Finally, you’ve negotiated with your boss to work from home. Hooray! Now what? I’ve been working from home a few days a week for a few years and initially found it both rewarding and also challenging. I will share my experiences and the routine I’ve developed during the last few years.
I am writing this from the perspective of an office worker a degree of autonomy and not a freelancer. I have the flexibility to work from home a few days a week and as a result, I had to develop a routine that is both structured and with a degree of flexibility. I needed a structure to ensure I was getting my work done, something to motivate me and to keep maintain my focus throughout my work from home day.
A few ground rules before we start…
Depending on your goal you may want to go structure your day aligned to your personal goal for the day. My goal is to have deep focus time and a minimal distraction to grind through work. What I suggest is the following:
1. Do not tell people outside of your work colleagues you are working from home. I do this to ensure I do not temp myself to catch up with people during the work from home day. It’s not a day for socializing. While this is nice, it’s distracting my day. My goal is to be able to focus on my work and eliminate any distractions.
2. I find the middle of the week to be optimal. Its the best day to use to catch up on any work with minimal distraction. By going into work on a Monday and/or Tuesday, I am able to mingle with people at work, attend the necessary meetings and get all the information I need. By working from home in the middle of the week, I use it to break up the work week and also to catch up on anything that is due during the week or I am proactively doing.
3. Block out the day from meetings and if required, delegate or move the meeting to the afternoon. Yes, this is very important. To goal of working from home besides the perks of not spending time traveling is to be able to work on key projects that require focus. Meetings, especially in the mornings can be distracting and disrupt the most important tasks on your TO-DO list for the day.
OK, now I will go through the activities I go through on a typical work from home day.
Here we go!
What I do the day before working from home
1. Depending on your job, it’s advisable to delegate any non-urgent tasks or move meetings to have the work from home day free from distraction.
2. Save all the focus heavy work for this day and write up a To-Do List. I will even go as far as assigning a time to each task. Time-boxing your work ensures you don’t wander off course and also spend too much time on one task.
3. Set up an out of office notification. Yes, the best ways are to say something like, I am out of the office and please contact me via email. I won’t even suggest they call me because if it’s urgent the person will find a way to get to me.
4. Save any files on your USB in case of any network issues. I’ve experienced situations where some files I wanted to work on was not accessible due to the network not connecting. Depending on your office policy, I would copy the files I am planning to work on the day before as a backup. This will eliminate a lot of anxiety if during the following day the network is slow or down.
Start Early
This is a BIG TIP. I find starting early, at least 1 hour early or at the time you leave home on a normal workday. A typical person, depending on where you live will take about 1 hour to get to work door to door. You will also spend some time getting ready, fixing your hair, putting makeup on, etc. By starting 1 hour early, you are essentially starting the day when you would normally leave your place. I also suggest you don’t wear our PJs. At at least wear smart casual attire even if you are at home. You want to be in a state where you feel productive and not feel like falling asleep.
For Maximum Efficiency start at 6:30 am and try to finish by 3 pm. By starting your day early (1 – 2 hours early) you can finish the day early as a reward and enjoy your afternoon!
Create a Productive Workspace
You want to be working in a motivating environment. Working at home is a double edge sword. On one hand, you are free from distraction from office gossip and also a lot of temptation. The biggest temptation is to be having your Netflicks or Youtube open in the background while you’re fiddling with you’re spreadsheet. Besides digital distractions, be beware of the fridge! You may be binge eating during a work from home day. This is a big No-No!
A clean environment can boost productivity. When your desk is full of clutter, you can be distracted. If you are trying to find something it can be distracting. This also applies to your filing both physical and on your laptop. Set up a clean desk with all the office equipment handy. You want to have an environment that feels productive. Make sure your work area is clear from clutter and clean. A clean environment will affect your mental state and improve productivity
Switch Off Your Device and Email Notification
Switch your phone to silent and do not look at your email for your first couple of hours. You want distraction-free time to work your projects. Dedicate time during the day to go through emails for example 11 am and 3 pm. This is to stop you to constantly check your emails. By knowing that you have scheduled time for emails, you are less tempted to check. This takes some time to get used to. In addition, educate your colleagues at work that you only will respond during those times. This not only saves you from distraction but boosts your productivity by batching your email responses.
Interact With Your Boss
Depending on your boss and how long you’ve started working from home its recommended you interact with him/her during your work from home day. I will provide a list of the task I am targeting to complete and will let him or her know how I went during the day. This is to provide him or her confidence that work is being done. If the work culture is work from home friendly and you have a strong rapport with your boss this is not needed.
