So I have been working from home solidly for the last three years, I love it but at times to motivate myself can be a struggle so I thought I would share my top tips on how I manage to roll out of bed an actually do work.
1. Make sure your work space is bright, engaging and with few distractions.
For me it’s important that my desk space has natural light, I have a massive printer that before was blocking most of the light getting into my work space, so I decided about a month ago to shift my entire space around so that I would have natural light all day, this picks me up. I have always been obsessed with nesting in my work space, I put up my favourite photos, buy endless pot plants and make my space a place that I want to turn up to everyday.
2. Limit your social media scrolling.
I am a sucker for a good Instagram scroll, after a while I would find myself suckered in and less motivated to work after seeing all the wonderful work by other creatives, limit that scrolling do it for maybe 5 minutes on a coffee break, I have now taken to switching my phone off whilst I am working on client work just so I am not distracted by social media.
3. Get comfy but not too comfy
I am jeans kinda girl always have been always will be, so when I get dressed I now instinctively make a point of dressing as if I would be commuting to a studio, I have recently snapped up a second hand jump suit/playsuit outfit that I feel hits all the right comfort, versatile and fashionable boxes, if I lounge around in pjs without doing my make up my brain often thinks it’s not time to work, so get dressed and get sorted.
4. Plan you work the night before
So this is probably my top tip when you work from home or freelance you can often feel things or starting things pretty daunting, so the night before I roll out of my bed, I write my to-do list and leave it on my desk so I know whats my priority and whats not, its hard when you don’t have a boss telling you what to do, but its a good kind of freedom.
5. Have regular breaks
Now I use to practically make an hour schedule for my working day, I am a little more relaxed about what I get up to but I felt guilty taking breaks, but now I go on 20 minute walks before starting a new piece, I take an hour off for lunch and it helps with my concentration rather then slogging away and not eating, I now take my time and enjoy my job, I treated myself to a new coffee machine so that its at arms length and I can stay in my space and relax it’s a perk of the job.
So those are my five tips for working from home, I know everyone is different and some people absolutely hate it but we make the best of what we have. Would love to know your top tips.
