14 years of working from home under my belt. Tried many things during those years and this is whats working best for me:
- my office is separate room that I visit just when I am at work. Kids were born into this situation and understand that this room is off limits.
- Good external monitor, mouse and ergonomic keyboard + good chair. I also like to use headphones when working even when nobody is around.
- I do keep regular schedule: work day starts at 8:00 with 15 minutes walk as my commute to clear my head from life stuff. lunch is at 12:00, I eat it with my wife and kid at the kitchen or we might go out to one of our local bistros just outside our house. I am not required to work like that, but it is just easy to keep in rhythm.
- no video games, no movies, no distraction when working. I might leave for bathroom or to make some green tea, but no procrastinating on my way, no playing with child or talking to my wife is allowed.
- when the day is over, I stand up, go for 15 minutes walk in nearby park (my commute to clean my head after work) and then I am back home.
- when I am done I am done. I might check Slack or emails, but the office is closed and no work is allowed.
It might seen strict, but working this way is actually best for me and my family. Years ago I was not that disciplined, worked a bit here and there, maybe watch a movie mid day and then work till 10pm. Now I just know when I am working and when I am allowed to just turn off.
Just over 4 years for me and I was going to post almost exactly this.
I get up, work out or go for a run, take a shower/get dressed and then make breakfast. Shower and getting dressed like I'm going to work is a really important part. Also I have a rule that I never, ever eat at my desk unless it's absolutely necessary. I sit at the table and read or scroll on my phone.
I try and take a 10 minute break every hour or so to get up, maybe put away dishes, throw in some laundry, something to clear my head up a little bit. I like to make a list of things I want to get done in the morning and chip away at that here and there throughout the day.
When I'm done for the day, I'm done. I get up and go have a beer, take a walk, run to the store, anything to get me out for a bit.
I've found that to be a pretty successful way to manage both time and sanity. You don't want to get in a rut where all the sudden it's Thursday and you haven't showered or left your house.
When working from home, my first impulse 10 years ago was to make it "more comfy": working naked, no fixed time table, available for a chat if needed, etc.
It was a mistake.
You do need a schedule. That doesn't mean you can't break it if you need to, that's the perk, but it should be exceptional.
You do need to shower, dress up and be on time. Yeah you can have a few productive days without it. But you'll notice that after a while, the days you get back to the social conventions, you have more focus.
You do need to keep up your habitual defenses against distractions (for me, disabling all notifications and putting a lock on the door as my SO cannot integrate the concept of WFH).
Because humans are creatures of habit. Anything that is an habit is easy to keep up. Everything that is not is an effort. Everything that goes against an habit is a fight.
So working from home means less commute. A more cozy environment. The possibility of going off schedule from time to time.
> putting a lock on the door as my SO cannot integrate the concept of WFH
I basically had to give up WFH because of this. My family just did not understand at all. And putting a lock on the door is not socially acceptable. If you have a family, especially one of the age to be at home during the workday, it is very difficult to WFH unless they really understand it. A nearby office would have been so much better if I could have managed that.
I was in this camp for many many years, especially when I was single I didn't have notion of work and life. When I was in mood I work like crazy, then I might slack a bit or maybe went swimming at 1pm because there were no people. It started to change when I start living with my, now, wife and then it all get serious when we had kids.
They might be tiny, but they do require some structure and habits. I dont know how they do that, but there is going to be some serious door banging at 16:02 by our 16 months old signaling my allotted office time is over.
- my office is separate room that I visit just when I am at work. Kids were born into this situation and understand that this room is off limits.
- Good external monitor, mouse and ergonomic keyboard + good chair. I also like to use headphones when working even when nobody is around.
- I do keep regular schedule: work day starts at 8:00 with 15 minutes walk as my commute to clear my head from life stuff. lunch is at 12:00, I eat it with my wife and kid at the kitchen or we might go out to one of our local bistros just outside our house. I am not required to work like that, but it is just easy to keep in rhythm.
- no video games, no movies, no distraction when working. I might leave for bathroom or to make some green tea, but no procrastinating on my way, no playing with child or talking to my wife is allowed.
- when the day is over, I stand up, go for 15 minutes walk in nearby park (my commute to clean my head after work) and then I am back home.
- when I am done I am done. I might check Slack or emails, but the office is closed and no work is allowed.
It might seen strict, but working this way is actually best for me and my family. Years ago I was not that disciplined, worked a bit here and there, maybe watch a movie mid day and then work till 10pm. Now I just know when I am working and when I am allowed to just turn off.