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Himself and I both work from home. Well, Himself works from home and I work for myself but when I’m not at the clinic there’s an extraordinary amount of admin that needs to be done and this is primarily done from home.
A lot of people think that this is living the dream, and indeed in many ways it is. But working from home is hard to do because there is nobody there keeping an eye on you, clearing their throats when your productivity is low, gently (or not so gently) nudging you to tell you that maybe you’ve spent a bit too much time surfing the internet. It takes a while to find a routine, to find discipline in the sudden freedom that you have – and believe me when you’ve worked in law for years, when you’ve had to log every minute of your day, that freedom is almost too much.
As our situation is in flux right now, I thought I would share a few tips that have helped us over the last few years, before everything is different and I forget them. So just in case you’re about to find yourself self-employed or working from home, read on!
1. Find yourself a space to work. This is the number one priority for working from home. Try to find yourself a dedicated space to work, even if it’s just a small desk in the corner of your living room, and make that work space as beautiful and as inspirational (and as tidy) as you can. Doubling the dining table up as an office just doesn’t work. It means that your job is right there in your face all the time. We ended up turning the spare bedroom into an office for Himself (he has several computers etc and needs the space) and I’ve taken a small cupboard bedroom for my desk and yoga mat. It means when we have guests we have to book them into a nearby hotel but it’s all about priorities!
2. Set yourself working hours. There is a tendency when working for yourself or from home to start checking emails immediately upon getting up and carrying on from there. Set yourself reasonable working hours and stick to them, otherwise your job will take over your whole life. What these hours will be are dependent on a) what you do and b) what hours you are at your brightest (I’m an afternoon person, Himself is a morning person). It will be hit and miss to start with while your work them out but once you’ve got them, stick to them!
3. Get up, get dressed, eat breakfast. Don’t be tempted to work in your pyjamas. It’ll be lunchtime before you get showered and you’ll feel horrible for it. Act exactly as you would if you had to go in to an office.
4. Turn off wi-fi. Have certain set hours during your working day when you turn off your wi-fi. This way you can’t be distracted by social media and incoming emails. How many hours you have offline will again depend upon what you do, Himself needs to check his emails far more often than I do, but do try to take that time offline, especially when you need to get your head down on a big project.
5. Twitter is your office mates. Conversely you will never need social media so much as when you work at home alone! You’ll be surprised how much you miss the office banter (even though when you were in the office you hated it so) and it’s easy to become isolated. Pick your Twitter and Facebook friends carefully and check in with them a few times a day. It sounds crazy but it can keep you sane!
A final point for any couple who, like us, both work from home. Learn to leave each other alone! Don’t be tempted to bother each other with household minutae during those hours reserved for work. Remember, you’re meant to be behaving as though you’d gone into the office. Ask yourself, would you phone them at work for this question or leave it until they got home?
Any other tips from my fellow home-workers?
