Stay on top of your game from your corner-of-your-apartment office.
By Charlotte Chipperfield (Founder & CEO, The Wine Key)
Many of us are increasing given the flexibility to work from home. No matter if you are an employee or entrepreneur, the idea of working from our cozy homes is often the ultimate reward.
At first, you might feel like the kid who faked an illness to get out of class to play. But after a few weeks of working from home, bad habits can form. Avoid these five mistakes when working from home.
1. Get Dressed
Keep your morning routine the same as when you went to the office. Get out of those PJ’s and into either work attire or work-casual attire. Our appearance can often affect our mindset so set the tone for the day by leaving the PJs for the nighttime.
2. Set Boundaries
Don’t try to multitask your business to-dos with your personal tasks. It can feel extra productive to do laundry while working but ultimately this can be a distraction and require more time away from work tasks. Before working from home these tasks were still completed so focus on work first during operating hours.
3. Leave the House
Working from home can be isolating. Don’t fall into the trap of not leaving the house for days on end. Meet friends or colleagues for coffee or lunch and don’t flake on personal commitments.
4. Plan Meals and Workouts
Be sure to stay healthy and plan times to go for a walk to stretch your legs or plan workouts such as Yoga or weight training. Planning and prepping your lunches ahead of time can also be a time saver allowing you to quickly grab a prepared salad or sandwich from the fridge.
5. Limit Distractions
Again, our home environments can be very distracting. From laundry to catching up on our favorite TV shows, distractions lurk around every corner. Create a space that is dedicated to working away from distractions.
Working from home provides flexibility but it’s important not to take advantage of the privilege or become too distracted that your work isn’t getting done. Be sure to form good habits and set boundaries early on to help drive success.
How to you best stay focused when working from home?
About the guest blogger: Charlotte Chipperfield is the Founder & CEO of Chipperfield Media. She brings more than seven years of experience in marketing and has built a reputation as an expert and thought leader in the digital marketing space. Charlotte loves working with clients to drive increased customer engagement through creative and professional social media and marketing campaigns. She enjoys working with business leaders to navigate the storytelling behind their brand leading to a purposeful customer driven conversation and a healthier bottom line. Charlotte is also a much sought-after speaker, presenting to business executives on how to improve their online presence to better drive their digital marketing efforts. Follow her on Twitter at @ChipperfieldMKG.
