Top Tips for Working From Home

Help…I now have myself, my husband and two children working from home! With the new ‘Stay Home’ rules in force, I freaked out a little when Boris announced that schools were shutting and most people were to work from home…that’s my domain and suddenly the whole of my family were invading my work space!!!

As a business owner, I have been working from home for nearly 10 years, so I can totally understand why some people are finding it hard to adjust to dong their day job from home. Before I started my photography business, I was a primary school teacher, so I was used to being around A LOT of people every day! I still love being around people, however being a self employed photographer doesn’t get you mixing with many people on a daily basis!

Have a dedicated space

I run my business from home, so I am very lucky to have a lovely large office with lots of creature comforts, however you can still create a small area that’s just to work in. Find a comfortable chair (super important!) and either a kitchen/dining table/desk/etc to have as your office. Have your laptop or computer housed on there along with any notebooks and some nice stationary. If you’re children are doing their school work from home, it’s again advantageous if they have a space to work, such as their bedroom desk, kitchen table etc, so they are away from the TV and other distractions.

Plan your day

I love a ‘to do’ list and I still work from a daily list which I love crossing out once I’m done. I factor in breaks for tea (most important!), lunch and also moving around (it’s recommended to move every 30 minutes) and for this I just have a wander around, either to go up the stairs and back etc so that I’m not sitting continuously. I also switch off social media and emails whilst working so I don’t get distracted by constant notifications as it’s so tempting to just have a little peep!….

Be warm and comfortable

I know that there’s lots of research to say that getting dressed into your ‘work’ clothes helps to get you in the right work ethic, and largely this is true. I never work in my pj’s, however my ‘working from home’ outfits are not exactly smart…I wear what I’m the most comfortable in, and what’s going to keep me warm too, so that might be some cosy slippers and my slanket (blanket with sleeves!) over my clothes, as my office can get quite chilly and I don’t want to have to heat the whole house for just one room. I’m super savvy being self employed, so I’d rather add a layer than put on the heating unnecessarily!

Listen to music or podcasts

Whilst I’m working I LOVE listening to music or podcasts. I have a very eclectic taste in music, so I listen to all manner of things, from the radio to my playlists on my iTunes or Spotify. Whilst editing I tend to listen to podcasts, as I can concentrate on my edit and the podcast at the same time. Here are some that I highly recommend:-

Great for Business:-
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/marketing-that-converts/id1349470827

Great for Mental Wellbeing:-
https://podcasts.apple.com/uy/podcast/happy-place/id1353058891

Great for Celebrity Chat:-
https://podcasts.apple.com/ro/podcast/desert-island-discs/id342735925

Great for Photographers:-
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/shoot-edit-chat-repeat/id1333241134

Connect with people

As working from home can be very isolating, it’s really important that you connect with other humans. Obviously we now can’t have face-to-face meetings or in person networking, as those things were the reasons (apart from photographing) that I left the house. So now it’s important to still ‘see’ people and we’re all so lucky to have the technology that enables us to see others. I have had Zoom meetings with other’s that I have meant to meet with, group visual ‘meet-ups’ with networking groups and of course seeing my family via What’s App video calling!

Exercise

It’s so important to maintain a healthy body and mind whilst the Stay Home rule is in force, and working from home can add to lethargy and lack of movement. I do a yoga class every week and I’m so lucky that my awesome yoga teacher is now doing her classes on line, which for me is a God-send, as with having nerve damage I need to stretch and move or I seize up! Here is the link to her on-line classes where you can join in for free or a small donation.

www.breathbodymind.co/online.html#howtobookonline