I started working from home in 2009… before it was “a thing”. I was working for a very progressive organisation and Agile Working as we called it was in place, much before working from home was the norm.

I loved it, and still love it & think it’s fab but, over the last couple of years as working from home has become the norm, I’ve seen friends & family struggling with how to do it well.

So here are my top tips…

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Working from home tip 1: Work in a dedicated space

I know, not everyone is blessed to have a separate office space (me included) but if possible I highly recommend choosing a dedicated space to work from & not “working from bed” (which is defs something I’ve done on more than one occasion!)

It allows you to keep all of your work related things together and organised, allows you to associate one space (not the whole house) with work, and you can accessorise it with things that make working more pleasant - a scented candle, inspirational quotes, a nice lamp or photos of your friends & fam.

I use a table tucked away in the corner of my kitchen/ living room & I only use it for work, which means, when i walk away at the end of the day I’ve “left the office” which gives me better boundaries!

Working from home tip 2: Create a good desk set up

Another benefit of having a dedicated workspace is that you can set it up well for yourself. A good desk set up will change your working from home life & have a huge impact on your health (no exaggeration - bad desk setups can lead to back, neck and shoulder issues, migraines & headaches).

So what is a good desk set up? This will depend on a number of factors and is to some extent personal, but here are a few things to consider.

An actual desk (might sound silly - but many home workers don’t work from a desk)
Choose a good ergonomic chair (or even consider a standing desk which means you don’t need a chair!)
A wrist support can be a great accessory
Multiple screens, positioned at the appropriate distance & height for your work position

Working from home tip 3: Take breaks

Make sure to take plenty of breaks during the day. Research shows that homeworkers take fewer breaks than their office based counterparts, so here’s my formula for good break taking.

Every 20 minutes, for 20 seconds look into the distance (20 meters). This is especially important for those of us who work mostly with a screen. Extra points if you also get up and stretch briefly. It only needs to be a few seconds but is really important. The chrome ap Eyecare can be helpful for this.

Every hour or two, take a break of 5-10 minutes, get up from your desk, drink some water, stretch your legs, roll your shoulders & have a wander around.

Take a proper lunch break. I’m a nightmare for grabbing a quick bite at my desk, but taking at least 30 minutes to one hour away from my desk to eat, focus on something that isn’t work and move a bit makes me so much more productive in the afternoon.

And don’t forget your weekends! Having extended time off is important - so try to honour them as much as you can.

Rest & relaxation is really important as an entrepreneur (we’re more likely to be stressed than our peers ) - here’s a post I wrote about rest & relaxation for entrepreneurs.

Working from home tip 4: Set boundaries

Having boundaries when you work from home is really important. It can be so easy to roll out of bed, work all day and roll back into bed in the evening.

So your boundaries are important - this might be your start or stop time, lunch time, certain classes you choose to attend (working from home is great for benefitting from off peak classes if you can!) but whatever they are set them & keep to them.

Top tip: Put them in your calendar & set reminders so you switch off when you’ve said you will (or ask someone to help you - my husband does a pretty good job of dragging me away from my screen at the end of the day…)

Working from home tip 5: Leave the house

This might be for lunch, to exercise, to work from a coffee shop for a while but do try to leave the house every day!

Even if you’re an introvert like me, social interaction is important & we need to have human contact (I found even popping out to my corner shop for a sneaky chocolate bar & speaking to the guy on the counter made a difference to my mood!)

Working from other spaces, especially if it’s for a certain task (I used to always do my end of month reflection in a local library) allowed me to associate tasks with those other places & be more productive accordingly.

Working from home tip 6: Get dressed

Sounds silly - makes a world of difference!

Getting dressed (properly - not just into your “good Pyjamas”) and brushing your hair (and teeth in case it needs saying!) are really helpful signs to yourself that you’re up & working.

By all means get back into your comfies at the end of the day, but try to give yourself a little bit of structure and discipline by signalling you’re in work mode.

Working from home tip 7: Make the most of it!

Working from home is a great privilege & so my final tip is to make the most of it!

This might be

By accessing things you couldn’t normally do like classes in the day (if your hours are flexible),
Doing more sport or hobbies because you no longer lose your commute time
Ticking off chores meaning that you no longer need to do them at the weekend (I always pop a wash on & then hang it out during one of my breaks)
Spending more time with family,
Being able to have a dog!
Gathering up the money you save (on commuting, on coffees that you can now make at home, on lunches out) and put it toward something that’s really important to you.

Bonus tip for working from home

Add as much nature into your day as possible. Some ideas for this are:

Have walking meetings where possible
Go for a walk in your breaks
Have a cup of tea, or water in the garden when you take a break
Snuggle a pet
Watch the birds or the trees from the window when you take a break
Listen to nature sounds
- I like noisli - they have a chrome extension & website & there are some great playlists on spotify
Place your desk by the window