4 ways to help you create space when working from home
With home and work life merging for many of us (and staying that way for the foreseeable future) here are a few ways to create some space in your day and your home.
Create physical space between your work and home life
1. Reduce the clutter
Clutter, both physical and mental, are massive distractions when it comes to concentration and productivity. Clearing your desk of everything except the things you need everyday is a great way to start. Declutter all non essential items and store infrequent items away from your desk e.g. in bookshelves or containers (remember to label).
If you need more motivation, start looking at the stuff around you in terms of TIME.
- How much time am I wasting every day searching for things?
- How much time am I losing by having to tidy and clean all of this stuff?
- How much time do I have to spend working to pay for all of this stuff?
HINT: the less stuff you have the less time you have to spend dealing with it 😉
2. Take a critical look at your home
Maybe it is time to completely rethink your home and how you are using it, especially if it is not currently working for you. Do you have a guest bedroom, formal dining area, sunroom or even closet space that isn’t currently being used or very infrequently? Could you repurpose that space into an office instead? Could you swap rooms around so that you can create more space?
If this is not possible try creating a nook for yourself away from the main areas of the house e.g. kitchen table or loungeroom. You really need to find the space to be able to work without interruptions and also have the ability to close the ‘door’ and finish work for the day (or at least walk away from).
It doesn’t have to be a permanent solution but it is about making your home work for you not the other way around. Packing away the spare bed and putting into the garage in order to create a comfortable office for yourself is OKAY.
Set boundaries around your time and energy
3. Take regular breaks
No matter where you work you are entitled to breaks, even if you work from home and/or work for yourself. In actual fact breaks are even more important in these cases. Putting physically distance from your workspace into another part of your home or even a 10 min walk around the block will help reduce stress and instead actively fuel creativity and motivation. So build those breaks into your day and be rewarded for it.
4. Have office hours and actually keep them
You do not need to be contactable 24/7.
Let me repeat that: you do NOT need to be contactable 24/7 (the sky won’t fall I promise).
Yes I know how hard this is especially with social media but once again you do NOT have to reply to client inquiries on a Sunday afternoon or reply to emails 10.30pm at night. It CAN wait. Have clear office hours and let people know what they are.
Utilise technology where you can by using things like the do not disturb function on your phone, pause distracting apps and scheduling emails to be sent after 9am. This teaches both you/your boss/colleagues/clients etc when you will be available and when you are ‘out of the office’ for the night.
NOTE: If you are worried about missing an emergency phone call you can set exceptions on your phone settings e.g. your favourites list can still call through or if the same number calls within a couple of mins it will also.
You do you
When it comes to creating space in your home, go for what works for you. And if it stops working don’t be afraid to try something new. We can all get stuck in ruts and changing a room around or mixing up our schedules are easy ways to shake things up.
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