If this is the first time you’ve worked from home for an extended period, things might start to get a little weird – here’s what you need to know.
In the lead up to the lockdown, I’d been in the cushy position of being able to work part-time – one day in an office and one day from home – alongside being a freelance writer. Before that, I’d been freelancing for a couple of years, and I’ve had ample time to get a handle on this working-from-home caper.
To be honest, it was a bit of a wrench at first. I’m a social little being and I’d worked in an office since finishing uni. To say there was a period of adjustment is an understatement.
Initially, it was awesome. This is not a super mature admission, but it felt like wagging. I could get up at will, lounge about in my pyjamas for days on end, and watch crap TV whenever the mood took me. The freedom was intoxicating, but at some point that morphed into feeling isolated and lacking in motivation. I started cleaning my teeth around 4.30pm and became only increasingly gross.
It’s been a journey for sure, but it’s also placed me in a fair position to comment on how unsettling the move from office to home can be, but also how you can turn it around. In light of which, here are my top tips for transitioning to work-from-home life:
Don’t just wear PJs
God knows, it’s tempting to work in your PJs, just because you can. The novelty will wear off though, I swear. Here’s a tip I learned from Nick Cave – he wears a suit every day. EVERY DAY. No shell suits for this dark prince. His rationale is that it’s his uniform and putting it on marks time for work. Not suggesting that you need to wear a suit, but I have a host of boiler suits/jumpsuits that I wear for exactly the same reason. That said, go nuts on working in your PJs for a bit, if you’re so inclined. This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work and swan about in a robe.
Set up a dedicated workspace
Get yourself a dedicated workspace and make it nice. Mine is quite pink and sparkly, with a Dustin Martin calendar. Make sure you’ve got good light, fresh air and that it’s ergonomically friendly. If you work at your coffee table for days on end, you will end up with a bung neck and a headache. I know from experience.
Get up and move!
You need to get up and move regularly for health reasons. The medical recommendation is every 30 minutes, which is not always feasible or desirable, but that’s what the docs say. I know some people actually set a timer to remind themselves to get up, stretch, make a cuppa, have a glass of water etc.
Stick to a regular sleep schedule
Getting into a regular sleep schedule pulled me out of a lacklustre funk. These days, even on weekends, I get up at 7am (irrespective of whether I’ve been out), and I go to sleep at roughly the same time each night. Obviously, gigs and the like throw when I go to sleep into a bit of disarray, but that’s not going to be so much an issue now. Now I function heaps better.
Treat yo self
Being able to work from home is a luxury, so you can treat yourself – just make it motivating. On my regular freelance days, I give myself licence to watch Made In Chelsea or have a bath in the middle of the day, just so long as I get “X” done first, and “X” can be anything.
Stay safe, work well and be kind, and if you have any questions or you’re finding this whole working from home thing particularly problematic, hit me up on Insta (@rockabillywriter). I’m not a professional counsellor or anything, but I’ll listen and try to help you out.
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