have a dedicated area that you only perform work. Don’t use kitchen table. It’s good for your mental health to have a dedicated area where you only work and

1. Have a dedicated area that you only perform work. Don’t use kitchen table. It’s good for your mental health to have a dedicated area where you only work and when you’re not “at work” - don’t use that area. 2. Get dressed for “work”, including shoes. Don’t make you’re comfortable as if you just rolled out of bed and wearing sleep clothes. Get up. Get dressed. Putting on shoes is important. It tricks your mind into thinking your not “at home”. 3. Treat your working time as work. Just because you’re home, don’t go get the mail. Take out the quick trash. Or other small errands around the house. You’re work time should be for work. And just because you’re at home, don’t let others (spouse) trick you into doing house hold tasks. 4. Remove distractions. If you like to game during the day, literally disconnect your Xbox during working hours. 5. Leave for lunch. You can very easily get cabin fever by staying at home all day and night. Go outside for lunch. Even if you just pack your lunch. It’s important to movement and to get outside. 6. Establish a strong social outlet. Most people don’t realize that working from home is incredibly lonely. It’s easy to get depressed. Find an outlet to talk to people.

shishy 7y ago
I do the opposite of 1-5 and haven't had any issues (6 is absolutely necessary). I think it depends on the person really... just a data point.
taurath 7y ago
Agree with all but 3 - why in the world work from home if you can’t tidy up on a break, or while thinking about some work task. Certainly don’t just go do these things anytime, but I find it’s better for overall space harmony to do them on breaks. I’d add my #7: leave the house after being done for the day if you can’t mentally disconnect. I went to the gym after every workday so I get to walk back in the door. The hardest part for me was figuring out how to switch off.
neverartful 7y ago
Good list. I'll add a couple. Develop and maintain good ergonomics. Invest in a good chair if you sit while working. A task chair is a really poor substitute for a good chair.
holografix 7y ago
Brilliant suggestions. Don’t take these lightly. It’s very easy to become inefficient working from home and therefore fall into a cycle of doing “work” by waking up at 8:45 rolling out of bed in pijamas and working till 8pm when you need to stop for dinner. It’s very destructive. Working from home shouldn’t be about “working comfortably” it should be about working in a “small office somewhere”. Forget you are at home. You can switch this off for 30-45 minutes during lunch. Then maybe take the rubbish out or deal with screaming kid, etc.
caseymarquis 7y ago
I'd like to offer a dissenting point of view on some of this. I roll out of bed, put on comfy pants, and shamble over to my work/ gaming pc. When I get hungry I go cook something. When I need to think through a problem I go clean the house, do dishes, or lay back in a comfy chair and think. If I need to get something done around the house or run an errand, I just go do it. If I need a nap, I take one. I do try to get up at 8AM and stop at 4:30PM consistently (mostly to be available for calls), but sometimes I get carried away when no one is home and work into the night or through the weekend (guaranteed time with no interruptions). I'm probably about 4 times more productive working from home than from our office. It's very relaxing, I get some cleaning done, and I don't feel a strong need for much of the rigid structure you've described. Spot on about socializing though. I live near our office and if I didn't have the option to pop in for a less productive but more social day, I would have to find something to fill that gap.
- _-___________-_ 7y ago
  Yep, agreed. I'm at least 4 times more productive working from home than from any office I've worked in, and I don't do the "strict separation" thing either. I never put shoes on, for example, and I'll wander around the house, clean, cook, whatever if I need to think through some problem. However, I love my job. I can imagine that if it felt like more of a chore, and I didn't really want to do it, I might need that "strict separation" to put me in a work mindset.
- protonimitate 7y ago
  Yep I'm this way as well. But it heavily depends on your personality (are you easily distracted?) and your employer (are they generally lax with WFH, or are they on the strict side? I tend to have a flexible schedule. Take 2 or 3 hour breaks mid day (gym, grocery store, cook lunch, relax). But I also end up working "off hours" and put in more than 40 hours a week on average. I know some people thrive with the "treat it like a 9-5", but for me that doesn't make a difference. The biggest piece of advice I have that seems to overlap is, don't let your family take advantage of you working from home. It's easy to get roped into doing non-work things because your family thinks you have free time.
- 7y ago

shishy 7y ago

I do the opposite of 1-5 and haven't had any issues (6 is absolutely necessary). I think it depends on the person really... just a data point.

taurath 7y ago

Agree with all but 3 - why in the world work from home if you can’t tidy up on a break, or while thinking about some work task. Certainly don’t just go do these things anytime, but I find it’s better for overall space harmony to do them on breaks. I’d add my #7: leave the house after being done for the day if you can’t mentally disconnect. I went to the gym after every workday so I get to walk back in the door. The hardest part for me was figuring out how to switch off.

neverartful 7y ago

Good list. I'll add a couple. Develop and maintain good ergonomics. Invest in a good chair if you sit while working. A task chair is a really poor substitute for a good chair.

holografix 7y ago

Brilliant suggestions. Don’t take these lightly. It’s very easy to become inefficient working from home and therefore fall into a cycle of doing “work” by waking up at 8:45 rolling out of bed in pijamas and working till 8pm when you need to stop for dinner. It’s very destructive. Working from home shouldn’t be about “working comfortably” it should be about working in a “small office somewhere”. Forget you are at home. You can switch this off for 30-45 minutes during lunch. Then maybe take the rubbish out or deal with screaming kid, etc.

caseymarquis 7y ago

I'd like to offer a dissenting point of view on some of this. I roll out of bed, put on comfy pants, and shamble over to my work/ gaming pc. When I get hungry I go cook something. When I need to think through a problem I go clean the house, do dishes, or lay back in a comfy chair and think. If I need to get something done around the house or run an errand, I just go do it. If I need a nap, I take one. I do try to get up at 8AM and stop at 4:30PM consistently (mostly to be available for calls), but sometimes I get carried away when no one is home and work into the night or through the weekend (guaranteed time with no interruptions). I'm probably about 4 times more productive working from home than from our office. It's very relaxing, I get some cleaning done, and I don't feel a strong need for much of the rigid structure you've described. Spot on about socializing though. I live near our office and if I didn't have the option to pop in for a less productive but more social day, I would have to find something to fill that gap.

_-___________-_ 7y ago
Yep, agreed. I'm at least 4 times more productive working from home than from any office I've worked in, and I don't do the "strict separation" thing either. I never put shoes on, for example, and I'll wander around the house, clean, cook, whatever if I need to think through some problem. However, I love my job. I can imagine that if it felt like more of a chore, and I didn't really want to do it, I might need that "strict separation" to put me in a work mindset.
protonimitate 7y ago
Yep I'm this way as well. But it heavily depends on your personality (are you easily distracted?) and your employer (are they generally lax with WFH, or are they on the strict side? I tend to have a flexible schedule. Take 2 or 3 hour breaks mid day (gym, grocery store, cook lunch, relax). But I also end up working "off hours" and put in more than 40 hours a week on average. I know some people thrive with the "treat it like a 9-5", but for me that doesn't make a difference. The biggest piece of advice I have that seems to overlap is, don't let your family take advantage of you working from home. It's easy to get roped into doing non-work things because your family thinks you have free time.
7y ago