We are at around the one-year mark, depending on where in the world you are reading from. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone is used to it yet. The idea that it only takes 21-days to break a habit is wrong.
The time it really takes to break them is anywhere from 18-254 days, according to Healthline, which is the same time it takes to form a new habit.
You may want to know what that has to do with how to manage your work from home. Well, the truth is that we were all pushed into working from home with no planning time, which means that we have probably formed bad habits and stuck to them.
While we may be coming to the end of lock downs, not everyone is going back to the office.
So, understanding how to make the most of your time at home while working is still extremely important. Especially for those of us who will not be going back to the workplace any time soon.
How Should You Manage Your Work While at Home?
With most giant tech companies announcing that they are letting people work from home permanently, it will not be long until smaller offices take note and follow suit.
While this article is not about that, we would like to show one of the primary reasons that may be happening: There are a lot fewer responsibilities on employers, as well as costs, for their employees working away from the office.
So, how do you manage your time? Here are some of the best ways to break bad habits and create new, good habits that work for you.
Create A Work Place
One of the biggest issues that people face while working from home is that they do not have to go anywhere – at all.
Most people have laptops, and they can, and do, use them in places in their homes that are for other things.
For example, before lock downs and forced work from home, the idea of getting up, making a coffee, and going back to bed to work on your laptop was a dream.
However, that only creates more issues such as distractions and laziness. It is all too easy to take a nap when you are already on your bed!
Work Somewhere with Good Internet
I know that this may seem like an obvious point, but it is hugely relevant. When you are somewhere comfortable like the bedroom (where the internet is not always a priority), you can become frustrated with things like slow network connections or poor performance, etc.
Moving yourself to an area with fewer interruptions will keep your work flowing, making it quicker to complete the tasks, giving you more time to do what you want to do.
Furthermore, having good internet connections will allow you to keep in touch with people you work with via video conferences, Skype communications, or just having a social chat with your friends while on your break.
That will also make you feel like you are still part of a team and help you organize breaks to interact.
Schedule Your Work
It is far too easy to get up late, relax for a while in the morning, take long breaks, and work at a leisurely pace while you are at home.
While that sounds very nice, you end up eating into your own free time and not finishing work until the evening or even later.
That is no good for your mental well-being, productivity, or home life. How many times have you been working at home and thought you had done more than you would have at the office?
Those people who have, are probably not reading this right now. therefore, the majority of the people looking at this are answering that with a “zero.”
That is simply because you have a structure while you are there, but at home, it becomes lacking, even non-existent.
Set a time to start work, have breaks, and finish work. They do not have to match your 9-5 hours, as there are often other things to do while you are at home.
However, they should suit you all, and give you time in the evening for your own activities.
Exercise
If you had a commute to get to the office, don’t use it for a lie-in.
If you ever had a step counter while you were in the office, you would see that you do considerably more steps there than you are doing while working from home. Use the commute time to exercise.
That will release endorphins, making you feel more awake, focused, and generally happier. That doesn’t mean that you have to start doing HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) sessions at lunchtime.
Although, you can use those breaks for a walk, or jog, cycle, or even taking your dog out so that you have even more time in the evening.
Go Easy on Yourself
The single largest habit that everyone has to break while working from home is the feeling of unfulfillment.
You will not get as much work done as easily as you would do at the office. These are unprecedented times that no one alive has ever been through before.
You may well be pushing yourself too hard, trying to get too much work done when it is simply not achievable.
Step back from the chair, take a look at what you are doing, and know that everyone is in the same situation.
Yes, some people have different lives, different families, and different circumstances in general. However, it is not only you that feels the struggle.
Manage Your Work from Home – Conclusion
Remember; set a routine and stick to it. Include breaks, and use them for exercise whenever you can. Turn off your computer when you finish work, and make time for your home life.
It can take up to eight months to make new habits, but you will find that you have a lot more free time and mental capacity than you have done when you schedule your work correctly.
Therefore, keeping up a routine will become much easier and much quicker than you think!