Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, UK

Tips For Working From Home

Hey Cats,

As you may know I currently work from home and have always worked in places with the option to work at home or not having a set desk oh the dreaded hot desking situation. When you work from home it can be hard to maintain that work and home balance as you're in a space you are so used to relaxing in. How can you ensure you get work done but still keep the well being balance of a relaxing home? Let me give you a few tips that help me out.

Get Up Early


Just because you are working from home doesn't mean you should spend every day sleeping in. In fact I find that if I get up early check my emails while I have a cup of tea and then get up and get dressed for the day I am way more productive. The other day I couldn't sleep so just got up and had 2 clients worth of work ready to send off before it even it 9am. If you stay in your pj's all day you will get yourself in a different mind set and may not be able to focus. So get up get ready and then make a plan for the day ahead.


Routine

Maybe you're more of a night owl and early mornings don't work for you? Either way you need to keep to a regular routine. Set yourself goals for the day and plan in advance what you want to get done for the week ahead. When you set to work with a goal in mind the structure will help you stay focused. If you still have a heap of stuff to do around the house make sure you allocate time for those too but it is all about priorities, no point washing up when you have a deadline in a few hours the plates can wait. I like to try and keep to normal office hours and give myself a dinner time and end of day so that I know when I stop working for the day that is time to relax. That's why social media scheduling is the best thing I have come across in so long as the social media side of work can really eat into your family time.

Work Space

if you're lucky enough to have room for an office then that is a great start you can decorate the room to your hearts content but if not you can still create a designated work space with the use of a small desk or even a nice little table that you set up every day. I sit at a table by the window so I get lots of light and am far away from the distraction of the TV. Make your work space your own, it doesn't have to be boring.  I have seen some beautiful spaces that bloggers set up at home and no matter what your business may be having a creative working area will help keep the ideas flowing. By having storage and a set area you can also keep all your work things in one place instead of scattered around giving you constant reminders when you're trying to relax. Office Furniture for work have some really comfy chairs, display boards or even a filing cabinet if you are feeling fancy.

I would love a space like this at home
Get Out

Some days you may find yourself climbing the walls. Just because you 'work from home' doesn't mean you have to be at home all the time. The beauty of freelancing is if inspiration is lacking or there are too many distractions/temptations at home you can get out. Take your laptop or notebook to a coffee shop or even a local park and set up camp there. Lots of writers do their best work in public places and you never know where inspiration will hit.


Do you work from home? What are your tips?



*This has been a collaborative post but all opinions are my own

Comments

  1. I work from home too! I agree about getting into a routine and setting goals. I find that I often get so absorbed into a piece of work I forget the time.

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  2. Fantastic tips! I find working from home so much harder in some ways than working out of the house. Yes, I'm flexible but oh god is it hard to keep at it and not let it become all consuming! H x

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  3. I work from home and care for my kids so I have to stick to a strict routine. Great tips here.

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  4. I couldn't work from home as I procrastinate and would find it hard to get into a routine. I definitely think waking up at the same kind of time you would for any other job is a great idea though x

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  5. I struggle on that first one so badly! Although that's probably because the days I have at home are days off so I feel like I should rest so I expect if I was lucky enough to work from home then I'd be able to get myself into a routine of getting up early! I think I'd feel so much more motivated!

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  6. It's definitely hard at the beginning, but yes with tips like yours it certainly gets easier. I have finally got myself more organised and its so much better. Great post.

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  7. These are some great ideas. I really need to think about decorating my work space. Mine is so boring.

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  8. Having a dedicated work space is so important I think. I used to have one, but now we are turning it in to the nursery and it's making things harder.

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  9. having a workspace helps a lot in my opinion. a tidy one too! which reminds me that i need the tidy mine haha

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  10. I work from home occasionally, when I just want to get on with a task and not be interrupted by staff and the phone and I am so much more productive within my own environment x

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  11. great tips. On one hand I'd love to be able to work from home, however I think I would end up procrastinating far too much!

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  12. Some fabulous tips here! I'm going to be freelancing soon, so definitely need to bear these in mind

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  13. I'm really going to take on some of your tips. I have my own office at home but sit in bed with my laptop so much and it really needs to stop!! xxx

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  14. I work from home a couple of times and I agree waking up early and having routine helps me a lot of the time but I am still working on the balance and discipline to only do work

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  15. I can't wait to start working from home, your space looks amazing. I totally need my own :) x

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  16. I work from home too and I agree with all of these tips. I also find it useful to work in blocks of time so I can concentrate on work and then have 15 minutes to do some housework / put the washing on.

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  17. I need to follow your advice and get out more sooner rather than later, great post.

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  18. I work from home for the last 10 years. Your own working space is a must. I claimed the biggest room in our house for my office but I am here every day, most of the day so it was worth it :-)

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  19. I work from home as well and struggle to find that elusive life/work balance. Great tips, thank you for sharing X X

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  20. i love the fact people think im just a mum who sits on my butt until i then explain im a blogger who works from home and they then go all envious at me being able to spend more time with the kids

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  21. These are some great tips - I wish I had some workspace specifically for blogging in. x

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  22. Getting up on time is really important. I feel so much better when I wake up early and start doing things!

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