Best Tips for Working from Home like a Boss
I have the honor and the privilege of working from home.
No, I’m serious. It’s truly a privilege. Understanding this and having this mindset is the absolute most important step you can take to working from home like a BOSS.
Advancing technology, evolving markets and workplace trends are leading more and more companies to provide employees with the opportunity and privilege of working from home. You may find yourself in this position (or hope to in the future) and that may be why you are here now. But with this privilege comes with a lot of responsibility. Let’s face it. There are many stigmas around working from home. Some of your co-workers (whether they say it or not) may have this mental image of you in your pj’s, hair in a bun, sitting cross-legged on your couch eating bon-bons, watching Ellen while checking your email on your laptop. In reality, this is likely not the case. And if it is the case, then you definitely need to circle back to my first point and CUT THAT OUT! We can’t break the stereotype if it’s actually true.
So how do you get the most out of your at-home working situation while also breaking the stigmas by being a total boss from the comforts of your own four walls? Proceed.
Have a designated work space.
I highly recommend a home office, but if you find that space limits you, a well-defined desk space within your home will also work. This is so important for a couple reasons.
It allows you to turn your work brain on in the morning, and off at the end of the day. When working from home, it can be hard to ignore the pile of laundry or the dishes in the sink to focus on your work day ahead. It may sometimes be equally as hard to shut down at 5pm and transition back to home life. Having a dedicated space helps you to focus and to walk away at the end of the day.
If your job requires you to be on calls and virtual meetings, this gives you a consistent, professional space to take those. Reducing background noise and having a nice backdrop for video meetings will go a long way in helping you focus and to ensure your coworkers perception is also that you are focused and being productive.
Create a routine like you would if you went to the office every day.
Working from home can create the temptation to roll out of bed shortly before your first meeting and dial in still wearing your sweatpants, then boom! It’s 3pm, you’re still in your sweatpants, your hair is not washed and you surely don’t have the energy to turn things around now. You have to resist this pitfall by creating a routine not that different from your coworkers with office life.
By setting your alarm early enough for your morning routine (whether that’s coffee, reading, exercising, etc.) you will far and away increase your productivity when it’s time to call in to that first meeting or respond to that first email. You’ll be awake, more lively and focused.
Taking this one step further, take a shower and/or get dressed in clothes you’d be comfortable going out in public in! This doesn’t mean you need to put on business casual or a suit, but at least look nice. There is a study that shows that test performance increases for college students who dress nicely on the day of their exams. I like to believe the same applies for work.
Engage in your virtual meetings.
Resist the urge to hit leave yourself on mute for extended periods of time. This is tempting, especially if you have dogs in the house and you just KNOW the mailman is going to come right when you unmute and all of your coworkers will hear your mini Aussie acting like she is going to tear the door down to protect her home (my fear…). However, the more time you spend on mute, the more you are uninclined to speak up and you are also just allowing the perception to be created that you aren’t engaged. Be ready to chime in or to offer just a confirmation to someone’s statement, just as you would if you were live in the room.
Take breaks and get out of your house.
This is going to sound odd, but I find that I actually take less breaks when working from home. I quite often eat lunch at my desk and feel like I have to rush for a restroom break or to grab a glass of water for fear that I will dial in late to my next meeting and everyone will think I was on the couch with the bon-bons. Resist the urge to tell yourself stories like this. Take the time to go out for a walk or drive to town and grab a lunch. These breaks will actually increase your productivity and decrease the cabin fever that is a REAL THING when working from home for long periods of time. If you’re like me and live on a ranch, sometimes I go days without seeing another human besides my fiancé. There is a study that shows you are most productive being on for 50 minutes, and then off for 10 minutes. So science says to take a walk and drink your water.
Set boundaries.
Sometimes other members of your household think that because you work from home, you have a 100% flexible work schedule and that they may intrude or interrupt at any time. Or if they have the day off, they may sit in the other room blasting the TV or making popcorn in the microwave. You have to set appropriate boundaries so this doesn’t happen. Have a 5 minute adult conversation to clearly define that during your working hours, you are working. The home needs to be quiet, you can’t run their errands for them on call and you don’t want to smell that popcorn! If you have kids, they have to have arrangements just like you would if you were in the office. Same for dogs who bark too much – maybe doggy daycare is perfect for them! The more you can create a safe and focused working environment, the better.
Stay out of the kitchen!
This is my final piece of advice. Your biggest enemy will be your proximity to your kitchen and thus your food. It becomes much easier to mindlessly snack. Resist the urge and I find this easiest if I already have a plan in place. You can read more about how I approach this here, but having your meals and snacks already planned out will help to keep you from straying. And don’t keep the unhealthy stuff in the house either.
These are my best tips for working from home like a boss. Do you have anything you would add? Drop it in the comments below!
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Happy trails,
Diana
Ranch n' Business 