Working from home can often be seen as the holy grail, especially as a parent and this past year has given many of us the opportunity to do just that. Of course, under stressful circumstances that is for sure. Remember homeschool?
While some things are getting back to normal, you might be finding that you are still having to work from home. Maybe you are still doing your current job, or perhaps you have created a business from home so that you can continue to maintain a routine that you may have gotten accustomed to. After all, working from home can give you more flexibility when it comes to being mum and dad as well as being able to thrive in the workplace and excel at your career or with a business.
Finding the right career or starting your own business from home, as so many parents have done in the past, can be the ideal option to give you this lifestyle, but it does have some drawbacks. Making it work can be tough, and if you are starting to struggle with working from home, then you may be wondering how you can thrive. With that in mind, here are some of the things to think about.
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Having a dedicated working area
The main issue people have with working from home is the fact that you are never truly off the clock when it comes to working. Your work is there, after all. This is something that may have taken a lot of getting used to when it comes to this past year. The truth is, if you are working from home, then you can always be going back to it as and when you wish to. Such as in an evening when you really want to send off that report or schedule those posts for your business and you may not know when to stop.
Having a designated area to work can mean that you are less likely to merge your working life with your home life. Enabling you to step away, and enjoy family and home life without that constant pull. It will always be there, just less of a temptation.
If you haven’t already, it could be that you get yourself a desk and place it in the corner of a room. If it is going to be a more permanent fixture of your life, could you create an office in your home or a dedicated area where your work can live? Having this space means you can walk away from it.
Change the scene
Working from home or having a business you run from home does not mean that you have to always be in the home to do business. It can be very refreshing to change the scene when it comes to your working environment. As restrictions are starting to lift in the future, you could take your work to a cafe or restaurant and support some of the local businesses in your area.
You could also use your hotspot on your phone and sit in the park or in some gardens on a nice day if your work will allow. Changing the scene helps you to get out of the house, which can be consuming if you are in the home all day every day working and then having to pick up on household jobs.
As things start to open up again in the future, you may be able to have odd days in the office or head to events once more if that forms part of your job and business. Being able to see people and communicate in a way that doesn’t involve a video call can be very refreshing.
Time management hacks to work for you
Although you may feel like you have more of it, your time is still precious, and you need to make the most of it. This is when finding the right time management hacks and tricks that suit you and your personality, as well as your business or job, will help you shine. Some of the best time management hacks include list writing and time blocking. Time blocking enables you to set certain paramount of time and use them for a specific task. You could also look at structuring your day by time, so starting work at a specific time, and taking breaks.
Last, of all, make sure you work out the times of day you are most productive. As you are working from home, you may have the flexibility to work at ties that suit you. For example, some people are more productive at night when everyone is in bed, whereas others prefer to get up earlier.
A note if you have a home business
If you have been one of the many that have created a business from home in lockdown, or if you have always managed your own business from home, then you may be looking for more specific ways to help you thrive. Here are a few pointers that could help.
Outsourcing and being strategic
If you have started a business from home, then the truth is the moment you realise that you can’t do it all, the more you will begin to thrive. It is so tempting to want to spin all of the plates. However, you need to place a value on your time and focus your efforts on the areas where you can make the most difference. You could outsource many areas including social media, content, website development, or accounts, to name a few.
Building up your digital presence
We all know that social media can be important, but as a home business, this could be one of the easiest ways that you can make your business known. It is important for you to have some sort of presence online, and so doing that can help you to build your profile and over time increase your sales and orders. It might be worth thinking about a campaign and marketing exercise to help you make the most of what social media advertising can do for your business.
Let’s hope these tips help you to make a success of working from home.
