Although working from home (WFT) might sound great, for those of us who have been home for the last few months (for me it’s 4 months and counting…) it can really take a toll on your mental and physical health. First, it’s hard being away from colleagues, especially if you are extroverted and like to be around people. No team lunches, or coffee breaks, or someone to talk to about how your date went the night before. Not to mention, not all of us have “ideal” homes (think no air conditioning in the summer or really noisy neighbors) – so being at home can actually be less comfortable than working in the office.

But there are lots of advantages to working from home and we wanted to create a post outlining how to make the most of a rather challenging situation. So here are 5 ways to use WFH to your advantage

1.       Create more free time

Working from home means you wake up in the same place where you have to work – so no commuting or traveling. Not to mention you don’t have to “get ready” the same way you would if you left the house (although it is recommended to have a morning routine – wake up, brush your teeth, change into different clothes, and make your bed). If you live with a partner, or have children, you can spend more quality time with them. This can be a great opportunity to deepen the relationships you already have. Although having your kids at home can make things much more challenging depending on their ages and needs. You will probably have to adjust your work hours - working earlier in the morning before they get up, or later at night when it is all quiet again. With family at home, scheduling is even more important. Plan your day out not just for yourself but for your surroundings (whether you are alone, have a partner, children, or pets). You can take your kids to the park in the morning to burn some energy, walk your dog together after lunch to get more exercise, or go to the gym for your favorite class – it really helps with hormone levels and keeping them balanced, and ensuring you take some much needed rest during a busy day. Working from home can actually mean you are more productive (yay) but it can also mean that you spend more time on your laptop (easy access), so you have to ensure that you are making time for other things besides work.

2.       Be flexible with your hours

Although most companies have core working hours, you can definitely use WFH to your advantage and work during hours that suit your schedule (as mentioned in point 1). For example, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I always leave for the gym at 5 p.m., so if I needed to send out an email later, I can come home after the gym and send out that email – no need to worry about staying in the office and miss my workout class. This makes your work/life balance better (although you have to be careful about not work more than the allotted time – in my case 8 hours). While being flexible is a plus, try to plan your week in advance with not only your important work activities but also with the extracurricular activities you want to do. Those are just as important to plan as your work. This way you can use the flexible working to your advantage and do what you need to when it suits you best.

3.       Customize your work environment  

Although working from home could be a disadvantage in terms of work environment, you can actually make it an advantage. What’s great about working from home is that you don’t have to tailor your environment to other colleagues – you can blast the air conditioning if you want, or listen to loud music, or even close all the shades if you need darkness. You can cook your smelly food, or have a dance party during lunch – you can tailor it to whatever you want. This is a great time to figure out how you work best – what kind of lighting you like, what type of music you want to listen to, the temperature, whether or not you burn candles. In an office environment you have to go with what the building or your colleagues prefer, but from home, you can do whatever you feel is best for you and create an atmosphere optimal for you to produce the best work.

4.       Optimize your time

You know all those chores like laundry and vacuuming that you have to put off until the weekend when you have time? Well, working from home allows you do get these tasks done during the weekday so that your weekend is free. While I‘m working, I always put in a load of laundry, do my weekly cleaning, run the dishwasher, and have all the handymen over I need to fix anything in the apartment. That way my weekends are totally free. Try to prioritize, even just 20 minutes, every day when you do something around the house – whether that’s dusting, disinfecting the bathroom, raking the leaves, or washing a pot – these will all go a long way and ensure your weekend can be spent doing what you actually enjoy.  

5.       Save money

Can you actually save money working from home? To be honest, I thought I would spend more money once I started working from home. I figured I would be bored and want to online shop – but actually, it has been the opposite. Not only do you save money due to lack of commuting and cooking more at home, but because you aren’t out and about all day, you don’t have the usual triggers you would to buy something. This is a great time to start an excel file or a budget and calculate the amount of money you spend (we have a helpful blog post on how to budget your money here) – you will be amazed at the amount of money you could actually save by working from home. And the best part? You won’t feel like you are missing out on anything. And you can use that extra money to go on that vacation you always wanted (once COVID is over), or save it up for a bigger purchase for your house.

We hope you found this article helpful!

For 1-1 coaching session regarding this topic or any other, contact us here or at doubletake.lifestyle@yahoo.com.