Sophia has you back - Tips for working from home!

By Sophia Khettab, Adaptive

Hey everyone!

I hope you are all well and safe :)

By this crazy time, most of us have to work from home.

For those of you who are usually required to be in the office and not allowed to work from home, this might sound like something amazing! THE DREAM! I bet your reaction was:

It is BUT be careful little padawan, working from home is NOT a “snow day”, and it is a very sloppy slide if you are not prepared, it can become a proper nightmare. Trust me!

It is so easy to lose track of time, to be distracted and at the end of the day to not be efficient in your work.

Yes, at the end of the day, working from home, requires you to... Work! OMG, WHAT A SHOCKER!

Don’t you worry, Sophia has your back!

So, here are my tips to stay sane while working from home:

TIP 1: Start your day right!

Yes, it is fundamental that you start your day on the right foot.

And by that, I mean DO NOT WAKE UP AND GO STRAIGHT TO YOUR LAPTOP.

Instead, wake up at the time you usually wake up to go to work, do your usual “beauty” routine, have an excellent breakfast, and take some fresh air if possible (even if it is just opening your window). You will have more time to do this, no stress to commute to work. There is literally NO reason for you to start your day wrong.

TIP 2: Don’t stay in your pajamas / “dress for success”.

OK, I have to admit, this is for me the tip I sometimes struggle to follow, but well, I force myself to do it.

I made this mistake on my very first WFH day, last year. Bad, bad idea.

You may wonder why?

Well, let’s just say that my unicorn onesie makes me feel very chill, relaxed and sleepy. Not what you want when you have to work, is it? It was impossible for me to focus and to feel professional in this attire.

I am not saying that you should wear your suit at home; I am not doing that either. My point is, don’t wear your pyjamas and “dress for success”. Put something on which is comfortable and professional - like something you would wear on a casual Friday for example.

The way you dress will put you in the right professional mindset.

For your information, and to be completely transparent with you, I still allow myself to wear my crazy comfy pyjamas when I am focusing my day on writing articles. So, guess what I am wearing today? Haha…

TIP 3: Have a designated space to work

I know that not everyone has the chance to have a home office space.

I have asked my friends who don’t have a home office space how they do and what tips they have for you :)

They choose the most convenient spot for them, for example, the kitchen table, and make it a workspace with everything they need. Then when lunch comes, they eat in their living room to not mess up with their set up.

If you have a desk that looks like this:

Maybe it is time to tidy it up a little bit? Let’s say: Like this?

(DISCLAIMER: I haven’t tried this technique, so I suggest you do your research before doing it this way… I will not be liable for any damages occurred…)

TIP 4: If you are not living alone, set boundaries with your loved ones.

- Ohhhhh you are working from home! This is so cool. We can do all the things in the house that we were supposed to do!

- Well actually no, I am WORKING so I am on the clock here and need to get things done. But I would love to do all this after 6 pm, what do you think?

Yes, you need to set up the boundaries; otherwise, it will be hard for you to focus.

I remember, when I was a kid, and my parents were doing some paperwork, it was so tempting to go and ask them to play with my siblings and I. Looking at it now, my parents were so smooth …. Before working, they reunited everyone in the living room and gave us a speech in these lines:

“We are going to work now for 2h - showing us the clock and telling us until when- so we will ask you to be responsible, entertain yourself and let us focus on these essential things. We really want to play with you, but we are your parents, and we have the responsibility to make sure that we can offer you the best life possible by doing our work properly. We can play together when we are finished with our work, OK?”. I am the firstborn, and I felt like it was my duty to make sure that my siblings were following my parent’s request.

So… In order to prevent this (so cute though):

I was doing this with my siblings:

TIP 5: SCREEN BREAK

It is very easy to lose track of time while working from home. But it is vital to take some breaks during your day. So why not try scheduling your breaks on your calendar (at first, then it will become a habit)?

Just remember one thing: NO COMPUTER during your breaks! Just go grab something to drink, have some fresh air, do a little bit of stretching.

Trust me, your mental health will thank you!

You don’t want to end up like Penny below? Do you?

When I am not in meetings or phone calls, I use the Pomodoro technique: 25 minutes highly focusing then 5 minutes break (especially helpful for tasks you are not enjoying that much but needs to be done.)

I do that 4 times then I take a 15 minutes break.

During your lunchtime - do not work. Enjoy your food and relax, take a power nap if needed. Do everything you want but no screen.

TIP 6: PLAN your day the night before.

Before going to bed, I reflect on my day and think about everything I need to get done. I write everything down (work, workout, cleaning, calls etc).

It is helpful because, in the morning, you don’t lose time by trying to schedule your day.

Make this a routine. It will make your WFH experience so much easier.

TIP 7: KEEP Socializing with your coworkers virtually

The hardest part when I had to work from home for more than a month was the lack of social interaction. Tea breaks with colleagues and laughing. You will start to miss all those little things after a while.

We live in a digital world, so why not using the tools we have to keep those social interactions alive?

Take some “virtual coffee break” using video conference calls etc…

TIP 8: Turn off distraction… no Netflix and work sorry

It is sooooo easy to get distracted while working from home, distraction is usually higher at home (well... Unless you work with me, then it might be a little bit less distracting at home? Haha…).

We all think that we can multi-task - yes we can multi-task in some way. But trust me, if you try to multi-task WORK with NETFLIX… NETFLIX will win.

Common now, let’s be honest between us, Netflix knows its job - to distract ourselves.

But, if you are like me and can’t work with no noise at all, I recommend you to listen to some music - My favourite since I was very young is:

TIP 9: MOVE YOUR BODY

In France we have a saying “Bien dans son corps, bien dans sa tête” which translates to “feeling good in your body, feeling good in your mind”.

It couldn’t be more accurate, especially now, if you are in quarantine. You can find plenty of home workouts on youtube, yoga classes etc.… Whatever you like you can find it on the internet.

Now that my family is in quarantine in France and I am over here in London, we do a video chat after work and we dance together. It is so much fun and helps us get through this time together as a family. #goodvibesonly

TIP 10: BE GRATEFUL

I know we are living through some very difficult times … now it is the time to be more grateful than ever. Take the possibility to work from home as a chance. Because not everyone has the luxury to do it.

It is only temporary; we will all get back to our office sooner or later. It is just a matter of time.

So... WFH, dream or nightmare? It all depends on you :)

Remember, you can find the positivity in everything, it is all about mindset.

What are your tips to be efficient while WFH? I am super curious to know!