A Guide to Organizing your Work-at-Home Flow
Since so many of us have been working from home for a few months now, the novelty of it all is starting to wear off. Maybe you have started noticing that you aren’t as productive as you’d like to be or you can’t quite figure out how to emulate that conducive work environment.
Below you will find a quick start guide to creating and optimizing your at-home work space!
- Create a Ready-to-Work Ritual/Routine
How you start the work day is one of the most important aspects in how successful your work day then becomes. When you aren’t leaving home to go to the office, it’s important to re-create the productivity aspects of the office at home.- Bedtime + Sleep
- Your morning starts the night before. Wind down before bed. Get into a good bedtime routine. Dim lights in the evening. Don’t stare at screens before you go to sleep. Schedule a phones away time and “phone’s home” location to store.
- Get Ready for Work
- Take a shower before starting work and get fully dressed (hair, makeup, even shoes). How you look and the energy you took to look that way makes a big impact on your emotional energy and motivation.
- Recreate your “Morning Commute” Motions
- Go Outside! Drink your coffee on the porch, water the flowers, or go on a walk outside.
- Move your Body! Go on a short walk, do jumping jacks. Just get your blood flowing.
- Say “Goodbye”
- Hug and kiss your family as you go to another room/headspace to work
- If in the same room with kids, set a timer for the “work period”. Give kids activity or project to work on until the timer buzzes.
- Create the Work Environment
The kind of environment you are working in plays a monumental role in your productivity and work output. With a little attention to your surroundings, work schedule and inspirational aspects, you can easily uplift the tone in your work space.- Designate a Work Space
- Find a space(s) that is most conducive to concentration and productivity.
- Work in the same area(s) each day.
- Work in a space that has what yout need (work materials, drinks, snack, etc.) close at hand so you aren’t often leaving the room/space to get them.
- Create a daily/weekly schedule and outline *specific* time-frame each day that is for work ONLY.
- Pretend you are “at the office” with your boss. This would mean you are not interrupting your work flow to do household chores, use social media, talk to your family, or anything non work-related.
- Schedule in time each week for a work-space RESET. Clean your area, remove all non-work related items, organize your work supplies, tidy up.
- Implement Motivating Factors
- Work in areas with ample sunlight and airflow. Get fresh air periodically.
- Have a designated spot (home) for your water and coffee/tea.
- Incorporate your favorite uplifting and energizing music, nature sounds, essential oil smells, etc.
- Aesthetics. Is there something you could tweak about the way your work-space looks (and therefore makes you feel) when you’re working there? Think about hanging some of your favorite art or updating a wall color. Remove clutter.
- Create a Work-Flow Outline/Guide
Having a daily routine and an outline for work processes is a great way to refresh your work flow when you feel like you are in a rut. If you map out your ideal daily system by weaving those abstract goals into a concrete action plan, you are more likely to accomplish them.- Create Ideal Daily Work Routine
- Use a daily schedule, or (for those of you who hate schedules) at least a rhythm.
- Go step by step through your daily processes. Think of this as a protocol checklist or a how-to-do-your-job manual. Write down each step that you’d like to accomplish each work day. (You won’t always do it, but it’s a great reference for when you notice your productivity is down.)
- Use check-lists
- If you need to do it (or have already done it) write it down. Every time you accomplish and cross off a checklist item it gives you a shot of dopamine which helps fuel your continued motivation for task completion. It’s science!
If you’d like some help with organizing your work-at-home flow, we would love to help.
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Click here to download a PDF of the Work-at-Home Guide.