My Top Ten Tips for Working From Home

Here We Go Again

Author’s note: Followers of my writing that have been with me for some time will recognise that this is a refresh of content previously published in the first covid lockdown. At that time thousands of folks needed to work from home who had never done so before. Once again many people are now being told to resume working from home in light of the spread of Omicron so I thought it useful to share these simple do-able Top Ten Tips again.

The problem of working from home

“Is everything ok?” says my boss. “Yes fine, please ignore the screaming” I replied. “But he does sound very upset.” When I first started working from home back in 2006 my son Charlie was about a year and a half old and couldn’t understand why his daddy was shutting himself away behind a door. I was on a phone call to the office with my new boss when the screaming started. I had to abandon the call as the concerns, and the screaming grew. My son was ok after a mummy cuddle, who was also working from home. More recently we have had the builders in fitting a downstairs wet room for my mum and dad who live with us. Drilling, doorbells and deliveries amongst the flurry of emails and video calls can all make home working challenging despite having done it for so many years. So, if you now find yourself working from home, again, why not take a reset and remind yourself of the tips and tricks which can help you stay on track when home working.

Tips and tricks for home working this winter

Dress well to feel good Whilst it is tempting to have endless pyjama days in front of the PC, do try to avoid doing so. I remember my granddad who used to dress in a shirt and tie only to sit in his lounge with only family for visitors. Make a point of dressing well, so you can think well.
Get outside for 5 minutes There is great evidence that just 5 minutes outdoors is enough to lift our mood. Start the day with a 5-minute dose of nature. Step onto your balcony or garden or get out into a green or blue space. Ask yourself “What do I notice?”. Become fascinated and immersed in nature for a few minutes. Repeat after lunch, gentle exercise after eating aiding digestion and at the end of the day, to help create a division between work and home time.
45-minute work chunks Set yourself a recurring alarm on your phone for 45 minutes. Attention dwindles significantly after this period and staring at a bright computer screen for prolonged periods is detrimental for your eyes too. When the alarm goes off just stop, don’t ignore it. Get up and walk around, check your posture, do a few yoga stretches, trust that whatever you are working on will still be there when you sit back down again. My optician was telling me about the 20:20:20 technique recently too which helps the eyes have a break from the screen. After 20 minutes of screen time, look at something 20 metres away (through a window) for 20 seconds before returning to the screen.
Do one thing Set yourself one thing to do for the morning and one thing to do for the afternoon. For the multitaskers amongst us, that might feel too easy but it is important, in the absence of an immediate physical team or boss, that you focus on the really important tasks which need doing. By doing that thing first in the morning you will feel better and form effective work habits. This is particularly important for maintaining working from home for prolonged periods. It needs to be sustainable in terms of your energy to sit down at the desk every day. Having just two goals each day will make it achievable and sustainable long term.
Put things out of reach It is all too easy to stay seated for extended periods of time, the negative health consequences of which are dire. I leave my stapler and hole puncher upstairs so that I have to go upstairs to go and get them. Getting some much-needed steps and stair exercise each time.
Develop a list of mantras Positive self-talk can be helpful to tackle the demon thoughts which might emerge when you are working alone at home. Develop your own mantras, short affirmations you can draw upon “I am great at this”…I can do this…the only way out is through…if you are going through hell, keep going.” My personal favourite at the moment is “It will be alright in the end. If it is not alright, it is not the end.”
Visualise a good day When you sit down to start to work visualise yourself at the end of the day with key productive tasks completed with satisfaction and ease. Imagining a positive outcome is the first step to that becoming a reality. Visualisation is key in setting yourself up for a positive working day.
Spend time with the children or with the dog There will be times when the children or your pet demands attention. Give them the attention, give them a hug, stroke the cat, give them your full attention for five minutes. Tell them you love them. It will make you both feel good and give you a micro-break. Be more like the cat and take a cat-nap if you find your energy waning.
Set up virtual coffee mornings Actively ask colleagues to join you for a video call for no other purpose but to catch up over coffee. Book these in your calendar so that you have regular social contact that would otherwise happen naturally in an office/team space. Actively invest time for social networking support. Alternatively, go and knock on the door of a neighbour and say hi and see if they need anything this week.
Turn off the news Whilst the news is a helpful source of updates during these challenging times, there is a good argument for limiting your access to the news whilst you are working. If you need to find something out about the latest developments you can do this at lunchtime or at the end of the day. Try phoning your parents or a friend and get their take on the news. Rationing and limiting your consumption of news will help focus and reduce distractions and help keep things in perspective. If you need some helpful background noise then instead of listening to the radio try peaceful music which is repetitive and calming. I often work with a selection of the following music in the background: Max Richter’s Sleep album, RSPB’s Let Nature Sing, Gregorian chanting and Piano concertos.

Conclusion

And finally, it can help to practice gratitude. Be thankful for being able to work from home, for having functioning IT to enable you to communicate easily with others from the safety of your living room, and be thankful for the health of your family. An attitude of gratitude will keep you open to the possibility of the positive: write down three things you are thankful for today. Working from home will have its ups and downs but with consistent application of these tips, you can and will find a way through your next period of home working this winter. I wonder what your best tip or trick for home working would be for others? Got a great idea or practice that works for you then share it in the comments.

Stay well and work well.

Neil Mapes Bio

Marathon runner, sea swimmer and aspiring dinghy sailor. Social entrepreneur & founder of Dementia Adventure, currently leading Green Hive in Nairn, Scotland.

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