5 secrets to dealing with your work from home setup

Written by: Chloe G. Clemente

Manager or employee struggling with her work from home setup

Finally, we don't have to dress up early or waste our time on traffic just to arrive at work! Isn't that good news? Or perhaps the other way around? Engaging in a work from home setup may already be familiar to others pre-COVID but when the world was struck with a deadly health crisis alerting people and places into lockdowns, forcing to do our work at home without much preparation is an entirely different story.

Employees and businesses are entirely affected by the sudden change in their work environment and I must tell you, from organizing your workspace into channeling your overall preparedness for this setup - it could be a little bit overwhelming. But, hey, don't fret! Let's take things step by step and for my fellow virtual assistants, bookkeepers, and the like who have to juggle different tasks at a time, this article has tips and tricks that will surely help you to ease your way in starting your work from home journey.

Tip #1 - Choose a dedicated workspace

Rather than cooping yourself up in your room or on the couch in the living room — spaces associated with leisure time — dedicate a specific room or surface in your home to working remotely. Keep these things in mind:

• Choose a room that has enough space for your work table and a window to give you a breath of fresh air. Set up your desk where you can plug your computer and have access to the internet.

• Invest in a chair that has an adjustable height, good back support, and adjustable armrests.

• Use a laptop, not a desktop. A laptop gives you the flexibility to work from another room or desk and it also has a built-in camera, so it’s less messy for video calls. Moreover, try to set up your device in an eye-level position to avoid muscle strains.

*To help you in your whole #wfhmakeover, read what Luxe Digital has to say!

Tip #2 - Get started early

Particularly for a freelancer who has to stay on track from his tasks on social media management, search engine optimization, etc., I would suggest to start your day with doing an existing habit you have as it's proven to be effective on letting you stay on course with your tasks for the day. Another way is to dive into your to-do list as soon as you wake up. Simply getting a project started first thing in the morning can be the key to making progress on it gradually throughout the day.

"When I work from home, I wake up, put on a pot of coffee, and start working immediately — much earlier than normal working hours. I only start making breakfast once I've hit a wall or need a break. I'm a morning person and find I can get a ton done in the early morning hours, so this works really well for me."

– Gevonne Pascual

Tip #3 - Brush up on time management

Being a freelancer has a lot of time consuming activities we need to fulfill and sometimes we tend to disorganize and overlook other things because of too much work in our hands! To avoid, that you need to familiarize yourself with management tools and software that can serve as your helping hand in managing your tasks.

Trello or Asana - a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards. In one glance, Trello tells you what's being worked on, who's working on what, and where something is in a process. On the other hand, Asana is a workplace management dashboard that helps streamline communication across companies and teams. It also has integration with hundreds of other apps that businesses use, like Google Drive and Outlook.

HiveDesk - helps you to keep track of the time you spend at work. Even if your company does not require you to keep time, you will immensely benefit from using one. You can see how much time you are working and how you are spending that time. It will help you become more organized and make better use of your time.

Tip #4 - Don't forget to socialize

Sticking in your computer all day finishing work after work, can be a bit of a stress overload. To avoid feeling isolated, make time socialize virtually such as setting up video calls or meet in person for a coffee or lunch if you can, following the latest social distancing guidelines. Remember that our lives don't only revolve around our livelihood but we also have to make some time to humanize ourselves, meaning spending time with our loved ones as much as we can. Doing so will help relieve our stress from the grueling work and to better improve our communication and relationship with other people.

Tip #5 - Be kind to yourself

Remember this is an unusual situation, so be kind to yourself and acknowledge you might not be as productive as you usually would be. Be realistic about what you can achieve given the circumstances – and relax when your work is done. Take a break once in a while and utilize that time to go outside your home and explore the outdoors or just take a short walk around the neighborhood. Otherwise, you can also do recreational activities that helps you get back into shape or doing something you love such as your hobbies. Your physical, mental, and emotional well-being are what's most important so try to keep it in balance while you're working from home.

Now you're all set up to conquer your WFH setup and always remember to have faith in yourself and keep on moving forward! However, if you're an employer who already has a lot on his plate, don't hesitate to contact us and let Cornerstone Enterprises do the job for you! Happy to be serving you here!