Creating Time for Deep Work
In my blog “How to be productive at work” I mentioned Deep Work where a 90-minute uninterrupted work. In short, you can achieve optimal productivity and creativity during this time. Plan your most focus heavy task for this period of time. Aim to start and finish your day early. I try starting at 6:30 and dive into Deep work sessions on your work from home day. It will be quiet draining so add a few breaks and Shallow work sessions between.
Put on some classical music to boost motivation and concentration. I recommend soft piano music. It helps boost focus and relaxes your mind. I’ve linked to one of the soft piano music I listen to here:
Work Out During Your Breaks
Set an alarm and go for a quick stretch or do a short 5-minute workout routine. This is both for health and productivity. Humans are not designed to be inside an office all day. We haven’t evolved much since the hunter-gather days (I mean our bodies) and we need to be moving as often as possible during the day. It is extremely important to get up every 50 minutes or so. Work on a routine where you go out for a quick walk or at least get-up and do some push-ups or squats. An idea is to put some music on that last approximately 50 minutes or so (or however long you wish) and when the music stops its time for you to get up. I schedule a few sets of exercises during these breaks.
Break 1: Basic yoga stretch for a few minutes and drink water
Break 2: 20 push-ups, drink water, 20 push-ups, make some tea, 20 push-ups
Break 3: Go out for a 5-minute walk
Break 4: 20 sit-ups, drink water, 20 sit-ups, make some tea, 20 sit-ups
You get what I am saying. Effectively build your workout as part of your day
Prepare Lunch in Advance
You want to ensure you don’t waste any time preparing lunch at home. I suggest treat your lunch as a work lunch and prep it the day before. I want to get through the day as fast and efficiently as possible. Basically, start early and get things done and finish early.
Change Your Work Environment
I did mention a clean environment early, but it’s important to give your mind a break and switch up your work environment if you live somewhere close to other places like libraries or cafes. I will go to the local library or Cafe either before after lunch to break up the day. It’s important to keep yourself refreshed. I have a favorite cafe for work and also a favorite spot at the local library.
Choose a local cafe where there are few people and they don’t mind me staying for a few hours. I tend to prefer a Starbucks or a chain cafe where the staff is employees and not the boss. I will avoid lunchtime where more people will at the cafe.
At the local library, I go straight to a quiet area. At both places, I put on my favorite Classical Music and go deep into my work. Try to get out of the place by 3:30 pm before the school kids start arriving.
Boost Your Brain Power & Keep Hydrated
This may sound obvious, but in order to keep your brain operating at an optimal level, keep your body and brain hydrated and keep drinking water. At my local Starbucks, the staff knows to give me a glass of water when IN order coffee. It is important to keep hydrated throughout the day. I tend to have water or herbal tea at home.
Review Your TO-DO List at the End of the Day
When I start the day, I have a list of TO-DOs already prepared the day before. At the end of the day, I will review my To-Do List and assess how I went for the day. This ensures I do not miss anything. A very important part of this practice is to self-reflect on how I did and what I can improve on the next day. This list is what I usually do every day and is part of my work routine.
Let’s Look at the Work From Home Day From Morning to Afternoon
I will break up my day in three parts
Early Morning (7-10 am)
Most people focus best in the mornings or at the very least this is the time you have the least distractions.
This is my distraction-free time where I can focus on work that concentration. Depending on your energy level and endurance you can go all 3 hours with a short break. I will break this up into 2 x 90 minute Deep Work Session. Within the 90 minutes, I may go for a very short 1-2 minute break by getting up and stretching quickly or just grabbing a quick glass of water. During the proper break, I will make myself a herbal tea and do a few dozen push-ups while I wait for the tea to brew. I will also make sure I get some sunlight to increase my serotonin level and get some fresh air
Mid Morning (10-12 pm)
I will go out for a quick walk to my local cafe and grab a coffee. Depending on the day I may stay at the cafe for a couple of hours to respond to emails or work on some less focus intensive work.
Lunch
I will walk around the block and eat my pre-made lunch outside at the park. This is my relaxation and reward time. By this stage, I have almost completed two-third of my day.
After Lunch (1-3:30 pm)
I will either head back home or head to the local library after lunch. This is to time to finish off any random admin tasks. This is the best time to listen to some music and power through work for the rest of the task. At the end of the day, I will put together my TO-DO list for the next day.
This is how I structure my work from home day.
To recap…
Working from home is a win-win situation for both the employee and employer. As an employee, you can save time traveling to work and also be free from distraction boosting productivity. Employers and save office space and reward employees with the flexibility to work from home. Having a routine and sticking to it, during your work from home day is important to keep you motivated and productive. It is easy to relax and chill out without being in the office. This is why it requires strong discipline to be productive at home. You also want to take advantage of the day to get through a few workouts during your break and finish early (by starting early).
Each person will have a different working style. This is routine has worked for me and its a guide for you to use as an example. I hope this helps and enjoy your work from home day!