Tips for working from home
Working from home, something I’ve been doing for years as a freelancer. Actually, ever since I worked for my regular employer. The new way of working was then well established and working from home was normal. Everyone was allowed to work from home one day a week, or just quietly get rid of mail in the morning and then come to the office. With coronavirus, almost everyone is forced to work from home, but if you haven’t done this often, it can be a challenge to combine work and home.
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Working from home: tips From an experienced homemaker
From my years of experience working from home, I list some tips for you. These tips work for me everywhere I work. Learned by trial and error. In fact, even during my travels I continue to work, I worked in Brazil somewhere in the middle of the mountains and in Uganda near the Congo border in a small village or when I went to learn to surf in Portugal. Rest assured, even now some days go better than others. Above all, be realistic and don’t push yourself too hard.
Working from home from Brazil Working from home is not always easy
Hold a structure to
My all-important tip: Get up at the same time you normally would when you go to work. If you really want to enjoy the fact that you don’t have to travel, get up no more than 30 minutes later. Personally, I always get up around 7:15/7:30. It allows you to stay in a rhythm that makes you less inclined to think: oohh we can do another half hour.
Having more time in the morning you can spend getting up quietly, eating breakfast and just Starting the day with peace of mind. Or a little more attention to the children spend. Also be conscious with the time you go to bed. I myself go always sleep around 11 p.m., which means preferably going to bed around 10:30.
Go shower and dress in normal clothes
It’s very tempting to get stuck in sweatpants, or yoga pants, but trust me, you really are much more productive when you just get dressed. Somehow, wearing “relaxing clothes” also affects your mindset: it stays relaxed.
Feel the difference when you keep walking in your slippers or when you put on shoes. If you don’t want to walk around the house with shoes that you also walk with outside, buy slippers with a hard sole. For example, I have the vegan slippers from Toms, really, it makes a world of difference whether I’m wearing those or running around my house with big bunnys slippers.
Provide an ergonomic workplace
Preferably a desk in an enclosed space with a monitor. Depending on the work you do, having a monitor and therefore having two screens is super effective. Working with a monitor and properly adjusted chair is also important for your health so that you are not struggling with back pain a week later. You can buy a monitor from as little as 140 euros (cheaper is also possible!) and it is really worth the investment. I bought a monitor from Samsung in October and am still very satisfied. At the time, I also hesitated to buy this Philips monitor. ‘Yes, Danique that’s nice and all, but I live in a small apartment and don’t have an extra room at all. ‘
Working from home one in small house
No worries, I’ve had this too. I then worked with an ergonomic laptop holder and keyboard for quite some time. This ensures that you won’t get neck pain because you’re not looking down all the time. Again, you can easily store it and the keyboard is also very small, making it fine to work behind your dining table. I used to work with the laptop holder from ErgoDirect. By the way, they are also now offering 19% off their home improvement products (no, this is not a sponsored post).
That chair, yes, that one does matter. Especially since your dining table is probably not height can adjust. Should you need a footrest because your table is too high is, then use a stack of books.
Work effectively and take breaks
Working from home is more intensive than working in the office. At the office, walk over to that colleague on the other side of the building, have a chat on the go with a colleague who just came from vacation, or go for your third round of coffee or tea. When you work at home it is different, the distractions are less or at least different
Make blocks
So get a rhythm to work: create blocks of work, that way you can work productively from home. Do you know about yourself that you are more productive in the morning? Then plan for the “harder” things. Personally, I can really concentrate for 30-60 minutes at the most (depending on what it is) and then I really need to get away from my laptop for a while. That could be getting a cup of tea or just moving my body for a moment and stretching out arms. Moving can also be done by the way when you need to call someone!
Take breaks
After every two hour I give myself a real break of 10 to 15 minutes. Then a lunch break of about an hour and then work again in 2-hour blocks. Working from home is more intense, when you have worked six hours that to me equals energy to eight hours at the office.
Put your phone on silent
Also, I try to be as looking at my phone as little as possible when I need to do concentrated work. Anyway, my phone is always on silent. Always? Yes always, all day and night by. Unless I am expecting important phone call, then I turn the sound down to.
