Ever since moving to Iceland 4 years ago, I have worked from home. All over the world, we are preparing to self-isolate in a hope of avoiding COVID-19 and slowing doing the growth of the Corona Virus. I thought it might be helpful to pass on some tips for working from home.

Create A Workspace

The dining room, a shared desk, a soft office aka bed (though you need to be pretty dedicated to working). You don’t need much to create an at-home office and if you are also home-schooling your kids, why not add them into the office with a small-scale desk. We brought up the coffee table from the basement and have set Mia up with a ‘corning office’ too. It’s actually kind of fun.

Get In The Zone

Nothing changes - you’re going to work, you just aren’t going into work. Set our alarm, get up, shower, get dressed, have breakfast, and go to work. Finish work, make dinner, catch up with the family, chill, go to bed.

As much as PJs or leggings are comfortable, don’t be tempted, you will not get in the right headspace. Dress for work, dress to send a signal to your brain. You don’t need a suit on but your PJs probably won’t cut it.

READ: Self Employed Uniform

It will be hard at first but it gets easier and you will find routine and productivity.

Pace Yourself, It Could Be A While

For some, this is the norm anyway, but for others, it can be hard. Day 1, 2, 3 of isolation and you might find yourself glued to your computer and even working longer than usual. But how long can you keep that up? Make sure you are looking up, moving your eyes and body, eating and fueling yourself, and drinking water.

To-Do lists

I use a bullet journal and plan out my week and days. I also have a desk weekly planner which I use to make notes on and scribble. I find writing out a to-do list for the week and then listing goals for each day gives me an overview and targets to meet. If you have a plan, goals, then you have a strategy in place. No plan and you’ll get no work done.

Switch Off Social

Don’t have Facebook open all the time. Try to only check your social media in break times - i.e. 11 am coffee break, lunch, 4 pm chill break. Right now it is easy to get sucked in and overwhelmed by all the news, stories, stats, and feeds. It can lead to anxiety. Try to limit how often you are exposing yourself to it all.

Communicate

If you usually work with colleagues then don’t lose this. Set up skype or Facetime calls, and use apps like Slack to communicate. Use your breaks to call family and friends, this is a great time to check in on people.

Playlists

If the task in hand suits, then I pop a Spotify playlist on. Often I find that fast paces music makes me work faster, so this can be beneficial. Depends on the task though.

No TV

This is not the time to have the TV on in the background, you will quickly lose your focus and get distracted. TED talks and skillshare online learning is one thing, Netflix is a completely different story.

Eat, Fuel Yourself

Whether you have stocked up sensibly or gone mad in the supermarket, plan meals and allocate who is cooking them if you’re sharing the duties. Meal planning is a great idea and will help you sensibly get through the larder and not waste food. Try to not eat at your desk. If you do have an outdoor space, use it. Get some fresh air, vitamin D, and enjoy the break.

Move Your Body

Hop on YouTube and find a stretching video, try Yoga with Adriene, and other at-home workout videos. This is a great way to start the day before you sit down at your desk. Do this with the kids too, look up Cosmic Kids Yoga.

I also use the app Calm for meditation and to help me wind down for the day. There are loads of yoga tutorials online if that’s your kind of thing. If your body is used to the daily exercise, keep moving.