1. No Housework – Ever. It might be great that you can unload the washing machine, and get another two loads done before the end of the day. When you are procrastinating, bleaching the bin might sound like a good idea. But it’s not. You wouldn’t start randomly deep cleaning the office, or nip out to the laundrette four times in one day. So no housework is allowed at home either, until your work is done.
2. Stick to working hours – You can set these. You might decide 7am – 3pm works best, 9am – 6pm, 10am – 3pm. It doesn’t matter what your hours are, you just need to set them. It might actually be worth shortening those hours too. You will find it harder to concentrate at home, so work more productively for shorter periods of time.
3. Get yourself outside – This might not necessarily be possible over the next couple of weeks. But for now, and as much as you can, get yourself outside and into the fresh air. ‘Walk to work’. Leave the house, walk around the block, and walk in to work. Lunch time also works too. Take a proper lunch break, and don’t just sit at your computer for the whole day.
4. Do not snack – It’s so easy when working at home to find yourself at 11am having eaten an entire pack of biscuits. And this does nothing for you productivity levels. Eat your meals at normal meal times, and if you do need to snack, make sure it’s healthy.
5. Have the same conversations – Working from home, although great at the beginning, will start to feel lonely. So make sure that you still have those conversations that you might have at work. Create an office WhatsApp group, and chat in it just as you would in the office. Just try not to let it distract you from your work!
