Many are now contemplating WFH long term. I spent a lot of years #workingfromhome but it’s really easy to end up not being able to switch off so here are a couple of things we used to do to try and help with that - thread /1
Try and find a space to work in where you can shut the door at the end of the working day. Having your work paraphernalia visible makes it hard to spend time with family without being distracted. /2
In one house we converted an old larder room off the kitchen to a work space. It was tiny but the main thing is I could shut the door and work stayed in there and it didn’t take over the rest of the house /3
If you can’t do that, put your desk in a corner out of sight from your favourite bit of living space or if you work on a laptop on a dining table as I had to in our last flat, force yourself to pack the laptop away and put it in a cupboard out of sight every evening. /4
We put in a second phoneline which was then our work number and used to switch the ringer off and let the answering machine pick up calls out of office hours. /5
If you are using a personal mobile, it’s bad news. People will call whenever they fancy and you will be tempted to take the call during dinner due to anxiety. Again much better to keep a separate mobile phone for work related contacts and TURN IT OFF when you are not working. /6
Make your contactable hours clear to the work people you need to interact with daily. If they know what’s what they will wait until you are back. /7
Yes you can be flexible working from home, make appointments during the working day, have a long lunch occasionally etc but we always tried to stick to a regular schedule most days. /8
There were 2 of us working from home for several years but even so I used to get cabin fever or we would get irritated with eachother - so use that extra time and energy from no commute to grab coffee with friends or spend time with family or take the dog on long walks. /END