Because of this, I become Never disturbed by vibrating or other noises. Kind of quiet. Also, I have always almost all push messages are off. Only whats app comes in with a notification on my screen. I also check the news only two or three times a day now. So make sure I am not constantly distracted by thoughts that hurt me more than doing good.
Keep moving
If you always take public transportation to work, you are often already moving more than you think. Also inside office, brief walk to coffee machine, up stairs to that colleague on the3rd floor. When you work from home, it’s important to keep moving as well.
Fortunately, in the Netherlands – unlike here in Barcelona – you are still allowed to go outside for a stroll. Take advantage of that! You can also do yoga exercises or work outs online if you are not so fond of running or cycling. Personally, I always do these yoga exercises from Yoga with Adriene and bought a resistance band to do exercises via Youtube. Search for resistance band work outs and you’ll find all sorts of things! Made a playlist myself with work outs I do.
Working from home with children
I myself do not have children, so I cannot speak as an expert by experience. Well I have plenty of girlfriends who have children. So my tips are based on their tips.
By turns
What I understand of girlfriends with children during coronavirus is that they take turns work. So one works continuously for two hours and then the other is busy with the children and “easy” work, and then they swap. Having a good headphones will also sometimes help. It is not ideal but when you are in a normal situation where children can go to day care, you have more rest, of course.
Be understanding to each other
Taking care of your children, homeschooling AND also being productive for your employer doesn’t seem easy to me. Let alone if you are a single mother. So make arrangements with your partner and be kind to yourself; you can’t do everything. By the way – as I said – I am not an expert, so mainly look for blogs online: this blog from hogeschool in Belgium gives a nice diagram and explanation.
Done is done
Are you done with your work? And yes I know, there is always more work, but tell yourself that after 5 p.m. also stops. Time for yourself, for your partner, for your children. In addition I want to say to everyone: these are not normal times, so do your utmost best and that’s all you can do. And in terms of food? Just make easy healthy meals:
Do you have any questions or ideas of your own? Help each other and leave your tip below!
Did you know.
For me as a freelancer in marketing communications and events, these are turbulent times. That’s why I use Bol.com’s affiliate network, so that if you land on Bol via a link from my site and buy something there, I receive a little (really a little) commission from Bol.com. You pay nothing extra and it helps me tremendously!
ENGLISH
Effective homeworking, how do you do that?
Tips for working from home
Working from home, something I’ve been doing as a freelancer for years. Actually, ever since I worked for my regular employer. The new way of working was already well established and working from home was normal. Everyone was allowed to work from home for one day a week, or just work away mail in the morning in peace and quiet and then come to the office. With the coronavirus, almost everyone was forced to work from home, but if you haven’t done this often, it can be a challenge to combine work and private life.
Working from home: tips from an experienced homeworker
From my years of experience with working from home, I’ll list a few tips for you. These tips work for me wherever I work. Learned by trial and error. Also during my travels I continue to work, I worked in Brazil somewhere in the middle of the mountains and in Uganda near the Congo border in a small village or when I learned to surf in Portugal. Rest assured, even now things are going better one day than the next. Above all, be realistic and don’t push yourself too hard.
Maintain a structure
My most important tip: get up at the same time as you normally would when you went to work. If you really want to enjoy the fact that you don’t have to travel, get up 30 minutes later at the most. I always get up around 7.15/7.30. It keeps you in a rhythm which makes you less inclined to think: oohh can still be half an hour longer.
Having more time in the morning you can spend getting up quietly, having breakfast and just start the day with peace of mind in your head. Or pay more attention to the children. Also be aware of the time you go to bed. I always go to sleep around 23.00, which means preferably around 22.30.
Take a shower and get dressed in normal clothes.
It’s very tempting to get stuck in jogging pants, or yoga pants, but believe me, you’re really much more productive when you just get dressed. Somehow wearing “relaxing clothes” also has an effect on your mindset: it stays relaxed.
Feel a difference when you keep walking on your slippers or when you put on your shoes. If you don’t want to walk in the house with shoes That you also wear outside, buy slippers with a hard sole. I have the vegan slippers from Toms for example, really, it makes a world of difference if I wear them or if I walk around my house with big bunny slippers.
