5 Tips and Tricks for a Better Work-From-Home Routine

If you find yourself occasionally distracted by your family or pets while working from home, you might need some remote-working advice to help you stay productive. Here are five great tips and tricks from the best online bingo site, Lucky Pants Bingo, so you can spend your time as you please (once you’re officially off the clock)!

1. Create a work routine

Just because you’re working from home, it doesn’t mean you should throw out your alarm clock. It’s important to build a work routine that works for you, and that you can easily stick to. This might mean getting up early to watch the news, eat a good breakfast, and put on your work clothes, or simply getting up in time to put on something clean to wear, and grabbing a cup of coffee before settling down to your work day.

When it comes to the end of your day, it’s just as important to maintain your routine as much as possible. It’s too easy to find yourself working well past the end of your official work hours, or committing excessive amounts of time to a project that you aren’t getting paid for. While this may be necessary once in a while, it’s important to avoid it becoming a habit. Excessive work hours could put unnecessary stress on you and cause you to burn out, which is definitely something you’d want to avoid!

2. Set up a dedicated work space in your home

Sure, the first time you hear “work from home”, you might be thinking: “Great! I can just lie in bed with my laptop while I work!” But hang on a minute: this may not be a great idea, at least for most people. When it comes to working from bed, Healthline’s article, “6 reasons working from bed isn’t doing you any favours”, shows how it can have numerous downsides, including poor sleep quality, worsening your posture, and – of course – lowering your productivity.

If you can, you should set up a dedicated space where you can work in peace. Ideally, this would be an entire room that you can use as your office. In this space, you’d have all the things you need to get your work done, such as a desk, your computer, a comfortable chair and good light, minus all the distractions you’d find in an ordinary home, such as the TV and other members of your household. Creating such a space helps you compartmentalise your working day, and creates a zone in which you feel happy and ready to do what you need to do in the absence of interruption.

If you’re not lucky enough to set aside an entire room, make sure you choose a space where you can set up all your work equipment reasonably comfortably, and you can be as distraction-free as possible. For most people, this will mean some sort of compromise, such as setting up in a corner of the dining room. But remember to plan for your whole work day, because you don’t want to have to keep decamping. Sure, the family playroom may have all the space you need, but it’s probably not a good idea to try and work in there after the kids get back from school.

3. Stay active on your work communication channels

While some of us may miss our morning or lunch-time catch-ups around the coffee machine or water cooler, the reality is these don’t have to go completely out of the window when you’re working from home. You can still chat online with your friends and co-workers, or even pick up the phone, or set up a video call. Perhaps you’ve seen a funny cartoon or a web post you think a colleague may enjoy, or you’ve got a story for them – whatever it is, make the effort to reach out.

This will help you feel connected to your co-workers, even if you only chat to them a few times in the week, and will help reduce any feelings of isolation you may have when working from home. After all, while some of us may have other people around (even if it’s an annoying but much-loved brother or sister), or are quite happy on our own (yes, we’re talking to all the introverts here), others may not and may feel lonely as a result. Team spirit is important, but even more so when you’re working remotely.

4. Take steps to prevent your home life from interrupting your work life

We’ve already briefly mentioned that there can be distractions in your home that you’re not very likely to find in an office or workplace. Whether that’s your TV, children, or anything else, these can be an unwelcome disturbance when you’re trying to be productive and get work done at home.

While you can minimise some of these distractions by setting up your own office, a closed door isn’t going to stop some children from opening it and rushing in during an important meeting, or even worse, sitting on the other side of the door crying for mum or dad to come out and play.

This is why it’s important to explain to your family when you’re “at work” and can’t be with them, even if you’re just one room or desk away. It’s a good idea to establish when you are and aren’t available to people in your home, as too many distractions might get you into trouble at work!

Of course, this doesn’t apply to every job – if you’re lucky enough to have flexi-time hours, for example, you can be more available to your family and other people at home – but for the majority of home workers, it’s best to set these kinds of boundaries early on.

5. Take short breaks to keep you focused

And while it’s important to set boundaries so your productivity isn’t affected (who wants to explain to their manager that their child keeps interrupting them, asking to play outside), that doesn’t mean you need to chain yourself to your desk the whole day. Even when most people worked in an office or elsewhere away from home, time would be spent chatting to co-workers, getting some fresh air, or even watching the world go by through a window. Basically: we all need to take short breaks during our working day!

This may seem counterintuitive (and your boss may not want to hear it), but these types of breaks can actually help boost productivity and improve your overall well-being. The BBC article, “The tiny breaks that ease your body and reboot your brain”, explains how short, voluntary breaks can actually lower employee stress levels, and can improve productivity by boosting concentration! Just don’t let these types of breaks distract you too much. After all, while it may be tempting to take frequent breaks to pet your cat or dog (another great way to lower your stress levels and improve your mood), you still have work to do. It’s just a question of hitting the right balance.

With work out of the way, it’s time to play

Now you’ve read these great tips to improve your productivity, you’ve got more time to do with as you please. With all these extra hours you can read a book, enjoy some television, or clean up around the house – the choice is yours.

This improved work routine means you might also have extra time to play some great online bingo games at the best bingo site, Lucky Pants Bingo! Sign up to join in all the fun and excitement of bingo, plus try other great games like Slingo bingo, online slots, and more!