This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.
The New Reality of Working from Home
Organizing your work life and home life is tough for everyone, and on top of that many of us have been thrown into working from home unexpectedly and are playing catch up. There are certain challenges that come with working from home, such as keeping your family and work-life separate but under the same roof.
For some of us, working from home can lift some stress from daily life, like being able to wear comfy clothes all day. But it can also bring about some new, added stress, such as working with family members around and needing to take care of kids and pets during the day.
No matter what your situation, we can all agree that life has been a whirlwind of emotions the past several months. Adjusting to this new “normal” means learning new ways of doing our jobs, different circumstances of social interactions and an overload of constant family time.
How to Stay Organized while Working from Home
While there are many things to learn from this experience, one way to reduce stress is to stay organized while working from home. One of the biggest sources of stress is feeling disorganized and out of control of your situation.
By adding a few new elements to your daily routine, working from home can be enjoyable and productive. Here are six tips to help you get organized in your new work environment.
Organize Your Time
Time is certainly precious. One of the biggest benefits that come with working from home is there is no commute. This is especially beneficial for parents who get to spend more time with their kids, however, time saved in one area can easily be wasted if you don’t manage it. Create a schedule for your working hours and make sure you switch off as you would for a normal day.
Set Expectations for Yourself
Although it may be hard to get into the swing of things, working from home can lead to really productive work. You need to have effective time management for it to work. Work-at-home parents should make sure they set expectations within the family in order for working from home to be successful. Choose your working hours in advance and set some rules for the entire household to follow.
Have The Right Tools
Working from home means you don’t have easy access to some of the things that you may have had in the office. But, this doesn’t mean you can’t create yourself the perfect setup at home. Think about all the tasks that you may need to complete and make sure you set yourself up properly. Using tools such as Templafy could help.
Minimizing Distractions
It doesn’t matter how good you are at following the rules, there are always going to be distractions when you work from home. They are just going to be different to what you would experience in the office. Learn what they are and take action against them. This is an important skill for creating a good home working environment.
Have A Dedicated Work Space
This is one of the best things you can do when working from home. Although not everyone has space for an office, it’s still a good idea to try and find a space that can be dedicated to working from home. Ideally, it should be somewhere the kids can’t distract you and a place where you can leave sensitive information.
Family Space
Yes, it’s good to have a dedicated working space, but if you are encroaching into the family space then you may need to have a think about reorganizing and separating the two areas. You are going to make working from home much easier and there will be less risk of you eating into your home-life. Having a good work-life balance is what you want to achieve. You should also try to keep your work computer and family computer separate.
Final Thoughts
Working from home definitely has its pros and cons. There is more time to feel productive during working hours because of the lack of commute and there is also more time to spend with the family. The biggest trick is separating the two as much as possible and knowing when to shut off one hat for the other.
Simple strategies such as those listed above can help you keep yourself feeling less stressed with all the new changes that have developed in life over the past several months. Working from home can be easy and productive with the right attitude and the right tools.
Is there anything that you have done to help now that you are working from home? Please share them in the comments below.