Working From Home: 5 Tips for Getting Things Done

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Just a year ago, the concept of working from home was nothing but a dream for many of us. At some point or another, no doubt we’ve all imagined how lovely it would be to manage our own schedules without our boss breathing down our necks. In reality, however, while a whopping 1.7 million of us were working mainly from home last year (according to the ONS), embracing flexible working and allowing employees to work from home just wasn’t a feasible option for many employers.

Fast forward to 2020 and, due to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we’ve all been encouraged to work from home wherever possible. Many businesses are only just beginning to open their doors again following the three-month lockdown period, with many still on furlough and unable to return to work.

Home working is here to stay for the foreseeable future. With this in mind, here are five of my most invaluable tips for improving your work-from-home-routine, based on my experience of home-working since quitting my full-time job three years ago.

5 Tips for Improving Your Work From Home Routine

Establish your working hours

The first step in developing an effective working from home routine is to define your working hours. Maintaining a healthy work–life balance is essential for productivity. It’s much easier to motivate yourself to work hard when you know you can clock off at 5pm and spend time pottering around in the garden, strolling through the park with a friend or going for your daily jog, for example.

If you’re working for an employer, your hours will probably be predefined (although many employers are now far more open to the concept of flexible working). However, if, like me, you’re working freelance or self-employed, you’ll have the option to choose your own hours. Decide how many hours you’re going to work each day and set clear start and finish times, paying attention to when you tend to feel most energetic and focused.

If you’re trying to track your time more carefully – particularly if you bill clients by the hour – using a simple tool like an hours between times calculator can help you quickly work out how long you’ve spent working between two points in the day. It’s a straightforward way to keep your schedule organised and ensure you’re accounting for your time accurately.

Plan your week in advance

Want to finish the week with that Friday feeling, knowing you’ve crossed everything off your to-do list before the weekend gets here? Take time to sit down at the start of the week and plan your schedule in advance.

Think about all the different tasks on your to-do list, choose which ones you need – or want – to complete by the end of the week and then slot them into your schedule. Allocate a specific timeframe to each task so that you’re not putting yourself under too much pressure from work overload or sitting there twiddling your thumbs when you run out of things to do. You might want to leave an hour spare each day to allow time to complete any urgent jobs that might crop up unexpectedly. If you have an urgent task or need to avoid distractions, you can hire a work space for the day. There are lots of flexible office space solutions in Cardiff, for example.

Then, all that’s left to do is to stick to your schedule. This is easier said than done. Aim to ignore distractions and focus on your set schedule as though your life depends on it! Just think of how good you’ll feel once you’ve made it through the whole week and you can spend the weekend relaxing!

Stock up on office essentials

Whether you’re working for an employer or for yourself, you’ll probably need a decent desk and office chair to work from, not to mention various office supplies. Employers have a duty to ensure their employees have all the equipment they need in order to work safely from home and your employer may provide office equipment for you or allow you to claim back the cost of this equipment through payroll and expenses.

However, if you’re looking to purchase a desk and office equipment yourself, there are a few different aspects to consider. When it comes to choosing an office chair, aim to buy an ergonomic chair with adjustable height and back/lumbar support, arm rests and, dependent on your personal preferences, a swivel function. Similarly, you’ll need to consider how tall you need your desk to be (especially if you need additional legroom) and how much space you’ll require to for your PC or laptop, stationery and other office items.

While you might choose to buy your desk or chair from a large, eputable retailer, when it comes to purchasing smaller office equipment and accessories, it pays to shop around. This is especially true for ink cartridges for most printers. Usually, it’s considerably cheaper to purchase these from an independent retailer like Cartridge Save as opposed to direct manufacturers or big retail tech stores.

Personalise your work space

Once you’ve created a safe and comfortable working space, it’s time to add some personal touches to make it yours. Pick up a couple of photo frames and fill them with photos from your most memorable holiday, or of fun times spent with friends and family. Looking at these photos while you’re working will give you a sense of purpose and encourage you to work even harder.

If you want to go a little further with personalising your workspace, consider adding a personalised calendar (mine is crammed with photos from my favourite trips abroad!), buying cute stationery and investing in a pretty plant.

Keep a well-maintained to-do list

My final tip for working from home productively is to keep a to-do list and update it regularly. Add new tasks to your list as they arise so you don’t forget about them and if you prefer to write your list down or print it out onto paper, be sure to update it as soon as it becomes a little too cluttered with new jobs you’ve scrawled onto it and tasks you’ve crossed off already.

A great way to create and maintain a clean to-do list is to use the Kanban-style list-making app and website, Trello. Trello allows you to create a to-do list with different categories and add checklists to individual tasks. You can assign specific deadlines to each task and assign each one to a different team member, making Trello a great way to manage a team while working from home.

What are your top tips for being productive while working from home? Share your favourite ones by commenting below – and see if you can pick up any new tips from fellow readers!

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