How to create a routine for staying at home

When the novelty of working from home or being furloughed has started to wear off it can be difficult to stick to a routine and not feel like you’re in a slump. Maintaining a routine helps to make all this feel a bit more normal and will make the transition back to work, when the time comes, easier. Here’s how to create a routine when you have to stay at home.

If you still have work to do at home there’s a few things you should try and do to make the day easier and not get distracted.

Set up a working area – We only have one desk which my fiance works at and seen as he permanently works from home with him being self employed he gets the desk. However I’ve recently set myself up at the breakfast bar and it’s so much better than being sat on the sofa all day. If you can it is best to try and have a separate working area just so you can keep those boundaries between work and relaxing clear. Since I moved into the kitchen for work it already feels like I’m actually relaxing on a night when I sit on the sofa because I haven’t been there all day. Having a proper working area should make you more productive too by simulating your work desk rather than being slumped in front of the TV.

Have breaks – having regular breaks will make you feel better. You’re probably going to want to take more breaks at home than what you would do at work just to keep those productivity levels up. No matter what you do working from home will always be more difficult so accept this and allow yourself breaks. Walk away from what ever it is your doing and have some time either in the garden, reading a book or watching something on Netflix. They don’t have to be big breaks as you’ll find it harder to get back into work if you have too long away but find a healthy balance that keeps you sane!

Prioritise tasks – if the work you’re doing at home is pretty much the same as what you would do in the office then you’re probably used to prioritising anyway. The harder tasks are better to be done in the morning when you’re feeling fresher and more motivated and easier tasks can be left for the afternoon. However if you’re like me than your work at home will be different to what you do in work. I have a lot of online training to do, a lot of live streams to attend and Google Hangouts as well as contributing to a  Google classroom so I  make sure I know what time everything is going off each day and decide which bit of online training I’m going to do as well as researching tasks I could add to the classroom or commenting on assignments in the classroom.

Luckily my work from home routine leaves me with a lot of spare time so I’ve also being implementing some tips from the routine for furloughed workers too. So lots of people working from home may also found the following tips useful too.

Now if you don’t have any work to do from home this is where creating a routine can be tough. It’s tempting to spend your days flicking through Disney+ or endlessly playing on the Playstation but the novelty of that will wear off and that’s when you’ll get stuck in a rut. I’m not saying the odd pj and movie day isn’t good for you because it absolutely is but not every day should look like that. These tips are also really useful for people working from home too so you may want to add some of these to your routine too if your WFH!

Get out – make use of the 1 hours permitted exercise, go for a walk, a run, a bike ride, whatever it is that you enjoy. Do not waste it though, as long as you are social distancing there is nothing wrong with going out each day. Pick local quiet spots, keep 6ft away from other people and wash your hands as soon as you’re home.

Don’t sit in front of the TV all day – if you start sitting in front of the TV all day it’ll be hard to get out of that routine and create a healthier one. As I’ve said a TV day here and there is fine, in fact I’d even say it’s good for you. You don’t need to be doing something everyday. However you also shouldn’t be doing nothing every single day, it really won’t be good for your mental health. Exercise at home, read a favourite book or something new, spend time in your garden if you have one, work on your blog, spend time with your pets, learn a new skill, do some DIY. There’s so much you can do each day and you should be filling most of your days with lots of activities to avoid sitting and wallowing. By packing your days with lots of activities it’ll provide a distraction. By all means take a day off when you need it but definitely try and fill most days with more than just Netflix.

Get dressed – sitting around in your pj’s all day won’t help you feel motivated. Pj’s are fine for your movie days but the rest of the time you should be getting dressed even if it’s just in loungewear. Brush your hair, get dressed, even put a bit of makeup and perfume on some days if you want to! I guarantee you’ll feel better for doing it rather than staying in pj’s all day and night.

I hope you’re all managing to create a healthy routine while staying at home. If you’ve been stuck in a rut, hopefully these tips will help.

What tips do you have for creating a routine while we’re all stuck at home? Let me know in the comments.