Working from Home - Getting the Balance & Creating an Inspired Space

It seems a lifetime ago since the call came for us to go and work from home. For many of us, WFH or hybrid working, has become a permanent change, but what an amazing experience it’s been for me! I'm lucky that my job involves meetings with lots of different people, so I'm out and about regularly, and I also tend to work one day a week from one of our local health & fitness centres - quite often one of the highlights of my week! I'm very much a people person and love to bounce ideas around, chat and share cakes!

On the days I WFH, the space I've created allows me to focus, feel creative and inspired, whilst also caring for my health and wellbeing.

I thought I’d share my tips on working from home and the lessons I've learnt, as I still have so many friends who are struggling with the work/home life balance.

Some of these tips will work for you and some might not, but hopefully you'll find some ideas you can use.

1. Create a specific work area

This doesn’t have to be a separate room (though great if you’re lucky enough to have the space). This is super important for creating work/home-life boundaries. Do you often feel like you never actually leave work? It’s so important to be able to switch off.

You need an area where you can set physical boundaries, where you can close off at the end of the day. If you’re working from a dining table or your bedroom desk, (please don’t work from your bed, always keep your sleep space as somewhere calming and peaceful), find a cupboard or drawer to store your work things in at the end of the day – you don’t want to be eating dinner whilst being reminded of work.

2. Keep your work area clean, tidy and organised

You’ve heard the phrase ‘a clear desk, a clear

mind’ and this certainly affects me, both in and out of work! Keep paperwork organised. I'm old-school and still prefer to take my notes using an old fashioned pen and paper. I use a ring binder to organise all the projects I’m currently working on, most important at the front, labelled with outstanding tasks and ideas. I can simply store the folder neatly away at the end of the day. Clear coffee cups and lunch plates, don’t leave them sat amongst your work.

I love my whiteboard for keeping me on track with urgent tasks and upcoming events. I use this one from Wilko - Magnetic Whiteboard

Your work area doesn’t just include your desk, whilst I take my notes on paper, my work is all stored on the computer. ALL my computer files and emails are organised into folders too!

Even my drawers are organised to make life simple and I find my mini filing cabinet (above) super useful - bargain Facebook marketplace find that I upcycled!

3. Get ready for your day

Making your bed signals the end of sleep and the start of your day - even more important if your work space is in your bedroom! From the very first day of lockdown and WFH back in 2020, I've got out of bed, showered and dressed for work. Whatever clothing you want to wear at home (as long as it's not PJs!), make sure it makes you feel good. Imagine if someone suddenly turned up at your door for a meeting - how would you feel? Whether you want to dress in office wear and heels, a comfy matching lounge-wear set or fitness outfit (mostly my choice), it doesn't matter.

4. Create the right energy

A clear and organised space helps with the base of this. I love to burn incense sticks and choose a fragrance depending on the energy I need to create (relaxing, inspiring, energising etc). I love to shop local where possible and love a trip to Mabel Meraki - you can shop online too: Mabel Meraki Incense

If incense isn't for you, try candles or oil diffusers. Light also plays a huge factor and I've swapped my office light bulb from a 'warm' to a 'natural light' colour.

It's taken 2 and a half years, but I've finally painted my office too! It was a neutral pale grey before, so not over-bearing, but despite the popularity of grey shades, I find warm cream/peach shades work better for me. Have a read through this article on 99designs by Alisson S Gremillion - Colors and emotions: how colors make you feel.

5. Look after your body

So many people are suffering with back, neck and shoulder problems, after 2 years of makeshift computer desks. Ideally you want a chair where you can to adjust the height and back support. This doesn't have to be expensive - again have a look on local second-hand websites. Even if the chair doesn't match your colour scheme, you can upcycle! Look at my office chair below - this started out life in your standard red and black shades....

If you have to work from a dining chair or similar, try using a cushion to adjust height or provide additional back support.

If you have space, I find having the use of 2 monitors super useful - a larger screen is also kinder on the eyes! Using a height-adjustable monitor again also ensures good posture.

If you work off just a laptop, I'd highly recommend using a height-adjustable laptop stand (I have one almost identical to this from Amazon - Laptop Stand). I then use this ultra-thin USB keyboard.

6. Take regular breaks from your desk

I know how busy we all are and I hear all the time from colleagues who are stuck in hours of online after online meeting. You NEED to make time for yourself and look after the health of your body AND mind. Even taking a 2-minute walk to get a drink, or get some fresh air in the garden, can make all the difference. Other ways to think about this:

- Try scheduling your meetings to start at 10-past or quarter-past the hour, to give you a short break in-between.

- Do all your meetings need to be a video meeting? If possible, do a phone meeting. If you have earphones with a microphone built in and have a notepad and pen, you can do this meeting walking around the house, garden or anywhere!

- If you are on a video meeting, you don't have to stay sat down! Try standing up, just place your laptop on a higher surface, so your colleagues aren't looking at your waist.

- PLEASE take your lunch break. There's a reason we have a lunch break built into our day, and it's not just for food. You likely won't get paid for your break and if you're like me, you probably already work over your weekly hours anyway. Book your lunch break into your diary, so people can't add you to meetings (you can always call it something other than 'lunch' if you have colleagues who tend to ignore break times).

- Give yourself a reason to get up from your desk, don't keep a kettle near your desk (okay, tough if you work from the kitchen!), use a water bottle or drink that will need refilling.

- Stretch and flex! This links in with 'looking after your body', but taking 4 or 5 minutes for some simple stretches, can make all the difference. Okay, you can even do some of these from your office chair, or stood up behind it - but not on your desk! I've recorded a 5-minute stretch session for you to try - Home Working Stretches

7. Home Working Sounds

If you love background music while working, set up a personalised playlist to get you through the day.

I'm one of those people who sometimes loves music and sometimes needs quiet, especially when I'm working on tasks that require my absolute attention. To help drown out unwanted background noise, play calming white noise, or your favourite playlist (also useful if you've taken your laptop to work from a coffee shop, for a change of scenery), I have these Goodmans Wireless Headphones from B & Ms.

I hope you find a useful idea to try and I'd love to hear your WFH tips too!

Drop a comment below and share your ideas.