Working from home is all the rage right now, and possibly here to stay for good. There is more opportunity than ever to dismantle that crummy commute and enjoy the comfort of your own home while getting paid to work, not to mention the greater work-life balance. With great opportunity comes great responsibility, and you need a good game plan. Here are our useful hacks for a productive day working from home.
WFH Hack #1: Wake up one hour before work.
Ok, so you start your work at 9am. Unproductive people are smashing their snooze buttons until the clock says 8:57, grabbing a banana, and beginning their workday. This is not the way. Did you know studies have shown that the most productive people in the world are early risers? That’s right: Benjamin Franklin was correct. “Early to bed, early to rise,” really does “make a person healthy, wealthy and very wise.”
There is so much you can do in the morning that will be uber-productive and will lend a helping hand in your effort to get more done in a single day. Use that extra hour or two! We know this hack will positively increase your daily productivity.
WFH Hack #2: Know when to end your workday
This one is a toughie: Many people who WFH don’t really know how to end their day. In a normal work setting, workers turn off the PC, leave their office, and boom, the workday is over. However, when you work from home shutting off your computer and ceasing to check email constantly can have a hazy and unclear end time. Here’s our hack for ending your day: Decide a hard-cutoff time to end the day and set an alarm on your phone. When the alarm goes off, close the computer lid, resist the urge to check and write email, and walk away. Also, we recommend having a designated room or home office. Just move from the space you’ve been working in all day. You are probably hungry, let’s just be honest. Working from home is truly about balance so don’t lose that balance by working late into the evening.
WFH Hack #3: Eat Pizza!
This next work from home hack is simple. In fact, you probably didn’t even need us to tell you this: Eat pizza early and eat it often.
One of the hardest things about WFH is deciding on lunch options, or even finding the time to fix a good meal. Many a remote worker is simply too busy fixing a PowerPoint slide or heading to their next virtual meeting on Teams or Zoom to put much thought or effort into what we’re eating for that midday meal. But remember, food is a requirement to fuel our bodies daily. And a fed worker is a good worker. Next time you’re at the store, grab several Freschetta(R) Pizza’s. Toss them into the freezer and boom. Here’s an extra hint for this delicious hack: Get several different kinds of Freschetta(R) pizza. Don’t limit yourself to just one kind of topping, variety is the spice of life after all! Cheese, pepperoni, and garden veggie.
Change it up and lunch will be something you look forward to. We‘ve got five days a week to fill here.
Oh, and if you’re gluten-free, Freschetta(R) pizza has gluten-free options.
WFH Home Hack #4: Get out of those sweatpants
We know it’s a daily temptation to shove it to the man and keep those sweatpants and comfortable lounge clothes on, but do yourself a favor, and don’t. Get yourself dressed up, at least a bit. Wear jeans or a dress. These are still work hours and even though you have the luxury to wear whatever, dress up a bit. Your brain psychologically will think something important is going on and you’ll perform better than if you’re dressed like National Pajama Day. Think about it. When you wear nice clothes, you stand up straight and possess a greater confidence in yourself. Look good, feel good; feel good, work good. So, when you’re working from home throw on some nice clothes, and you’ll notice an increased performance in your attitude and your work. It’s actually science!
WFH Hack #5 Drink a lot of water
It’s a simple reminder: Drink water! Water makes up about 60% of the human body and it’s a necessary requirement for everything to function correctly in your system. But when people are at home it’s super easy to go without and forget about drinking H2O. You need to be drinking about eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to get the proper amount in your body.
Here’s our work from home water hack:
1: Buy a designated water bottle that you’ll use.
2: Fill it first thing in the morning and make sure it’s by you throughout the day.
3: If you need to keep track of the number of times you need to refill, use eight pennies. Set the pennies to one side on the counter closet to the sink you refill your water in.
After you go through your water bottle and refill, slide one penny to another side of the counter. After you’ve done this eight times you’ve reached the amount of water your body needs daily. Voila! It’s a magic trick. And you didn’t even have to pull a rabbit out of your hat. Congrats to you and your proper hydration, long may they reign.
Well, there you have it! With a little prep and foresight, even you can be equipped to work from home in a happy and healthy way with a proper work-life balance. You know, with the workday over, it’s time to start thinking about what we’re doing for dinner. Got any ideas?