Provide an ergonomic workplace
Preferably a desk in an enclosed space with a monitor. Depending on the work you do, having a monitor and therefore having two screens is super effective. Working with a monitor and a well adjusted chair is also important for your health, so you won’t have back problems a week later. You can buy a monitor from as little as 140 euros (cheaper is also possible!) and it’s really worth the investment. I bought a monitor from Samsung in October and am still very satisfied. Yes, Danique that is nice and nice, but I live in a small apartment and don’t have an extra room at all. ‘
Working from home and in a small house
No worries, I’ve had this, too. I used to work with an ergonomic laptop holder and keyboard all the time. This makes sure you don’t get neck pain because you don’t look down all the time. Your pussy can easily store it again and the keyboard is also very small, so you can easily work behind your dining table. I always worked with the laptop holder from ErgoDirect. By the way, they now also give 19% discount on their homework products (no, this is not a sponsored item).
That chair, yes, it is important. Especially since you probably can’t adjust the height of your dining table. If you need a footrest because your table is too high, use a pile of books.
Work effectively and take breaks
Working from home is more intensive than working at the office. At the office, you walk to the colleague on the other side of the building, have a chat with a colleague who has just come from holiday or go for your third round of coffee or tea. When you work from home it is different, the distractions are less or at least different.
Make blocks
So create a rhythm in the work: make blocks of work, so you can work productively from home. Do you know that you are more productive in the morning? Then plan the “harder” things. I can work really concentrated for up to 30-60 minutes (depending on what it is) and then I really have to get away from my laptop for a while. That could be to get a cup of tea or just move my body and stretch out my arms. By the way, you can also move if you need to call someone!
Take breaks
After every two hours I give myself a real break of 10 to 15 minutes. Then a lunch break of about an hour and then work again in blocks of 2 hours. Working at home is more intensive, when you have worked six hours it means that for me of energy equivalent to eight hours at the office.
Turn your phone off
I also try to look at my phone as little as possible when I have to do concentrated work. Anyway, my phone is always on standstill. Always? Yeah, all day and all night. Unless I’m expecting an important call, I turn on the sound.
This way I am never disturbed by vibrating or other noises. Quiet, though. Also, I always have almost all push messages turned off. Only whats app comes in with a message on my screen. Now I only check the news two or three times a day. This way I make sure I am not constantly distracted by thoughts that do me more harm than good.
Keep moving
When you always go to work by public transport, you often move more than you think. Also inside the office, a short walk to the coffee machine, up the stairs to that colleague on the 3rd floor. When you work from home, it is important to keep moving as well.
Fortunately, in the Netherlands – unlike here in Barcelona – you can still go outside for a stroll. Take advantage of that! You can also do yoga exercises or work outs online if you don’t like running or cycling. I always do these yoga exercises by Yoga with Adriene and I bought a resistance band to do exercises on Youtube. Search for resistance band work outs and you will find everything! I also made a playlist with work outs I do.
Working at home with children
I don’t have any children myself, so I can’t speak as an experience expert. Well, I have plenty of girlfriends who have kids. So my tips are based on their tips.
Take turns
What I understand from friends with children during the coronavirus is that they work in turns. So one works continuously for two hours and then the other is busy with the children and ‘easy’ work, and then they swap. Having a good pair of headphones can also help. It is not ideal, but when you are in a normal situation where children can go to day care, you have more peace of mind.
Be understanding to each other
I don’t think it’s easy to take care of your children, teach them at home and be productive for your employer. Let alone when you’re a single mother. So make arrangements with your partner and be nice to yourself, you can’t do everything. By the way – as I said – I’m not an expert, so start looking for blogs online: this blog from college of higher education in Belgium Gives a nice diagram and explanation.
Ready is ready
Are you done with your work? And yeah I know, there’s always more work, but tell yourself you quit after 5:00. Time for yourself, for your partner, for your kids. In addition, I want to say to everyone: these are not normal times, so do your best and that’s all you can do. And what about food? Just make easy healthy meals:
Do you have any questions or ideas of your own? Help each Other and leave your tip below!
Did you know that?For me as a freelancer in marketing communications and events these are turbulent times. That’s why I use the affiliate network of Bol.com, so if you come to Bol via a link from my site and buy something there, I get a little (really little) commission from Bol.com. You don’t pay anything extra and it helps me enormously!
