What a week, right? The world is different right now and we are all trying to make the best of it. A lot of people have found themselves working from home suddenly, and for an unknown amount of time. For Aaron and me, working from home is different, but not that different because we have worked and lived together for so long.
San Francisco has been under a shelter in place order since March 16th, and we have been working from home since March 13th. Now that we are almost through week 2, I have discovered a few tips that have helped make this seem a little more “normal”.
Tip #1: Put real pants on
Every time I post a photo on social media someone comments something along the lines of “I can’t believe you are putting real pants on.”
Hear me out on this one. First of all, real pants tell the truth about weight gain and I need something to keep me from eating all the snacks.
Secondly, if I don’t get dressed it feels like a weekend and I need to be productive. I’m obviously not wearing dress clothes to sit in my apartment, just pants with a button.
Lastly, getting dressed helps me separate work hours from non-work hours. I get dressed in the morning, then between 5 and 5:30, I change into loungewear, cook dinner, and relax. It helps with that separation.
Tip #2: Get Ready for The Day
This falls right in line with getting dressed. We do a LOT of video calls with coworkers. I want to be somewhat put together in case they spring one on me. Plus, I enjoy playing with makeup and doing my hair so brushing my hair and putting a little makeup on each day makes me feel more like myself.
Tip #3: Designate a “workspace”
So for us, this one took some creativity. We live in an apartment with a tiny desk that, to be honest, we didn’t use until now. We have kind of worked out a schedule where one of us works from the desk in the morning then we switch.
I have set up a temporary work station at our table that has been working pretty well.
I tried to work from the couch the first couple of days, I found I wasn’t as productive as I am at a “desk”.
Tip #4: Get Outside
I didn’t realize how much I missed being outside until I didn’t go outside for four days straight. A few days in to shelter in place I was in a mood. I was unmotivated, grumpy, nothing sounded good to eat, I was having a day. Aaron suggested that we take an hour and go for a walk around the city to get some fresh air. I can’t even tell you how much it helped my mental state. Get some fresh air every couple of days if you can. It will make a huge difference.
Tip #5: If Nothing Else Works, Order Some Snacks or Wine
The second day we were sheltering in place I placed a Winc Wine order at 9:30 am. I actually haven’t tried any of the wines I got yet, but knowing I have them for particularly hard days makes me happy. If you have never tried Winc, it is an online wine subscription service. You can pause it or stop it at any time. I started by taking a simple quiz, and they suggested four wines they think I will like. You can change them out, or get the ones they suggest. They came right to my door in a few days with a book that described each wine and gives paring suggestions. I will update you after I try the bottles I got, but if you want to try it I click here for $20 off your first box.
Do you have any tips for working from home? I would love to hear them!