Tips for Staying Productive, and Sane, When You Work From Home
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Are you part of the large number of individuals transitioning to work from home as we all begin the practice of social distancing and hunkering down? Working from home (or WFH as it’s affectionally called) creates a whole new set of challenges, and opportunities, for being productive and focused during your work day.
The Shapa team put together a list of tips and suggestions we’ve found helpful in adjusting to this new way of working, staying sane, and keeping the focus on our health.
Get dressed for the day
Put on work or day clothes. Don’t try to work in your pajamas. Getting dressed and ready for the workday as normal helps get you into the right mind set, even if your commute time is practically zero. ~ The Shapa team
Create your home office
When working from home, designate a space in your house where you can set up your work station. Ideally somewhere with some light and comfortable seating so you don’t develop poor posture or strain the eyes. Keep this space free of clutter and let everyone else in the house know it’s your work place. ~ Patricia, Head of UX/UI at Shapa
Build exercise into your day
Find a 10 minute yoga class or strength training video online; if you can, go for a quick run outside (mindful of social distancing); hop on an indoor bike or treadmill at home; or even have a dance party with kids. When working from home, building time for movement, and movement you enjoy, is important for health and sanity. ~ Bryan, Shapa user
Build out a tea collection
Hear us out. You won’t be going to coffee shops or have quick access to the office break room when working from home so making sure you have some hot, and cold, beverages that you enjoy are great.
Block out time for projects
Block out time in your calendar for specific work – to actually get things done. Be mindful to schedule time to get work-related projects done since there will be a whole host of new distractions to tempt you while working from home. ~ Theresa, Shapa user
Prep healthy snacks
Take time each night, or in the morning before you start your work day, to prep healthy snacks that are quick to make or grab. This keeps you focused and mindful of time when you’re going about your workday. And so you don’t get ‘hangry’. ~ Katie, Head of Engagement for Shapa
Pack your lunch
On a similar train of thought, plan ahead and pack a lunch the night before or the morning of. Don’t want to burn 45 mins making something extravagant for lunch. Save that for your dinner plans. ~ Erin, Shapa user
Turn off all nonessential notifications
Turn off all nonessential notifications on your phone (news alerts/social media/you get the picture) to not be distracted when working from home. ~ Lara, Head of Product for Shapa
Create an end to your workday
Set a start and stop time for your workday and respect it. It’s easy to just carry over working into the evening but it’s important to power down and be present for other parts of your life. ~ Sean, Lead Developer for Shapa
Find your productivity playlist
Find some focus-inducing playlists. We are partial to Deep Focus and Productive Morning lists on Spotify and our dev team likes EDM (shrugs).
Drink water
Yep, that’s it. When you are dehydrated it can cause headaches and make you feel hungry. Plus, it is just good for you. Drink more water whether you work from the office or work from home.
Leave a comment or send a message on on FB Community page if you have other ideas and want to share. We’ve also got ideas up on the blog for building a healthy lifestyle starting within the home. It’s been a strange few weeks and we’ve got more to come. By the end we’ll all be dang efficient at working remote I’m sure :).
Looking to sleep better, eat a bit healthier, move more, build a practice of self-care, or just want to feel more energy each day? Let Shapa be your virtual coach. Shapa focuses your program based on YOUR lifestyle and YOUR goals so you can build healthy habits and achieve lasting results. Learn more about the Shapa difference.
Thank you for this. I’m seeing dark grey on shapa! ugh! this is a first for me.
I need a “How to stay sane with a 4 year old and a 7 year old while working from home while my husband works from home” article. 🙂
We need a comedy hour each day so we can laugh, instead of cry.
👋 Kristin, this is Lara from the Shapa team. Don’t focus on the Shapa Color (maybe I need to lobby to change the message for the short term given the times we’re living through 🤔). I am right there with you in spirit. I have a 2.5 year old and a 5 year old at home with me, although my husband works in a hospital which makes this pandemic that much more eventful. We can definitely work on some additional resources for humor, activities, and ways to stay sane since it’s gonna be several more weeks just like this past week, or so it seems. Comedy hour or where we can share the most ridiculous thing that happened to us today … we can think of something! Hang in there. I’m taking it day by day and trying to enjoy the extra time with my family (when not pulling my hair out and trying not to see how messy the house is …).