Are you forced to work remotely at the moment and struggling to get organized? Read to find these 10 helpful working from home tips, to help save your sanity. Good information for teachers and other busy professional women.
You might be finding it pretty difficult at the moment while trying to work at home with the family around and the routines just seem to be ‘out the window’. The reality is, that this arrangement will probably have to continue for many of us for some time.
You’ll find though, that it can be an awesome way to work… but, you’ll need to make sure to implement some clever working from home tips to ensure your sanity stays intact and things run smoothly!
Getting set up to successfully work from home can seem daunting, frustrating and even feel quite impossible, particularly when there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Everyone is already feeling quite pent-up being at home for these extended periods of time.
But to help the situation, finding order is what’s required.
Being a teacher, I’m quite familiar with the challenges of working from home, particularly if children are involved. Who honestly can teach their own kids!
To be able to keep on top of all of this, and to be your most organized, structure is a necessity.
So I want to share with you these working from home tips and what’s helping me to keep focused on the job-at-hand…and honestly, be able to continue to get it all done, even under particularly difficult circumstances.
To help you to stay organized at home, get your FREE To-Do list here:
Working from home tips – time to get organized!
Getting your home-life organized, so you can actively engage in employment (while the rest of the family is occupying the same space), will only happen with ROUTINE AND STRUCTURE – much like a teacher would set up in any classroom at school.
I wouldn’t be about to have my classroom running anywhere near as smoothly without clearly defined procedures, timetables and routines in place. And this is what you’ll need to set up at in your home, to see any kind of success.
I get it! I’ve cracked up laughing seeing the stream of funny videos proliferating social media, of the many parent rants and funny memes of people tackling the challenging task of homeschooling their kids, while trying to fit their day job in as well. I feel your pain!
It’s nearly impossible.
But I’m here to tell you IT CAN BE DONE with these suggested 10 working from home tips; to hopefully stop the disorganization and reduce the overwhelm that’s happening at the moment on the home front.
10 working from home tips for busy women (or anyone trying to work remotely with a family)
1. Plan your next day before you go to bed
By setting up a clear plan of your new day the night before, time won’t be wasted the next morning and everything will be set up ready to go for the day. This might mean work clothes are ironed, lunches and snacks are prepared, your work desk/table is clear, ready to start and your to-do list is written. Plus, being clear on your work and break times.
Note: This step is crucial if you want a streamlined start to the next workday at home and save a whole heap of time!
Why not use a simple To-Do list template to help you get more organized. Get it for free HERE
2. Wake up and make your bed
Just because you’re not leaving the house, doesn’t mean you don’t have to follow the usual daily jobs. Keep up with the predictability of home life even while working from home, with the little things; like making your bed.
By maintaining these mundane, everyday habits, it will allow a good routine to continue, even while you’re not leaving the house for work.
3. Get dressed and put on your makeup
Another important habit to stick to on your weekday morning is to get up, get dressed and put on your makeup.
These little routine habits help keep the normality going of a usual daily structure, even when you’re not leaving the house. You’ll find you’ll waste less time and be much more inclined to move easily into the working day, if you’re dressed and ready as if you were going into the office.
4. Follow a structured morning routine
For a weekly grind to continue without too much stress at home, it’s important to follow a structured morning routine that everyone in the household is clear about.
This means continued predictable rising times, as well as following an organized approach to the morning to get everyone ready for the day.
Although, it can be easy to let the household routine slide when working from home particularly when the outlook seems to be neverending.
Here are some ideas for a structured morning routine:
- rise at the same time every day by setting an alarm
- make your bed
- get dressed (in working clothes, not trackies), brush your teeth and apply makeup
- put on your shoes. (this is an important signal to your brain that you are ready to get going for the day)
- start a load of washing (hang it out in one of your breaks)
- breakfast and cleanup
- Get your children situated for the day with school or home activities (see tip 9 for additional advice)
- Fill up your water bottle
- Start working from home at your designated time
5. Have a clearly defined workspace
When working from home, it’s important to have a clearly defined workspace; that might be a home-office desk or just at the kitchen table, but your family must know where you will work from.
