Work From Home Fabulous - Keeping yourself and workspace fabulous.
Working from home can be a luxury and inconvenience all at the same time. Having the right tools in place can keep you and your workflow feeling and looking fabulous.
Claim your space. With the convenience of technology, we can literally work from anywhere. But when it comes to working from home, do yourself a huge favor and designate a space for work. I don’t recommend the kitchen table. Although convenient, you may find yourself getting easily distracted by chores OR find a lack of resources like the printer is located 2 rooms away from your workspace. Some of us, work from home entrepreneurs, do not have the luxury of dedicating an entire room to use as an office. It can be a challenge to designate a space in a room used for another task.
When creating your workspace consider the following:
Claim the space so you don’t have to spend time setting up your office each time you go to work.
Make the space yours. If your workspace is going to share a part of another space take some time and make it awesome. Remember this is your workspace. Add a few decorative touches that inspire you like a family photo in a cute picture frame, vision board, fun office supplies or plants.
Make sure you have good lighting. Can’t set up near a window? Invest in a good desk light. These can offer a nice decorative touch too.
Set up near a power source. Let’s be real. This is probably what helped you determined your space from the beginning.
Create a storage system to reduce clutter. No one likes to clean before the dive into a project they are excited about. (Like doing the dishes before you cook, what a pain) Creating a file system or storage space for items to run your business is essential for maintaining a fabulous workflow. Possibly consider a digital storage approach if you are super tight on space.
Dress the part. Regardless of your style preferences and the image of your business, each day you have scheduled work time get up and get dressed for success. Think about the routine you typically follow before you leave the house. Do those same things before you start your work day. Your mindset will be more focused on work and you’ll be more productive when you are not wondering what you are going to wear when you leave the house later.
Tips for dressing the part from home:
Follow your morning routine to the letter. This includes any makeup or hairstyling.
Get dressed. Jeans and a cute top will do. Avoid yoga pants and a sweatshirt as this may make you want to crawl back into bed. Consider this when determining your outfit: If a client of yours walked in the room would you feel caught off guard?
Pick out your shoes and accessories including layers, jewelry and purses when you are getting dressed in the morning. No need to put them on till before you leave but you’ll save time when you are headed for the door.
Create a schedule to help you achieve a fabulous balance in your home and work life. A few things to consider when creating your schedule:
Self care. Personal routines vary for every person but we all need to practice some form of self care or self love. I recommend coming up with 5 daily tasks that are non-negotiable for you. This could be anything from getting up at the same time everyday to eating breakfast every morning. The tasks could take you a total of 15 minutes but creating a routine that turns into a habit is a great way to kick off any day of the week. End of the day routines are equally as important and your non-negotiables could be split between day and night.
Schedule out household tasks. When working from home it is super easy to get distracted by having to do laundry or the dishes in the sink in the middle of your work day. If your daily and weekly household items are designated to a time of day and day of the week you’ll be able to make the most of your work time.
Schedule your work time. Create a work schedule that suits your lifestyle down to the days of week and hours you plan to work. Invest in a planner or app to assist you with your scheduling needs. Be sure to get in the habit of using it. This will help you to delegate days for your household tasks and allow you to maintain a healthy balance with your personal and work time.
Actual footage of me checking my email on my kids unfolded laundry. This is also what inspired this post as I needed to make a few changes to my own work flow.
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Many of the suggestions above are guides to assist you in finding balance in your personal and work life. If you find yourself slipping into the less than fabulous flow, focus on the specifics that need change and keep the systems that are working in place. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Stay fabulous,
Jen