With many of us now working from home adjusting to new work patterns can be tricky. Around 1.5 million people were already doing it before the crisis and it's getting more an more popular. We have some handy tips that will make the process much easier.

Get Dressed

It may seem like bliss to be able to slob around in your PJs all day but if you want to get your head in the work game, dress for it. By getting dressed you change your mental state from home to work. It works in reverse too, when you have finished your work, change back into relax clothes. Changing your clothes also means that if you are needed in a video conference you are ready for it.

Have A Workplace

By setting up a specific space in your home you separate home from work, it will help you avoid distractions (don't have the TV on in the background). Try to make it a room if you can rather than a corner of a room, it's not alway possible but if it is it really helps. If it is a separate room put a lock on it, remember the video that went viral with the chap who was giving the TV interview and the kids came piling in? You want to avoid that if you can. Put a note on the door for the kids telling them when you will be free (outside of an emergency of course). Have snacks ready (preferably healthy), that way you won't have to leave work and go home if you are peckish.

Stick To Working Hours

It is all too easy to go past your regular working day when working from home. There will be times when you have to just as you have to occasionally work late in the office, make it occasional!

Get Out And About

If you are not self isolating (in which case don't go out) then it is important that you get the daily exercise the government recommends. Use the time that you would have taken in your morning or evening commute (one or the other not both) to get out and exercise.

Use The Phone

Take breaks

Just getting up and walking around occasionally will do wonders for you. In an office environment we do it naturally as we go off and have a chat with a colleague. In a home office we do it far less. Try to make sure that you take a 10 minute break every few hours even if it's only making a cup of tea and looking out of the window while you enjoy it. A lot of regular home workers use the Pomodoro Technique which divides the day down into 25 minute chunks followed by a short break and a longer break after 4 chunks.

Accept That Sometimes None Of The Above Is Going To Apply

Working from home is by definition far more flexible than working in an office. There will be times when all the guidelines, all the tips in the world just don't work. Don't beat yourself up about it, go with the flow and gently get yourself back on track.

Download "Juggling The Balls Of Parenting, Your Brand And Working From Home" by best selling author, our very own Jo Baldwin-Trott. This is from her book Remote Working: How to effectively and efficiently work from home in challenging times that she co-authored with 24 other experts.

She has also produced a YouTube video with tips on how to show up for online calls.

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Juggling The Balls of Parenting

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