The Covid 19 pandemic crisis caught us all off guard and completely disrupted the everyday and professional life of pretty much every employee around the world.
Those of us who use to sit and work together with our colleagues in an office must now complete their tasks by working remotely. Communication with other remote workers is now done by chat, phone calls, or virtual conference calls.
Sounds simple and even quite relaxed – but for many, moving to remote work has been a real test. That’s why it’s important that you take care of yourself to stay mentally and physically healthy while you work remotely.
And at Woyago, we care about you! So to help you cope with those changes, we gathered here our best tips to keep your body and mind in tip-top shape when working from home.
Tips for Keeping Your Remote Work Effective
We’re starting off our list of tips with some ground rules you can set up to keep a healthy work-life balance – vital when you work from home – and to boost productivity.
1. Install a designated and functional office space in your home
First of all, in order to stay productive, it’s important that you set a specific area to properly work.
Be it a desk in your bedroom, dining room, or a specific room you can allocate to work in – make that area your comfortable and functional remote work zone.
A comfortable working space will give you the opportunity to keep your projects organized and will help you be more efficient when handling clients or team members.
Get everything you need on your desk to work efficiently such as a wireless mouse, a notepad, pencils, noise-canceling earplugs, or any other electronics and stationery that you normally use at work.
And if you want to add a little fun to your desk, check out our list of cool office gadgets!
2. Minimize distractions
If possible, it’s best to set up your desk in a separate room that can be closed with a door.
Why? Simpy to eliminate any interference from your family members, roomies, or pets’ activities in your home, but also from the outside world like noises from neighbors, dogs barking, or road traffic.
In addition, if the door is closed, everyone who lives in the household knows that you’re currently working and won’t come to bother you – as long as ground rules are set obviously! It also helps to inform your family of your work schedule and to help you stay focused on your tasks.
To minimize distractions, you can also keep your phone away while working remotely. TVs, radios, or any type of electronics better be off too to stay entirely focused and in worker productivity mode.
3. Establish dedicated work hours
If possible, try to stick to the same schedule as when you were still working in an office.
Fixed working hours also help you keep a healthy work-life balance and avoid exhaustion so that you can continue being efficient throughout the day.
Working remotely, on the other hand, can be a fantastic way to work flexible hours and test out different schedules.
It can also open up more employment opportunities for you if your firm allows it and you’re ready for it. Explore what works best for you and try out work hours outside the usual nine-to-five schedule.
What’s important is that you define those hours in advance with your team and manager. Remain available during virtual team meetings with other remote employees, and that you set the minimum requested work time.
4. Keep a morning routine while working remotely
Having a morning routine not only helps you become productive as soon as you wake up, but also wakes your body and prepares you for the day.
Your morning routine can include any of these activities: set an alarm at a reasonable time, do a meditation or yoga session, do simple exercise or stretches, take a nice shower, eat a healthy breakfast, and have coffee – because who can wake up without a good cup of coffee?
Make sure to wear appropriate outfits, like the way you do for going to your usual workplace. Forget about comfy pajamas for working remotely! A work outfit will help you get confident and ready to achieve anything.
5. Self-discipline is the key
Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you’re your own boss – that would be too easy!
While working from home, you have to keep taking your job seriously and behave at home as great and serious as you would do in the office.
This means for instance scheduling your tasks for the day, answering other remote employees’ requests, emails, chats, and simply, just getting the job done!
6. Take some breaks
Most employers allow any on-site office full-time employee to take shorts breaks: picking up coffee, having a short conversation with colleagues, or take some fresh air.
If you are a remote worker, these short breaks tend to be forgotten. Many workers even have lunch in front of their screen and make no breaks at all.
But if you want to work efficiently, you sometimes need a little time out.
So please, take the time to eat in peace without looking at your computer or emails. Every two hours, make sure you stand, have a cup of tea, or a small walk in your garden.
Believe us, increased productivity can hold to simple and short breaks.
Pro tip: If you have a pet, you can also take a two-minute break with it. Recent research by the State University of New York shows that the presence and petting of animals have a calming effect on humans and are sometimes even better for us than medicine. That’s why many companies now have an “office dog” in the workplace!
7. Celebrate success
You’ll love that one… After successful work, praise yourself!
Everyone needs a pat on the back from time to time. If you are working from home, know that your team manager is not the only person you need to get motivated from.
You also need to motivate yourself and that’s why it is so important for you to feel good.
It’s very simple: when getting something done, treat yourself to a nice piece of cake, and give yourself a little praise! It makes sense, right?
Tips to Keep Your Professional and Personal Life Separate
The line between home life and professional life can somewhat be blurry for remote jobs. It is common that some remote workers suffer from the lack of disconnecting at a regular time and getting a sufficient recovery time. Here are a few things you can do:
8. Work from a separate and closed room
Having a designated room while working from home helps you to be able to switch off after work.
