16 Tips To Create A Work From Home Routine That Actually Works
For those who don’t work from home or are new to the lifestyle, remote work can conjure up lackadaisical images of rolling out of bed to sign into your laptop at 8:59 am, working in pajamas with your favorite TV show in the background, grocery shopping at 2 pm on a Tuesday, and so on. While all of these may be options… that doesn't make them good options.
Working from home can generate that kid-in-the-candy-store feeling of “I can do whatever I want!,” but every remote worker eventually finds out they need to set personal boundaries with the bountiful autonomy and flexibility at their fingertips. Struggling with poor work-life balance, concentration, time management, and productivity are all too common without the physical and psychological structure of an office space.
That is where a daily routine steps in to save the day! A great daily routine is one that you both enjoy and work productively in. Here we have some work from home tips to help you structure and optimize your workday routine from wake-up to sign-off.
How To Establish A Morning Routine
A morning routine is your first priority in figuring out how to structure the rest of your day. How you start your day will impact the remainder of it, so the goal is to create an appealing morning agenda that makes you excited to get up (i.e. not rolling out of bed and into your desk chair to turn on the computer).
Wake up at the same time every day
If you’re waking up at different times every single day, you’ll never know what to expect, how to structure your morning, or if you have time to exercise, make breakfast, or whatever you like to do before work. Having a clear-cut wake-up call 1 or 2 hours before the workday will guarantee a smooth transition from sleep to work.
Get some movement in
What wakes your body up after a long night’s sleep, makes it feel good, and is in line with your fitness and health goals? That could be a run, a walk, a workout class, stretching, or yoga, to name a few. Doing some active movement in the morning before working will greatly improve your energy and stress levels.
Find your personal morning favorite activity
Mornings are a great opportunity to ensure work-life balance, by doing something you like to do before work! What personal practice energizes and primes you for the day ahead? Something productive like emptying the dishwasher or laundry? Something soothing like reading, journaling, or meditating?
Eat Breakfast
Preparing breakfast before the workday will minimize the time you have to get up and be distracted once work begins. If you prefer to have breakfast later in the morning, consider meal prepping overnight oats or a ready-to-blend smoothie.
Beginning the workday
Now that your morning routine has rejuvenated and primed you for your workday, you’re ready to sit down and begin!
Settle into a work-friendly space
The physical space that you work in will impact your mental headspace, so do what you can to organize an area that is dedicated solely to work ...not your bed. Set up an appealing and comfortable work space that is bright, organized, and limits distraction. Think to yourself: “This is my office,” even if it’s just a corner of your bedroom, and treat it as such, so that you automatically go into work-mode when you sit down. Maybe you find that the environment of a coffee shop or coworking space helps you to get motivated!
Create a to-do list for the day
As soon as you sit down, make a list of priorities so that you have a game plan on how to break down the day ahead. Prioritize the most important and creative tasks and projects first, when brainpower is strongest. If you need to do some yard work or errands today, schedule accordingly by running out of the house on your lunch break or setting a 45 minute appointment on your calendar so that your coworkers are aware you are unavailable.
Break up your day into blocks
Sticking to a defined hourly schedule will greatly benefit your time management and make structuring your day easy. You may think an hourly timetable would impede or restrict you, but instead, mini deadlines take out the guesswork and help the day transition smoothly and quickly. If you know that X happens at X o’clock, then you know what to expect, how much time you have for different tasks, and how to maximize that given time. Repetition and habits may sound boring, but consistency is the glue of your routine and incorporates self-accountability, punctuality, and discipline into your workday.
How To Structure Your Workday
You now know what your day looks like; you know when your meetings, calls, and deadlines are. Here are some methods to really finetune the layout of your workday, to make it even more enjoyable, productive, and sustainable.
Have a power hour
Schedule in a 60 minute power hour to plug and chug through work that you may find less pleasant—or your most important tasks of the workday—distraction-free. Pour a huge cup of coffee, sit down, throw your phone across the room, and block out the rest of the world. You could schedule it right before lunch so that you are motivated to work as efficiently and distraction-free as possible, knowing there is free time right around the corner.
Set aside time for fresh air and light activity
For the sake of both your physical and mental well-being, take the time to step away and clear your head. It is not natural to sit indoors for hours on end, so every 60 or 90 minutes, get up, stretch, walk around the block, or water the plants. You don’t want to be getting up so often that it is detrimental to your concentration and workflow, but more likely than not, you need to prioritize getting up, walking away, and getting some vitamin D in for a few minutes.
Schedule exercise time
Working from home is a whole lot of sitting, clicking, and typing. Your body and mind need whole-body movement for an abundance of health reasons, so it is important to dedicate some time every day to daily movement, whether that is scheduled for pre-work, mid-day, or post-work. Do what makes you feel good and cooperates with your work schedule. If working out in the morning exhausts you, save it for after. If you need to blow off a lot of steam from sitting down all morning, then maybe running out to the gym at lunchtime could work.
When It’s Sign-off time
With the help of a balanced and structured daily routine, you can have a productive work day, feel guilt-free about signing off at the same time every day, and transition into your off-hours chill time.
Sign off firmly. (Slam that laptop shut!)
Working and living in the same space is akin to moving in with a life partner too soon: it can get real messy, real fast. Protect your work-life balance and these boundaries at all costs, and walk away as if you just delivered a break-up speech. You will be able to do this with good conscience with the help of a great daily routine; for the sake of self-care, your life needs to be lived after work!
Get off electronics after work
Since your eyes are trained for eight-ish hours a day on a screen, it is important to not be on electronics once work is done. Our modern lives revolve heavily around being online, so do what you can to step away from all screens after hours and do anything remotely active, such as laundry or the dishes.
Schedule an in-person commitment after work
If you don’t have a commitment after work that requires your physical presence, find one. This in-person social interaction is necessary for humans as social beings, and the work-from-home isolation can impact you in ways that you don’t even realize. Sign up for something that requires you to get out of your house and relies on your physical presence: a book club, volunteering, or maybe even a game of pick-up volleyball.
More tips on creating a work from home routine that will work for you
Tell your roommate/S.O. that you’re there, but not there.
Working from home when you live with others, especially when those others don’t work from home like you do, can get tough. Although unintentional, they may not understand that physical presence does not equal availability. It’s best to make it clear to them that while your body is there, you are effectively not. Interspersing too much random water cooler talk and hang-outs throughout the work day may just sabotage your work routine.
If something is not working, change one thing.
Instead of a complete routine overhaul, remove one aspect of the day that you think is getting in your way, or add one thing in, to see if the day balances out. Throwing out your entire routine and introducing too many changes at once may just further imbalance and overwhelm you. Maybe that one change will make a bigger difference than you thought. Maybe that fourth cup of coffee before 10 am is the problem here...
Take your routine seriously.
Seriously. A daily routine will boost your mood, work-life balance, productivity, and time management. Establishing a routine will remove small decision-making opportunities that continually pop up throughout the day, demanding attention and mental energy. It makes your life so much easier if you are not continually assessing, “What should I do now?” Respecting your routine is respecting yourself and your job duties. Make it easy for yourself, don’t give yourself too many options, and adhere to the schedule that the bossiest version of yourself created.