The Covid-19 crisis has forced many into new experiences of “working” or “studying” from home. At WEX, all of us have had long-term employment working remotely in digital spaces. As any new work environment can have its challenges, we thought we’d collectively share a few ideas with you. Hope these tips help you and others work successfully from home.

  • Create a dedicated work space. And, while you’re at it, an inspiring one.

Create a dedicated area that will be your work area and treat this as your “office.” It can be as simple as your kitchen table that converts to your desk when it’s “work time.”  It’s important to have this space, so the rest of your house isn’t consumed by your work and you know that when you’re here it is time to work. Working from home can come with many distractions, so having this space can help cut down on these. When you’re in your work space, you’re working and focused.

Also, it’s important to make it a place you want to be. We suggest making sure there’s plenty of natural light and adding tokens that bring you joy. This could be a photograph of a favorite place or vacation, a pretty smelling candle or another special keepsake.

  • Change out of your pajamas!

Though it may seem luxurious to work in your pj’s, resist the urge. We can’t stress this one enough. It switches your mindset from lounging/bedtime to work mode. And, if you need to run an errand or hop on a last-minute video call, you’ll be ready and not scrambling to look presentable. This goes hand-in-hand with leaving the house, too – if you’re in “street” clothes, you’ll much more likely leave your house than if you’re still in your bathrobe.

  • Move around.

Many who work at computers have already complained of the aches from sitting too long. It’s clear that the human body wasn’t made for these lengthy sitting postures hunched over pecking at a keyboard. Begin by taking 2 minute intervals from sitting.  Briefly change your focus & posture: stretch, look out the window, or do take a loop around the house. To get into the habit, set your phone to alert you to change your position.

  • Keep to a schedule and take your breaks.

Start and stop work at relatively the same time each day and take breaks throughout the day. We suggest taking a shorter morning break, a longer lunch break and then another afternoon break. It’s important to step away from your computer, so you can even schedule these in your calendar if that will help you.

  • Don’t wake up and immediately start work.

It’s easy to roll out of bed and go right to work, but fight the urge to do that. Even if your colleagues are in a different time zone, you need/deserve to have a gradual transition into the work day. Do something for yourself before signing on – enjoy a morning cup of a tea and a book, go for a short morning walk, play with your dog or kids, etc.. “Me Time” is crucial to prevent the burnout from working from home.

  • Get out of the house.

There’s nothing worse than watching the clock strike 5pm and realizing you haven’t been out of the house all day (or, even worse – you haven’t even brushed your teeth!). Either during one of your shorter breaks or your lunch break, make a point to go outside. You can take a walk, eat lunch on your patio or just tend to your garden. But, whatever you do, get outside and get a change of scenery. Leaving the house will make you feel accomplished. Trust us.

  • Keep to your schedule.

Anyone working from home should be aware of Parkinson’s Law, which essentially says that  “work inflates to the time allotted.” Keep a list of the time-sensitive projects and do your best to accomplish them by limiting certain projects to shorter periods of time. For example, we all know that email can be all consuming. Try turning off notifications to “compartmentalize” email to certain periods of the day.

  • Silence your texts

Working from home already has in place too many distractions to list. The alerts from incoming texts can interrupt your progress on a task, so silence them or turn your phone to “Do Not Disturb.” Check your messages when you take one of your scheduled breaks.

  • Keep in touch with coworkers/classmates.

Now, more than ever, we need to retain that sense of community that our work brings us. Just because you’re not physically together, keep in touch either through instant messaging, video calls or phone calls. It will help to not feel so isolated and keep you a part of a team.

Here’s to being productive and enjoying your work from the comfort of your own home.

 

The WEX Team