Tips For Working From Home Productively

#1 Surround yourself with sound

Let the music guide and hone you into a focussed state. There are plenty of playlists on Youtube and Spotify with that purpose in mind. Classical music like Mozart and Bach has also been scientifically dictated to aid focus and study. Noise cancelling headphones are also great for keeping the sound of traffic or your next door neighbours dogs at bay.

#2 Allow scent to motivate you

If there’s one area in your place that requires positive energy every day of the week, it’s your working from home corner. Scented candles can support that level of separation and though you may be looking to focus at work, taking a calm approach is bound to benefit you. You could even try Joss sticks.

#3 Light your space

Lighting— is key to the vibe your space resonates. The A4 Typo lightbox can also lend inspiration. There are 69 letters to play around with which means you can make any message you like. Do you have a desk lamp, could you light your keyboard up? Is your productivity affected by warm cosy lights or bright white light?

#4 Tech Your Desk

Two screens can have a huge impact on how you organise yourself. Your eyes won’t strain and you can spread your documents out and cross reference across monitors so much faster, which will help you get your work done quicker.

Wireless phone chargers are also great for limiting all those unsightly cables.

#5 Stay connected

Be sure to stay connected to your team, using apps like Zoom and Microsoft Teams to have video meetings to keep up morale and feel the group energy your team reverberates. See our blog on virtual ways to stay connected as a team and keep morale high here.

#6 Plants in the room

Plants are of course are a way of bringing life into your room. They can create a sense outside connection when you’re feeling cooped up. They’re good for subconscious stress relief, creativity and even produce oxygen in your work area. You could even try a stem of lucky bamboo like we all had at SF on our office desks.

#7 Structure your day

Set your tea breaks, fresh air breaks, lunch time and school runs to help your day feel organised and well balanced. Use timer apps to structure your day. This can help you stay on track with daily goals. If you have to do the laundry you could even use the load wash time for aiming to complete a task. This is a good way to add some structure to the day and get a job completed in an alloted time.

#8 Shutting up shop

To keep a healthy separation from home and work, we recommend a way to disconnect from work at the end of the day. Mentally tell yourself you are done for the day. You could close the blinds in your office and keep that door shut until your next day of work. If you are working in common areas of your house, a physical act or ritual of shutting down for the day could be putting your equipment away for the evening or simply putting your note book and stationary in a drawer.

The potential to create an amazing WFH space is cheap and doesn’t take much effort to get you in the mood to work. Make the most of your surroundings and reap the benefits.

Ideas and information were inspired by [Forbes / The Urban List / Hubspot / OutwitTrade].