4 Tips to Work From Home

The "work from home" lifestyle may become the new normal. The novel coronavirus is changing the way every citizen of the Earth works, lives, and thrives. "Social distancing” is the buzzword on everyone’s lips. Restaurants and bars around the nation have closed, several cities and states are on mandatory lock down, and layoffs have increased. Workers in industries outside of the service and hospitality sectors have been told to work from home in order to combat the spread of the illness. Many business-people have found themselves sequestered in their home and working remotely, some even for the first time. It takes time to adjust to a new work strategy and working from home for the first time is no walk in the park. Luckily, Revisn has compiled a few great tips on how to make the most out of your new “WFH” routine!

Separate Your Work Space

The biggest no-no of working from home is to work from your bed, couch, or comfy chair! Make sure that wherever you set up shop for the day is far from a place you associate with leisure. Preferably, don’t even work in your bedroom. Set up a desk space in your kitchen, create a home office in a living room, or work outside. By associating your bed or couch with work, not only will you get easily distracted during your workday, but you’ll be antsy later once you’ve logged out for the day and are curling up for a Netflix marathon. When you’ve located a suitable place to work, personalize it just as you would your in-office workspace. Add some décor, set up near a nice view, and keep it tidy!

Revisn executive apartments are equipped with several great places to work! Our coffee tables are designed with a pull-out laptop lift perfect for a living room office. Our fully furnished apartments also include a spacious breakfast bar in the kitchen so you can spread out with all your notes and documents. If you’d rather see the outdoors, our rooftop terrace is great for catching rays and shooting off some emails.

Keep to a Schedule

Don’t jump right into three or four long-term projects all at once. It might feel like you’ve got a wealth of new time on your hands, but it’s important to keep your workday separate from your time off. Tackling several big ideas all at once can keep you up late, itching to get back to your work. Make sure to start and stop your workday at the same time every day. A work-life balance is necessary even amid our current global situation.

Create a routine in the morning that gets you out of bed and prepared for your workday. This can include cooking breakfast, taking a shower, and putting on a business-casual outfit just like you’re going into the office. This sense of routine keeps you in the working head space, so you don’t find yourself idling or becoming distracted throughout the day. A morning routine also officiates a “start” to your day, so you feel like you have the canter to get up and get working.

Take Breaks

Did you know that creative tasks are done more productively when working from home? That's why it's so important to take breaks! Just like you would on any regular workday, be sure to take breaks for meals, coffee, and brief bouts of exercise. You don’t typically stay locked into your office chair all day, and there’s no reason to when you’re working from home. Although a trip to the bakery or coffee house may not be feasible due to self-quarantining, there’s still plenty of ample opportunities to get mobile while working. Take a quick walk around the neighborhood or break for 10 minutes to do some in-home cardio exercises.

Brief breaks from work are also useful for your mental health. To be an efficient worker, you cannot expect your brain to power through days 8 or so hours at a time. Give yourself the understanding that your work space is a bit alien to you right now, and that it’ll take some getting used to. Right now, what’s important is that you establish a flow, alter it as needed, and stick with what works.

Communicate Effectively

Typing emails all day can muddy the communication and relationship you have with coworkers, managers, and direct reporters. How can you liven up your work-from-home strategy so you don’t feel so alone, or worse, miscommunicate to your team? Be sure to diversify the communication methods your team utilizes by incorporating different digital tools like Zoom, Skype, or voice chat. Being able to have a conversation face-to-face and voice-to-voice with a colleague is an effective strategy that strengthens these bonds when not in-person

Want to liven it up even more? Plan some “after work” functions with coworkers, like a pizza party or cocktail hour. Put on a nice outfit, load up Zoom, and have some evening banter with your colleagues near and far!