Top 10 tips for working from home

1. Set up a workspace If at all possible, choose a place for your ‘office’ and stick to it. This allows you to draw a line in between work and personal time.

Even better if it's a separate room with a door you can close. Then you can keep people out when you need some quiet and, when you’ve finished for the day, you can close the door.

2. Personalise your workspace If you can have a set work area, make it nice and personal with a photo frame or houseplant. Having a space that makes you smile will put you in a much more positive frame of mind whilst working through stressful times.

Tidying up your workspace every so often is also a great way to stay in a calm headspace.

3. Work for fixed times When you work from home, there’s a risk that your work/life balance can go out the window. It’s so easy to just keep on working, log in early or nip on again in the evening.

But by scheduling a lunch break, setting working hours, and making a real effort to stick to them, you can ensure that you keep some time for yourself and don’t burn out. Turning off notifications after work will help you be consistent with this.

4. Maintain morning and evening routines One of the advantages of working from home is not having to put on ‘work wear’, and being able to wear your favourite clothes.

But in order to be more energised, it can be helpful to put on different clothes in the morning, brush your hair, have breakfast, or do whatever makes you feel awake and fresh.

After work, it’s time to change back into your casual clothes, close your laptop, get some fresh air, or do whatever helps you switch off.

Routines indicate a transition from personal time to work time, and the other way around, helping you to work only when you are meant to, and to relax when you’re off.

5. Socialise with colleagues Although you may be working physically apart from your colleagues, that doesn’t mean to say you can’t socialise.

At The Humane League UK, we have three slots in our calendars every week to log in and simply chat. We try to stick to them as much as we can, and we can drop in whenever we want.

The sessions mimic the time colleagues sharing an office may spend in the tearoom. It’s only for 20 minutes each time, but helps to motivate people and builds bonds between team members.

And, why not call a friend during your break? It’s really important to have that social interaction when you’re working from home. Even introverts can find the seclusion difficult after a while.

6. Take a breather When you work from home it can be easy to forget that it can be more intense. In an office, you’re likely to have regular breaks to chat about your plans for the weekend, make a round of drinks or simply walk to meeting rooms.

You don’t get that when you work from home. So it's important to take regular breaks away from your screen, stretch your body, drink water, and refresh your brain.

This is likely to mean different things for each person. You may want to exercise, meditate or take a walk. Whatever works for you, it will help you return refreshed and more motivated to work.

7. Background sounds Silence is golden? Well, it can be. But sometimes if you’re feeling isolated then it can add to the sense of loneliness.

Try listening to the radio. Or, if this is a distraction, there are plenty of ‘background’ playlists on Spotify and Youtube, as well as white noise tracks like ‘office air conditioning’ or ‘coffee shop’.

8. Set boundaries It used to be the case that whenever someone said they worked from home, they might use air quotes or a wink. Many think that working from home is an excuse to get some laundry done whilst they keep a vague eye on their emails.

But, with growing numbers of the population working from home for the majority of their time, this is simply no longer the case. It’s so important to be able to actually get work done. So if the people you live with don’t respect that, it can be difficult.

It's important to set boundaries. If someone comes in and starts talking to you, remind them that you’re working and ask if they can wait until you take a break or have lunch.

9. Focus on the positives While it’s important to recognise and address the challenges of working from home, it sometimes is helpful to shift your perspective.

Next time you feel overwhelmed, try to write down your favourite aspects about working from home. These could be anything from being around your companion animals, or not having to commute, to flexible hours.

Perhaps you can even reframe the downsides of working from home, and realise their benefit.

A negative mindset rarely helps us be more productive.

10. Don’t feel guilty Working from home often means that you’re more flexible. You may choose to start and finish earlier or take a longer lunch. This all sounds great, but studies have shown that guilt around flexibility and anxiety about being seen to be working enough, can lead to flexible workers doing more hours than others.

You can combat that by letting others know what your plans are. If you are having a longer lunch, pop it in your calendar and mark yourself as away.

I hope these tips have helped you consider some ways to make working from home both productive and positive. If you do have any concerns about mental health at work, Mind have lots of resources and advice to support you.