How to stay motivated and inspired when working from home

As we enter another week of lockdown, the novelty of working from home has started to wear off. Without the re-assuring repetitiveness of your daily commute and the morning catch-up with your colleagues, you may be feeling down and demotivated about working from home.

Here are some suggestions from Nimesh Shah, Marketing Director at Feel Good Contacts, on how to keep your motivation levels up whilst working from home:

Create a routine

Structure makes our brains happy because the patterns and routines we don’t have to think about will allow our brain to go into autopilot. Establishing a set routine (with some room for flexibility) will give your day some structure. This should make you more efficient, productive and hopefully more at ease in these uncertain times.

A routine is just as important for your mental health as it is for your productivity levels. It can be as simple as getting up at the same time every day, reading a book or doing a workout, making a coffee and breakfast, then setting down to start your workday.

Personalise the routine to work for you. As long as you are consistent and the routine loosely mimics the one you had when you were at the office, it should work for you.

Get dressed

Even if you put on sweatpants and a jumper, putting on your daytime clothes will make a big difference to your mindset. If you work in your pyjamas you’ll still be in ‘relax mode’ which won’t make you feel motivated to get things done.

You don’t have to put clothes on that will make you uncomfortable like jeans, comfort is the aim, just make sure they are clothes you would actually wear outside. The added bonus of this is that when you leave the house to get food or do some exercise, you’ll already be ready.

Designate a workspace

If you work in bed you may be comfortable – although not for long as you may develop back issues – however, your mind probably won’t be in ‘work mode’. If you don’t have a desk, the dining room table or even the sofa are better places to work than your bed.

Communication is key

You can’t turn around to your boss and ask that quick question when you’re not in the office. Communication is even more important when the only way to contact your co-workers is online or through the phone. You’ll probably find yourself having more regular meetings via video chat, which will help you all to be on the same page about all the projects you’re working on.

Get outdoors

Seeing the same four walls non-stop isn't good for anyone. Exercise will stop you feeling lethargic from sitting at home all day. We're currently being advised to stay at home as much as possible but you can now exercise outdoors as often as you wish - following social distancing guidelines. Try and go for a walk or a run early before the start of the day. Another option is to exercise at lunchtime to refresh yourself in the middle of the day or go out to walk or run after the working day is finished. If you can find time for more exercise then why not try some deskercise?

Room lighting

It’s important to have the right level of room lighting. It’s a fine line between good lighting that provides enough illumination and bright lighting that borders on glare. You need comfortable lighting to be able to see all kinds of documents, but these must be ones that will not blind you. Also, the lighting should not be too dim as this will make you feel sleepy and less productive.

Stick to your work hours

We are well aware of how bad screen time can be for your health.  So unless you have a particular deadline that you need to hit, you should stick to your structured work hours as much as possible. It’s important to be able to relax after your workday and not keep thinking about work. This is easier to do if you shut the laptop and ignore your emails from the moment your workday ends.

Try to organise fun and relaxing things for yourself to do after work, like having a bath, a video chat or reading a book to help you slip more easily into ‘relax mode’.