Nanny to Mommy

Working from home can be amazing. You no longer have to worry about a long and stressful commute, you can fit your work around family commitments and potentially get more done.

However, working from your home office can also come with more distractions, which can make things harder if you don’t manage your working days well. With that in mind, here are some top tips to make working from home as easy as can be:

Working from the kitchen table might seem like a good idea when you’re on your own, but what about when the kids get back from school and they’re looking for a snack, or when your spouse is watching TV loudly in the next room? If you want to work distraction-free, it really is better to find some space in your home that is just for work. Having your own room, which you can use as a home office is ideal, but if that isn’t possible, a garden room, or a quiet corner of your home where people don’t tend to hang out will do fine.

Working from home should be more comfortable, but often it is not and your work can suffer as a result. To make your home office space more comfortable, ensure there is lots of natural light so you don’t strain your eyes, invest n an ergonomic desk and chair - or a standing desk which will take the stress of your spine if you can afford it - and a decent digital radio for some company. Think about making it more personal, this will make it more comfortable and less like a strict office environment. You could make your own bobbleheads and buy some personal office “toys” such as a stress ball to make the idea of working from home a bit more palatable. Some people struggle with working from home because it is either too much like home or they can’t marry the idea of working hard in a space where they are used to relaxing. It is usually a combination of the two.

There are so many digital tools out there to make the running of a home business easier than ever. For example, you can use QuickBooks to do your accounts, a physical address company to collect and digitize your mail so that it doesn’t take up as much space, and so you can maintain your privacy and Evernote for taking digital notes and keeping your schedule right. Use them and you’ll be more organized and less cluttered.

Working from home means that you can be more flexible, but if you don’t want to end up going a whole day without getting a thing done, it’s a really good idea to set yourself some working hours - you can change these up each day to fit your schedule - and to stick to them, doing things like laundry and running errands in your pre-decided free time so that you don’t end up doing lots of chores to the detriment of your work.

One thing that can really help you to get in the right mindset and get motivated for work is to put on the kind of clothes you would usually wear to the office, If you’re in your PJs it’s so easy to slack off but a nice suit or dress will put you in the mindset for business and you’ll probably get more done each day as a result.

Enjoy working from home!