The beginner’s guide to working from home

All of us have been affected by the coronavirus restrictions that have been put in place to keep us safe and well. Here are our top tips for making working from home as slick and productive as possible.

Get dressed

Making yourself presentable to the outside world (if only for the purposes of a Skype call) should also have an impact on how you feel all day and put you in a work mindset.

Structure your day

Where it works for you, try to follow your ordinary routine as much as possible. Get up at the same time as normal, follow your usual morning routines, and go to bed at your usual time. Switch your regular commute to a short walk or home exercise session.

Take breaks

Make sure you get up regularly and move around, in the same way as you would in the office. If it helps, you can set an alarm on your phone as a reminder.

Pick the right location

Where possible, work in an area where you won’t be distracted or interrupted, particularly when on a call. Set up your workstation to match as closely as you can the office desk, ignore the fact it’s called a laptop! Aim for 1 minute of moving to a different position every hour, sitting to standing for example, as a minimum.

Try to eat healthily

This one might be easier said than done, but Change4Life has some suggestions for recipes if you are looking for new ideas or inspiration.

Speak to people

If you live alone, make sure you speak to others – be it your manager, colleagues, friends or family – every day. Get to know new people on social media as well.

Switch off

When you’ve finished working for the day, shut down your laptop and put your work stuff away. Be aware of the things that can you do to support your mental and physical wellbeing, and continuing to make time for them, within current restrictions.

Get outside: we can still take 1 form of outdoor exercise each day (at least for the moment), so certainly try to use it.

And finally, choose your news sources: If the volume of news is making you concerned or anxious, stick to official and reliable news sources such as GOV.UK, the BBC, and the NHS.