Working From Home Tips And Tricks

Working from home isn’t for everyone. However, for many of us, home-based roles offer a great deal of flexibility and freedom. If you’re self-employed or just starting your freelance career, you’ll want to establish a productive working pattern. This post will share some working from home tips and tricks if your role is home-based.

There are many benefits to remote work. One of the main ones is that you get more time to be productive, as opposed to wasting hours on the commute. That aside, you’ve got a range of other bonuses to think of. However, it’s important to remember that working from home is still about working. It’s easy for the lines to become blurred, particularly if you’re self-employed.

Here are some working from home tips that’ll set you off on the right road to freelance success.

Working from home tips and tricks

If you’re settling into a new home-based working pattern, you’ll need to set some rules for yourself. Although you’ll have a lot more freedom and autonomy, you’ll also need to be quite strict with your time and boundaries to make things work. Some of the fundamental tips and tricks below will help you do that.

Scheduling

Set a timetable or schedule for yourself from day one. You’ll want to maintain regular hours and stick to a routine that works for you. You need to separate your working hours and your personal time. Creating a schedule for yourself that you can stick to will help you do this. It’ll also improve your overall productivity and performance.

Taking breaks

It’s crucial to take regular breaks throughout the day. Not only is it important to clear your mind and get some new scenery for a bit, but you also need to move your body. Ensure you’re getting up from your desk once every half hour or so to move your legs and prevent stressed-out hamstrings. Breaks don’t need to be long, but they do need to be frequent. They’re also a key way to prevent yourself from burning out.

Define your workspace

To get the best out of working from home, you should create a dedicated workspace. Make sure that wherever this space is, it’s comfortable, quiet, and free of distractions. If you can, designate this space as your home office.

You’ll want to ensure you have all the equipment and tools you need to work effectively. At the very minimum, a desk or some kind of workspace is important. This space will help you switch into work mode and help you maintain focus on your work, away from other members of your household.

Set boundaries

This is a conversation to have with other people in your home, but it’s important. You need to set boundaries so that others know when you are working and when you are not. This can help you avoid unnecessary stress and conflicts, and also respect your own time and energy. It’s also important so that you won’t be interrupted as often during your set working hours.

Maintain connections

It’s arguably more important to make and maintain your network as a home-based worker. Make the effort to stay connected with your colleagues, contacts, and clients by communicating with them regularly. There are several ways to do this, from a quick email or message to a video call to catch up.

However you do it, keeping those lines of contact open is really important. It’ll help you feel included in wider professional events and keep you feeling connected and in collaboration with your work colleagues and peers.

Plan ahead

If you’re working from home, you should try to think about your long-term strategy. This means planning for your goals, projects, and career development. When you work from home, it’s easy to feel like you’re out of step with other professionals or office-based colleagues.

To combat the sense of being overlooked, you should always try to stay proactive. Ask for feedback on your work, keep in touch with others, and keep an eye out for opportunities to develop. You can take all kinds of online courses, listen to podcasts and upskill as you’re working from home, especially if you’re self-employed.

What are the downsides of working from home?

There are some negatives when it comes to working from home and it’d be a lie to claim otherwise. Freelance life is tough in many ways, not least the isolation that some may initially struggle with. If you’re used to a busy workplace environment such as an office or shop floor, the sudden shift into working for hours at a time without anyone else around can be difficult.

Another thing to think about is that being your own boss brings a new and challenging set of personal responsibilities. You’ll need to self-motivate and manage a workload that’s generated entirely by you now. There’s no boss to give you your tasks for the day. If you don’t make them happen, they don’t get done, and then crucially, you don’t get paid.

Working from home, especially if you’re a freelancer, requires a lot of focus and skill for prioritising your workload. You need to know which projects to focus on first, otherwise, you’ll end up doing a lot of plate spinning and not getting anywhere.

What are the best bits about working from home?

However, the positives of working from home vastly outweigh the negatives. It’ll vary from person to person and not everyone will see these things as positives. However, if you enjoy your own company, you may find working from home is exactly what you need to help find the right balance.

As a freelancer, you have the freedom to choose and manage the projects you want to work on. Choice is an important word here. Sometimes there’ll be moments where you feel like you have to do things you’d rather not do. Still, that’s just the nature of work; it doesn’t matter if you do it from home or an office.

However, as your own boss, you do have the freedom to turn things down if you want to. That’s a great power that you wouldn’t necessarily have if you were working for someone else.

You have the power to dictate and manage your workload when you’re based out of your own home office. That’s a challenge, but it’s a positive challenge.

Other benefits of working from home

Working from home means you can upskill in ways you may not have time for in other workplace settings. Due to the flexibility of freelancing, I’ve been able to take a range of online courses to learn new skills and boost my career trajectory.

There are many ways you can work from home these days. In the digital landscape, you no longer have to do front-facing work if there are home-based options available. Additionally, there are lots of ways you can supplement your self-employed or home-based income. Check out this post on making some cash when you’re in a pinch for more information on that.

Is working from home right for you?

One of the other things to consider about going freelance or working from home is whether or not it will suit your personality. Some people thrive on the company of others, and it’s often the case that home-based work involves a lot of alone time.

That’s not to say you won’t be able to connect with and build relationships online. far from it. Some of the best friendships I’ve got now are with people who I’ve met through my digital work. I’m able to chat with them daily and meetings over webchats are much faster than over coffee in the real world.

Should you try working from home?

Working from home isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. However, for some people, it brings a sense of freedom and ownership to their career satisfaction. Ultimately, it boils down to the kind of person you are as to whether or not you’ll enjoy the challenge of working from home.

For me, however, being able to be at home for my family and to be able to work remotely has been a positive thing. Although my self-employment isn’t as financially stable as a regular job yet, I think that working from home brings more positives than negatives into my life. This won’t be the same for everyone. So again, make sure you consider your own personality and circumstances carefully.

Other working from home tips

Do you work from home? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this if you are an experienced freelancer or even if you’re just starting. What are your top tips for working from home? Let me know in the comments.

If you’ve found this post helpful then please do give it a share or pin it on Pinterest. You might also enjoy this post on how to find freelance work in the UK, or this post on networking as an introvert.