One of the biggest questions I get when I tell people I'm a work-from-home writer is, “What is working from home like for you?” While remote and hybrid work situations are still fairly common, people have mixed feelings about working outside an office.
After being sent home in March of 2020, I knew I didn’t want to work in an office setting again for the foreseeable future. My husband works rotating shifts, and I felt like I never saw him, especially when he was on night shift rotations and leaving for work as soon as I got home in the evenings.
Working from home has been a blessing for us in so many ways. I’m able to spend more time with my husband, less time commuting to and from work, and more time deeply focusing on my work without being distracted by an office environment.
It has also been a blessing to be able to take my work with me if I need to go out of town. As my parents age, it has been wonderful to be able to bring my work with me and spend a week at a time with them. Overall, working from home has been a positive experience for me, and I hope to continue doing it for many years.
Here are seven things I do every day to ensure I have a great day.
Wake Up With Margin
When working from home, it’s really easy to get in the habit of waking up just a few minutes before you need to clock in for the day. I did this for a while, and sometimes I still do, but for the most part, I try to wake up at least 30 minutes to an hour before I need to be at my desk.
When I wake up and immediately get to work, it starts to feel like I’m living to work, which is a really sad existence. Giving myself even a half hour to get ready for the day and enjoy breakfast before getting to my computer makes a world of difference.
Get Dressed
People often think that working from home means you get to work in your pajamas. I don’t think I’ve ever worked in my pajamas, but I spent a good part of the pandemic lockdown rotting in a pair of sweatpants.
I don’t wear business casual clothes like I did when I was going into the office every day, but I try to change into clothes that aren’t pajamas for my work day. Oftentimes, I’m in jeans and a tee shirt or shorts and a tee shirt, but putting the effort into getting dressed and looking presentable enough for video calls helps me feel better about myself and get in the mental space for working.
Make a Cup or Two (or Three) of Coffee
My motto is “Writer. Thinker. Coffee Drinker.” for a reason—I’ve loved my morning cup of joe for years, and I use an Aeropress to make a cup of coffee every single morning. It’s one of the first things I do when I wake up, and there’s nothing better than settling onto my couch with a good book and a warm mug first thing in the morning.
I usually have two cups in the morning and occasionally a third after lunch.
Take an Actual Lunch Break
Not taking a lunch break isn’t unique to work-from-home employees, but in my experience, it seems like people skip lunch when they’re working from home. A 2021 survey revealed that 60% of remote workers feel guilty taking breaks, and 30% don’t take a lunch break.
There’s a perception that working from home means you aren’t as productive throughout the workday or are constantly distracted by home and family responsibilities. This may be true for some people, but I’ve found that I’m more productive at home because I have less distractions than I do when I’m in an office environment.
I also like being able to do things around the house during my breaks like rotate the laundry, load/unload the dishwasher, or wipe down the bathroom. It makes home life less stressful when I can incorporate some of those everyday tasks into my breaks throughout my workday, and they get me away from my desk every couple of hours so I’m not hunched over my keyboard for nine hours straight.
Walk My Dog
One of my favorite parts of the day is walking my dog. In the cooler months, we like to walk together at lunch time. When we get into the dog days of summer, we’ll be walking before work or in the evening, but no matter the time of day, I always enjoy my walks with Bear.
Walks are 30 minutes where I can mentally check out of work and focus on enjoying the weather and nature. I’m blessed to live in a very beautiful area, and each walk reveals more beauty — wild irises, a variety of birds (we live in a bird sanctuary), and cows. Throughout the year, the colors and landscape change dramatically, so it’s never boring, even if we walk the same route on most days!
Not only are our daily walks good for my mental health, but they’re also good for my physical health. Working from home can lead to a sedentary lifestyle since your commute is only a few steps away from your bed. I gained weight when I started working from home, and part of that is because I wasn’t getting enough movement into each day. Walking has made me feel better and made it easier to manage my weight.
Plan Some Out-of-the-house Activities
Getting out of the house is vital to my mental health.
Last week, my husband was sick, and I spent four or five days at home, only leaving the house to go to Dollar General and pick up Pedialyte and saltine crackers. While I was still interacting with my coworkers and talking with family and friends, I started to feel cabin-feverish.
Turns out, I just needed to see another human and leave my house for more than 15 minutes. Going for a walk with one of my close friends was the remedy, and my mood improved almost immediately.
In a normal week, I try to plan things to get me out of the house on at least two work nights. This could include going to church or small group, getting dinner or going for a walk with a friend, or attending my local writers group. I have friends who take evening pottery classes, play in an orchestra or sing in a choir, and attend trivia night at the local brewery. There are lots of things to get you out of the house and around other people on weeknights.
Stop Working at 5 p.m.
Boundaries are really important when you’re a remote worker because it’s easy to blur the lines between work and home. I have a dedicated workspace in one of my spare bedrooms and shut everything down at 5 p.m. on workdays. I close my laptop, push in my chair, and shut the door to that room.
I also don’t keep my work email on my cell phone. If I were working in an office, I wouldn’t need to keep my work email on my phone because I would be at my desk all day. The same applies to my home office. I’m at my desk all day, so I don’t need to have my work email on my phone bothering me when I’m away from the office.
My coworkers of course have my cell phone number, so if there is an emergency, they can call me. In the three years I’ve been working for my current company, I can count on one hand the number of times a coworker has called me. Of course, the success of this boundary depends on how your team uses cell phones. My team communicates primarily via Google Chat and email. Phone calls are reserved for emergencies, so if someone from my team calls me after hours or during my lunch break, I know it’s an emergency. However, if one of the sales people calls my cell phone, it’s probably not an emergency because I know they prefer phone calls over Google Chat or email.
I worked in a very busy office environment for years until last December when when I came home while my hubby recovered from major surgery. It was supposed to be a semi-retirement situation but I’ve ended up working pretty much the same hours as before. Finally after three months I had to put in some boundaries and started only working the “office hours” that the rest of my office works. It has been really hard for me to stay within that time frame. I am very productive at home because of less distractions from phone calls and such and it has been an adjustment for my office mates as well because now they have to actually take phone calls that…
I work in an office and we are far less productive in office than when we worked at home when they did repairs to the warehouse for a few days. Prior to that, I worked from home in 2020, with a different company, and I had a decent routine until my dog passed away. Since he was in my home office day to day, it was too much to be at home after that. Your routine is super healthy for the mental, physical, and emotion parts of you. I feel like I need to work on my work/home life a bit more - despite being in an office.
It's interesting to me to read about how you handle this situation, Emma. We work in very similar patterns, although your workday is a bit longer than mine. I think it probably helps to be a bit on the introverted side. The only thing I do differently from you is to wake up around 2-2 1/2 hours before I begin work. I eat breakfast, straighten up the house, and do a 30-minute workout. I take very short lunch breaks, and I'm usually done by 4:00. Thank you very much for the tip about the coffee maker! I may get one of those when my Mr. Coffee finally passes on. 😁 I'm very much looking forward to your new book's release.