Back in February, the idea of home working would have seemed like an unachievable dream for many people. Roll on a few months and it has become the norm. But, has home-working lived up to it's lofty expectations... is it really all that special?
Working from home certainly comes with its challenges, and let's be honest the novelty can soon wear off, ESPECIALLY if it's combined with home-schooling!! Having worked from home regularly over the last 5 years, I wanted to share two of the biggest challenges I have faced when home-working and some workable solutions to overcome them and stay on track.
CHALLENGE 1 - BOREDOM
Despite the fact that you may well be super busy working through your daily ‘to do’ list, boredom will rarely fail to set in. A lack of different human interactions and scenery will mean that this is inevitable on some occasions.
Practical solutions:
- Work in different locations around the home every now and again to give some variety to what you are looking at every day.
- Take a short 10 minute break every couple of hours and go and do something completely different in that time away from any screens (e.g. a job in the garden, some exercise etc.)
- Speak to colleagues/friends/clients on the phone regularly - it’s amazing how uplifting and encouraging a positive chat with them can be
CHALLENGE 2 - SNACKING
As someone who has been nicknamed the ‘cookie monster’ in more than one former company, you can safely assume I love a biscuit! I also love tea and you just can't have one of those without the other! Regular snacking is one of the toughest things to stop when you’re working from home every day. It’s far too easy to access!
Practical solutions:
- Hide snacks, or better still get someone else in the household to hide them (preferably someone who won’t be tempted to have a few sneaky bites themselves whilst doing so). You'll find that if things such as crisps, chocolate, biscuits etc. are out of sight and not so easily accessible, you will soon break the habit of having them so regularly.
- Replace unhealthy snacks with healthier alternatives, for example, fruit or nuts. This has been a game changer for me, luckily I love most fruits! Hopefully you either like fruit, nuts, seeds etc. as these are all great snack substitutes. An extra tip - if you’re eating fruit cut it up into small amounts - for some reason it feels more filling as it's split into parts (rather than just one piece of food) and lasts longer.
I hope you enjoy working from home whether it's by necessity or choice! One more interesting thought (with my Recruiter head on)... In a few years time, maybe things will be flipped on their head and working in an office will become a desired employee benefit?
What do you think?
Written by Alyssa Maxwell-Healey
I hope you find the above useful. If you have any questions about the blog or would like to arrange a chat, please contact us at [email protected]
Check out our other blog posts here!
