Working From Home Without Losing Your Mind: Tips and Resources

Current events have forced a lot of us to do our jobs from home. For those who are used to doing at least part of their work remotely, this may be an easy transition, but a lot of use are used to the structure and social interaction of the workplace and can find this really challenging. But there are definitely things you can do to survive, or even thrive, in this new environment.

Set a Schedule
Probably the biggest, most important element is creating some structure in your day. The combination of anxiety and a sudden change in work environment can make it really hard to focus, doubly so if, like a lot of us, you've gone from a fairly active, social environment to one that involves a lot of online learning or large group videoconferences, where you might be taking a much more passive role in your work. In addition, if you're suddenly working at home with family, particularly kids, giving them definite "working/not working" time for their parent can help them feel more comfortable and know when not to interrupt you (or, more realistically, interrupt you less often).

Setting a definite start and end time for your day can also help you avoid feeling like you're constantly beholden to your workplace to be productive, even when you're doing personal or family activities. "Clock in" and "clock out", and don't forget to give yourself a break for lunch as well as short breaks to get up and move around. Some people find it helpful to "commute" to work by going outside and going for a short walk before going to work, and almost everybody finds that getting dressed in "office clothes" (even if it's just a different pair of sweatpants from the ones you slept in) helps them get in a better mindset to sit down and work.

Experiment a little bit in what time of day works best for you. You may be a morning person who gets the most done before 2 pm, or someone who likes to get started in the afternoon and work into the evening. This might be the rare chance to tailor your workday to suit your natural inclinations, within the bounds of employer expectations and web meetings. And allow yourself a bit of flexibility, life happens even - especially - when working from your own home. 

Finally, when you're done for the work day, be done. Turn off your computer, or at least log out of your work email, and set aside that part of the day until tomorrow. Keeping a strict division between work and personal time at home helps you keep better peace of mind and let you feel more focused and productive during your designated work hours. 

Set Up Your "Office" 

If it's in the corner of my bedroom, can I brag about having a "corner office?"

If you're fortunate enough to have a home office already, you're all set! But if, like many of us, you're new to this, it's really, really helpful to have a designated work spot, ideally a different spot from where you sleep, eat and watch TV, though if you've got a small living space, you may have to work with what you've got.

If you have the space and money, do what you can to make it as comfortable as possible. A high-end desk chair may not be necessary, but but one that's comfortable and puts your hands and wrists at a good angle for typing can save you a lot of aches and pains (if you have a laptop, like I do, it may be hard to get the screen at optimum level, but do what you can). Using a separate mouse, wired or otherwise, can also make entering data a lot easier and more comfortable. 

Good lighting is essential for relieving eye strain, helping with focus and mental health and making you actually visible while you're participating in one of the many, many, MANY video conferences you're going to be on during the work week. Natural sunlight is one of the best options if you can set your desk near a window, but a flexible desk lamp of some sort can help with task-specific lighting too, from viewing documents to providing a bit of indirect light to make your web-conference face look its best.

Aside from being well-lit and ergonomically sound, the decor and color of your work space can have an effect on mood and productivity as well. Live plants can help for a lot of people and even the color of your environment can have a marked effect. Studies have shown that shades of blue make for the best work environment, followed by green, while yellow made for the least comfortable space. You probably don't have the option to repaint an entire section of your home or apartment, but adding some posters or decorations can help a lot.

Avoid clutter in your working space, too. Not only does it make it harder to actually work if you need to sort through documents or other materials, but a cluttered environment can cause an increase in anxiety, which is the last thing any of us needs these days. 

It may be a luxury for a lot of people, but if you have the option or are expecting to have working from home be a long-term part of your job, having a dedicated work computer can help separate your home life from work life. Your employer may even provide you with one. But if you can't do that, you should designate the desk as your "work" space, and at the end of the day when you're done with your work hours, move your laptop to a different physical location to watch Netflix or read blogs. You can even set up a separate user account for your work self and your home self to create both a psychological and an information barrier between the two.

A final note on web conferencing: be aware of what's behind you! Try to make sure that the space behind your desk is free from excessive clutter and anything you don't want your co-workers to see. 

For some more resources on setting up a home office, TheWireCutter has great reviews and suggestions for gear at various budget levels, and lifehacker has an extensive collection of work-from-home articles. 

Breaks, Health and Distractions

Take breaks. No, really, take breaks. While there is a kind of cult of productivity that thinks working through lunch makes you a better employee, that's not true during the best of times, let alone during the unusual circumstances we find ourselves in right now. You're no good to yourself, your family or your boss if you're burnt out and frazzled. When your work space and living space overlap, the temptation to just eat at your desk and keep going with what you're doing can be strong, but what you should do is get up, walk away from your computer and go eat lunch somewhere where you can't even see your desk (face the other way if you're in a small space).

A break for exercise can be a real lifesaver for a lot of people, a short jog or walk around the neighborhood can leave you feeling a lot more refreshed and focused for the second part of your day. Short breaks also help a lot too, with physical and mental health. Set a time if you have to, but try to get up every hour for just a few minutes, stand up, stretch, move around a bit, use the bathroom, get another cup of coffee, try a few mindfulness exercises and sit back down with your mind and body clearer.

At the same time, you're probably best off limiting your social media and news consumption during work time. Not only do they tend to be distracting, but fairly anxiety-inducing right now. It's no big secret that social media platforms use design elements to keep you scrolling and hold your attention, which can easily derail your work day for longer than you'd expected, but with a constant stream of disaster and political news, they can also ramp up your stress levels and make it hard to focus, which in turn can lead to you stressing out about struggling to focus on the task at hand. 

That's not to say you should be avoiding social media or news entirely! After all, right now the primary way we have to connect with each other is through the internet, and those social connections are also vital to our health and well being, but be judicious and set planned times for it, so you can keep yourself in balance and get things done. 

Overall, the resources and technology we have here in 2020 make working from home a lot easier and more comfortable for most of us than ever, and with a little planning and patience, you might even find yourself enjoying it. And really, you can't beat the commute!