Back to top
Back to all guidesBack to all guides

Top Tips for Working from Home

Top Tips for Working from Home

Share this guide:

Last updated: 21 May 2021

In recent years, working from home has started to become more and more common and for many a standard part of daily life. It’s safe to say that the coronavirus pandemic has turned what was once a nice working option for most people into an absolute necessity, and for those not used to it this can be difficult to adjust to. Fortunately, we are here to help and have some tips to get you through the next few months while remaining as productive as possible.

Get out of bed

Some people say that the best thing about working from home is being able to work from bed. While this sounds like a lovely idea, the reality of blurring the lines between your room as a place of rest and your office can have a negative impact on your sleep, which in turn will affect your work. In order to offset this, it’s important to make sure that when you wake up you do your normal morning routine before you start working. This helps to separate the two states and prevents your bedroom from seeming like your office, which leads nicely onto our next point…

Get out of your room

While it’s true that for many people the only place they can conceivably work is their bedroom, if you have the option then it’s advisable to try and set up a workplace somewhere else. This allows you to seperate the work and rest and also prevents you from getting distracted while you're attempting to crack on with the day's activities.

Turn off social media

When you're in the office, you know that there are going to be people around you who might see your screen and might not appreciate you scrolling through arbitrary posts on Facebook. When you're at home, you are in essence your own boss, so the temptation to chat to a friend or read someone's irrelevant post becomes all the more possible. While it’s important to make sure you give yourself a break, turning off social media while you’re working is the best thing to do to give yourself a fighting chance of being productive.

Try and Get Outside

One of the things about going to work is that despite the commute generally being a thoroughly unenjoyable experience, at least it gets you outside. While the current climate might prohibit you getting out as much as you like, it’s important to try and get outside when you can for a stroll, run or even to walk the dog to try and offset any form of cabin fever creeping in. That being said, if the weather’s as rotten as it often is on this island you might be glad about being cooped up for days on end.

Stay connected

Now more important than ever, staying connected in today's society couldn't be any easier, with a wide range of video conferencing facilities available at our fingertips. Going into work provides people with the much needed social interaction that many people require throughout the week. Working from home while still being able to facilitate scheduled conversations really takes away from this, so just having a quick chat with a colleague or friend during the working day helps to keep the spirits up. Here's where having a good fibre broadband connection will help to avoid constant lag when video calling - especially if everyone in the house is online at once.

Write down your tasks

It can be hard to have a day that’s as structured as it would be in the office without the structure of actually being in the office itself. This is why it’s doubly important for you to plan out your day to make sure that you don’t get distracted by wandering off to the fridge and forget to send an important email. For those that do this already, well done. for those that don’t, it’s a great habit to get into even when you are in the office.

Work Normal Hours

People often find that they work in the evening even when they have to go into the office. Many workers will now have a work laptop, which means that they can and sometimes feel obliged to check emails and complete tasks even after a hard day. This problem can be even more problematic when you work from home and your home life and professional life become intertwined. It’s important to set yourself a point where you stop, close the laptop, and do something else.

Make sure you have good, reliable internet

While going into the office has its drawbacks, one thing that can be said for it is you can generally get a fairly reliable connection to allow you to do your job. There’s a good chance that your home connection just doesn’t have that kind of speed, as you just don’t need it. But now you do need a fast connection and considering how many people are working from home at the moment you may find your bandwidth somewhat stretched. That’s why it’s important to make sure you have the best broadband for home working. Use our broadband deal comparison tool which shows you what's available where you live right now.
 
check

We are an independent and impartial price comparison website.


check

Our services are 100% free to use.


check

usave.co.uk is supported by its users. When you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Michael Quinn

Author: Michael Quinn

Michael is a dedicated author helping usave to write guides, blogs and news for the last four years. When not writing articles, you can usually find him at wine tasting events or having a political debate on the night tube.

Don't miss these