10 simple tips & tricks that will step up your home-office’s game (and your life during quarantine!)

Here in Switzerland we are almost 1 month into quarantine, and by now pretty much everyone experienced working or studying from home.

Well, how did it go?

Personally, I had big expectations for this stay-at-home weeks, but not everything turned out as I expected, especially in terms of productivity. Let’s give some context to this statement: I’ve got some experience in managing my time and organizing my tasks, but one thing I haven’t told you yet, is that HOME is not really my favourite working station. I know it could sound weird, but being in the solitude and calm of my own apartment is not exactly what I’d call motivating. Most of the time in fact, I try to study and work from public, crowded (and also noisy!) places: libraries, cafés, my family home’s kitchen really do the trick for me. I don’t really have a logical explanation for it, I just think that being surrounded by noise and people “forces” me to isolate myself and focus on what I have to do. Of course with the help of good earphones and brown noises (I’ll talk about them soon :-)).

Since every place I used to go to is now closed, after the first days of panic and “OMG I’ll never get anything done” moments, I decided to pull myself together and find a way to stay productive. During the past weeks I figured out what were the mistakes I was doing, and here below you’ll find a list of DO’s and DON’TS that could also be helpful for you.

Let’s start!

NEVER work from your bed

Many times I told myself “I’ll read this paper from my bed” and the result? I went from a sitting position to lying under the covers within minutes, I started yawning and the reading wasn’t exactly successful. I did some research and I found out that the reason why it’s so difficult to work from there is that our brain is triggered into a it’s-time-to-sleep mode. Working in your bed is also dangerous for your posture, and it could also make you sleep bad at night, since your brain cannot tell anymore which environments are for resting and which aren’t. I know it sounds comfy, but don’t do it.

Separate work & relax areas

If like me, you live in a one-bedroom apartment, this could be complicated to do, but if you have more rooms than I have, you should try to give purpose to the rooms in your home. The perfect scenario would be to have a spare space that can be used as an office only (at least for these weeks!). Doing so can give you the feeling of “going to work”: you know that in you have your laptop and university stuff in that room, and you shouldn’t let these things invade other rooms. As at the office you shouldn’t mix work & pleasure, at home you should’t mix work & relax either.

Get rid of the mess around you

I don’t know about you, but when I have too many things around me, I don’t feel good. I’m a big supporter & advocate of the “decluttering” and “less is more” movement in almost every aspect of my life (read Stella’s blog to discover more about it!), but especially when it comes to work and study I really feel the need to have a clean, tidy and empty environment around me. Don’t leave 3 empty cups on your desk, paperwork, breadcrumbs or any random objects: all these things prevent you from focusing and can easily distract you. Go back to basic: keep on your desk only what is really necessary for your tasks, nothing more. Clear working station, clear mind.

Give structure to your day

Once the environment around you is ready, try to give structure to your day. Wake up at a reasonable time every morning (stick to it!), have breakfast and decide how to plan your day. Choose the tasks you want to get done before the end of the day, but also don’t forget to make time for some hobbies, housekeeping duties, selfcare and relax. Having a plan in mind is a very efficient way to avoid being overwhelmed with work but also not to fall into a procrastination hole.

Write a realistic to-do list 

Our days are not infinite, and so are our motivation and ability to get things done. Quarantine might make you feel like you have plenty of time to do stuff, but that doesn’t mean that you have to dedicate ALL of your time to work and study tasks. Every morning, write down a realistic to-do list. You don’t have to list 50 things per day, otherwise you’ll feel like you cannot accomplish what you wanted. To-do lists should motivate you, not make you feel like you are being unproductive.

Put your phone away

Not only when studying or working, but also while relaxing! What if the temptation to check Instagram is too strong? Read my blogpost about 2 apps that might help you with that.

Move your body

There are plenty of ways to move your body in order to stay sane during these challenging times: go for a little walk (but keep the distances!), do some yoga, stretching, dance, or follow a youtube video to work out with. The options are many and you just need to find what suits you best. Remember to check your posture while working and stand up every hour.

Have a break – you deserve it

I might sound repetitive, but you don’t have to do things the whole day. On a normal university or office day you would allow yourself to have a break. Being at home doesn’t mean changing this healthy routine: have a coffee, cuddle your cat or eat something yummy. You deserve it!

Be kind to yourself 

Last but not least, be kind to yourself. Everyone of us is experiencing a very challenging situation, and nobody was ready for it. Beware of toxic social media posts that might trigger you into dark places of your mind. You don’t have to use this time to develop a new skill, to workout more than you used to, to lose weight, to start a successful business. If you wish so, do it and make the most out of it, but don’t feel like you necessary have to. Instead, give yourself some love and take care of the ones you love (even from distance).

These times are difficult enough, you don’t need any other pressure on top of the rest. You’re doing just fine, don’t stress!

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash