Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have transitioned to working from home. We quickly adapted and learned that most of our jobs can be done from the comfort of our living room, home office, kitchen, you name it! As long as you have a stable wifi connection, working from home seems to be where our future is headed.

Working remotely definitely has its many advantages, the main advantage being the comfort. But, Is it too much comfort?

I would argue that at times it is too much comfort. The reality is that if you don’t have a proper routine in place, the work days can go by extremely slowly and make us feel completely drained by the end of it. Working remote can also cause us to form some terrible habits, such as, rolling out of bed 15 minutes before the start of a shift. I have definitely been victim to this (If my supervisors are reading this – I am a better person now).

Initially, I thought that if I had no commute I could wake up closer to when my shift began, comfortably log on and go about completing my work tasks. However, this resulted in me going from my bed to sitting in a chair for 7 hours, eating poorly and barely getting up to move my body.

I also noticed that I was not conscientious about taking my breaks. Instead, I would find myself to be sitting in front of my monitors for almost the whole day. I would get “into the zone” and have great difficulty getting out of it for a break. I would only begin to realize in the last hour of my shift that I had barely gotten up or eaten all day.

Truth being told, I absolutely love working from home so I had to figure out how to make it work effectively.

Tips for working from home:

1. Wake up early, even if you don’t have to

Even though I don’t have a commute, I still try to wake up at least an hour or 45 minutes before my shift begins. This gives me more than enough time to build up a morning routine and get me pumped up for my day.

2. Take your breaks

Setting an alarm on my phone to plan out when my breaks are going to be has really helped me to be accountable and actually take them. There is an app call “Stand Up!” which is really amazing to help you move more during the work day and stay healthy. Since there is enough research showing that sitting for hours every day is unhealthy, this app is a great way to keep in check.

Instead of sitting at my desk for hours without moving I am motivated to really take my break as it is intentionally scheduled in to my day.

3. Create a pre-work routine

Creating a daily routine before work has allowed me to get prepared for the work day just as if I had to leave my home and drive to work. I look forward to my mornings and I am inspired to try to wake up even earlier and add in more to my list.

I enjoy getting in to the habit of doing a short morning stretch, eating my breakfast and getting a cup of tea ready all before my shift starts. Once those main tasks are done I sit down at my desk and begin my work flow.

Do you work from home? If so, what are your tips to stay productive? Let me know in the comments section below!