How to Create a Dedicated Workspace in Your Home
Many of us are now starting our second or third week of work from home, and it’s time to seriously think about work-life balance.
For example, if you don’t have a morning routine for working from home yet, it might be time to ask yourself what the perfect morning would look like – for you, for your kids, for your pets, for an older family member. you faceTim twice a day and then put that structure back in place.
It’s also time to divide the living space into “home” and “home office”. Some of us are fortunate enough to devote an entire room to our work; For the rest of us, productivity expert Nicholas Bate suggests using masking tape to separate the workspace from the rest of the home:
Masking tape on the floor. Stay in it for 90 minutes, then take a break: go outside, in the rain or in clear weather. Then back to the office.
This tip also works if you have multiple people trying to get work done from the same home and I would be interested to know how well this works for families with children (if you’d like to try and report back, tell us in the comments).
Basically, by disguising part of your home just for work, you will create a mental / physical / visual connection between “I am at my workplace” and “time to get to work.” You will also give everyone else in your home a solid visual reminder that you are working right now and that you will be available the next time you take a break – and I recommend that you follow Bate’s advice on that too. Every 90 minutes (if possible), get up, stretch, drink water, maybe hang out with a family member or friend. Go outside if you can. If necessary, host an indoor dance party.
Then, if you still have remote work to do, come back to it. In a specially designated work place for you, “This is where I am doing my work now.”