Once defined, make sure it’s kept clean and tidy, to allow productivity to continue, otherwise, a cluttered space will create overwhelm and hamper your efforts to be productivity. Also, remember to have all your pens, stationery and other requirements close to your desk, so you don’t waste time hunting for them around the house. The last thing you need is being held up because you kind find a pen!
6. Set work/life boundaries with set working hours & break times
Having the work-life balance in place is crucial when your 9-5 is now from your residence. To do this, clearly advise your family and friends of your set working hours and explain that while you are at home in those times, you are working. That way your family will know not to disturb you.
On the flip side of this, when your workday is finished, ensure you leave the job at your desk and switch into your role as a parent/partner to maintain your relationship with your family and keep up with all the expectations and tasks that are normally expected from you.
It’s definitely trickier getting the boundaries in place when there’s no clear delineation between work and home. And as such, conversations need to had with your loved ones, so they’re more likely to understand what you need to make working at home successful.
7. Plan for distractions
Think ahead and plan out the types of distractions you might encounter while engaging in work at home. If you have kids, what will you do when they keep bugging you? If the phone rings, will you answer it? When you know the expected roadblocks that might happen to impede your working time, you can work on a contingency plan to help to stop the time wastage that may come your way in any household setting.
Note: This planning should include any emergencies that could arise.
8. Take regular breaks
Often when working from home, you don’t have the reminders to stop and take a break. This might be because you lose track of time or just feel guilty about resting. But be aware, without regular breaks, you’ll find you’ll be less productive, you’ll tire more quickly and mental clarity will be impeded.
Just by taking a 5 -10-minute break every couple of hours will keep you sharp and clear-headed, as well helping you to stay hydrated with sips of water throughout the day. It can also be an important time to move your body and feed it with some healthy food. All these things will support your mind and body to work optimally.
9. Organise the kids with activities
If you have children at home with you, this is the really tricky bit. You must get a structured activity program together for your children if they are not back at school yet. Get this laid out by your school’s teachers and clearly define the schedule with your kids, so they know what and when things will happen.
You will then need to align your work with your children’s schedule, engaging in your work while they are completing independent activities or if they’re young enough, at rest times. This is extremely difficult, even for teachers with their own children. But persevere.
Do your best and don’t beat yourself up if it’s not going as smoothly as you would like. Remember to be patient and be clear and firm about your needs and expectations of your children. All kids need to understand that your work important too, as well as their learning time is.
Bonus tips: 1) Print out the children’s schedule for school, with the lesson and assignment requirements clearly outlined. Have this up and visible for them. 2) Create a jobs chart and/or star chart with your children, and post this on the fridge so they know their responsibilities to be completed. These actions will help to encourage them to be more responsible and take ownership of their own tasks to be completed throughout the day. (I used this with my own children from as young as year 1 or 2 and it works very well).
10. Communicate regularly with others
To really flourish and support your sanity while trying to work from home, you’ll need to maintain open communication and continued the human connections with your work colleagues and close people in your life. Loneliness is said to be one of the most challenging aspects of working remotely. So don’t let this take hold of you!
In this modern world, we have so many forms of communication, but many of us have never felt so isolated. To stop this, regularly use what you have available to you and preferably on a daily basis.
Write regular emails to-and-from your workplace to keep up-to-date with everything. Use the phone and actually talk to people instead of texting. Talking helps to eliminate miscommunication, which is a necessity when working from home, away from direct contact with your colleagues. Zoom and video calls have also become a life-line at this time, so don’t forget to use these on a regular basis.
For other mental health supports, keep the connections with your supportive networks of friends and family too. You’ll be amazed at how helpful it is to have a phone call or video chat with a friend and what a mood booster it can be.
Before you go, don’t forget to get your FREE To-Do List template HERE:
Last word on working from home tips
I really hope these working from home tips help with the overwhelm of the challenges with working remotely at this difficult time.
Remember to get organized, have structure and routines in place and you’ll find in time, things will run more smoothly and you just might like this style of working.
Related Articles:
7 Super Easy Ways to Simplify Your Teacher Life
How to Set Boundaries as a Teacher and Why It’s So Important
Teachers Want Work Life Balance? Try This!
The Secret to Meal Planning for Busy Teachers
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