Indeed, the fact of having a room you can close and not reopen until the next working day can help you draw a line between remote work and home life at night, and fully enjoy your evening with other family members.
9. Keep a separate phone number for work
This is great to keep your personal calls and professional calls separate.
If you feel anxious about work-related conversations, then you should definitely get a second phone line for your work calls only.
Note that if you might be in your right to ask your employer to pay for it.
10. Turn off your computer and notifications after work
If you are working from home, then you probably do not have an office manager checking up on you.
You can create a routine such as shutting down your computer and phone at 6 pm for example and then opening it again the next morning.
Indeed, this will help you to clearly separate work from your personal life and avoid being distracted by new notifications or emails coming in while enjoying leisure activities or watching movies at night!
Tips for Staying Fit While Working Remotely
11. Healthy sitting position relieves the back
If you are sitting all day, make sure to invest in an ergonomic and comfortable office chair or on a gymnastics ball. This prevents not only back pain but also swollen legs.
To relieve your back, you can also invest in a height-adjustable desk. Indeed, sitting for too long could lead to back pain and, worst-case scenario, long-term damage.
Doctors recommend balanced positions to keep a healthy posture with 60% with sitten activity, 30% with standing activity, and a final 10% of your time spent while working from home walking.
12. Be kind to your eyes
If you need to work from home all day, try to alternate your laptop time with written notes or reflection time. Our eyes are precious, we have to preserve them.
If you can’t have the same time of screen and non-screen activity, then consider investing in large screens. Indeed, small laptops and tablets are not suitable for permanent work due to the small and low-contrast screens they have.
Dry eyes, headaches, and discomfort could result if you spend 100% of your time working from home on screens. Instead, choose a screen with a diagonal of at least 22 inches. This will keep your eyes fresh and also provide a more comfortable sitting position.
You can also think about buying anti-blue light glasses to prevent eye damages and headaches.
13. Movements and relaxation are important
As you already know, sitting for a long time harms your back. However, did you know it can also affect blood circulation and oxygen supply to the body?
So if you’re already working from home on a computer all day long, do small exercises in between to prevent physical ailments such as back problems.
In addition, go outside for a walk after work. Recharge your batteries, go ride a bike or go for a run and enjoy the sun’s rays on your skin!
14. Eat healthy
If you work from home, the temptation to go to the kitchen more often to have a snack is huuuge. Yes, we are the same!
However, you have to keep in mind that snacks between meals are not the best idea. Indeed, it does not help your body and instead of nourishing it, you’ll just add empty calories.
Try to keep eating light and healthy and enjoy the work from home opportunities of going to the kitchen and cut up an apple or cook some fresh vegetables at lunch!
Of course, don’t forget to drink while working from home. Remember, 1.5 liters of water or other calorie-free drinks such as unsweetened tea are optimal to stay hydrated!
Invest in the Tools You Need to Work Remotely
If you want your work from home experience to be successful, you have to give it the means and tools. Here are a few tips more!
15. Make sure you have a great internet connection
If you are working from home, then it is important to check your Internet connection carefully.
Indeed, the smallest disruption on the internet could cause enough stress to waste precious time trying to find out why websites are not loading, cut team meetings and conversations with other co-workers or just bring you to a position that you can’t work at all!
Try to find the best spot in your home, and possibly check with your Internet provider if you feel your connection is slow.
16. Stay in touch with your remote team
If you are working from home it is still a good idea to feel connected with your team. In a real office space, you can quickly have a chat with your colleagues and ask for help if you have a problem.
With remote work, it is slightly different, but it is possible!
Use Microsoft Teams, Skype, or a similar platform for video calls, and don’t forget to set up your status and share your availability. You could even organize a virtual coffee regularly to gather all the team around some delicious arabica.
You can also use chat to keep in touch with your co-workers and maintain relationships with your teammates, get updates on projects, and so on.
And if you are looking for an exciting way to bond with your colleagues, check out some of our team-building activities!
17. Use productivity tools to help your remote work efficiency
While most people think that working from home is the best thing in the world, it does have its limitations.
When you’re no longer in an office with colleagues around you every day, you will probably face a lack of motivation and inspiration at times. That’s why we recommend using productivity apps to help your remote work efficiency!
Check out our top office productivity tools to boost your performance.
Working from home is a work lifestyle that is not accessible to everyone. The global pandemic imposed this on many of us and even if remote work allows great advantages, it’s not always easy if you don’t have the right mindset or proper habits.
But once you’ve transformed your house into a real office and adapted your daily schedule to compensate for fewer breaks and less physical activity, working from home can become a lot easier.
In addition, make sure you invest in the tools you need to succeed, stay connected, and use productivity tips to be more efficient.
With that being said, we hope you actually enjoy working from home!
Thank you for reading this blog post. And let us know how your remote work is going. Are you back in the office yet? What are you best tip for working from home productively? Anything you would like to add?
Send us a message, we would be happy to hear from you!
