Remote work does not mean eating cheese in your sweat pants for a week. Here’s our top 7 tips to help guide you into a healthy remote work life.
Create a designated workspace.
Environment, whether we realize it or not, plays a major role in how we view our work and conduct our work. You are responsible for establishing and maintaining the space that you can not only work in, but THRIVE in. Make sure that this is a space that invites your creativity.
Decorating and organizing brings energy and personality to a space. It also helps you to stay in touch with your creative side. Just like you would in a cubicle or office, hang pictures of your family, maybe a few inspirational quotes or a vision board for you to glance at when you need a pick-me-up and don’t forget your favorite pens.
Add natural light and plants into your workspace. Plants NEED light, right? So do we! Working in a space with adequate lighting does wonders for our craftsmanship but also our bodies. Working by natural lighting boosts Vitamin D, wards off seasonal depression, improves sleep and reduces health risks associated with fluorescent lighting. Working in the presence of plants has been proven to boost memory, concentration, and improves performance. Having some greenery nearby accelerates the healing process, generates compassion and empathy, and reduces stress. Flowers specifically generate happiness, so go on and fill your designated workspace with them!
Finally, make sure that the space that you’ve chosen to be your in-home workplace is quiet and organized. This will not only boost your productivity levels, but help you have a clear and calm mind in times of stress!
Take frequent breaks to get up and move your body.
Staring at your computer all day can cause your brain to become foggy and your muscles to become stiff. Don’t forget to get up and move your body. A change of scenery can help you return to your work with a clear and refreshed mind. Try to get up and stretch or go for a walk every hour. This will not only improve your focus, but it will improve both your mental and physical health!
Communication is key.
When working from the comfort of your own home, it can become very easy to isolate yourself. Staying in constant communication with your work team will insure that you are supported and inspired in your workspace. It will also help fight off loneliness when working from home. Staying in constant communication with your team will also help you overcome creativity blocks and stay motivated! Some of our favorite communication tools at Rivvly are Slack, Zoom, and Airtable.
Set up a block schedule.
A block schedule work method is when you separate your daily calendar into blocks of time. Some of the blocks can be items on your to do list, and some can be designated time to take a break, go for a walk, or eat lunch. This means that there is a specific start and end time to everything that you do throughout the day. It gives more structure to your day, as opposed to listing off appointments and to-do items with no timeframe. When you use block scheduling, it helps us prioritize, stay focused, and be more productive. It also tells us when to “log off” and reminds us to take those much needed work breaks.
Make your bed + get ready for the day (wear your normal work clothes).
Studies have shown that making your bed and getting dressed/ready for the day increases motivation and productivity throughout your workday. These may seem small and simple but even the single act of making your bed in the morning correlates directly with productivity because it’s a task completed, which leads to the next task completed and so on. Furthermore, wearing pajamas during your workday could cost you more than the extra comfort is worth. Don’t start your at-home workday predisposed to coziness and lethargy because you refuse to lose the sweats.
Don’t forget about self care.
Self-care isn’t selfish, it is necessary to stay strong, healthy, and grounded in this crazy world of ours. Having a healthy relationship with yourself can improve your confidence, mental state, productivity, sleeping habits; and overall health. Some ideas for at home self- care practices are journaling, exercising, meditation, and a bubble bath or personal spa day! These are just a few self-care practices you can try, but the possibilities are unlimited.Trying to add all of these practices into your routine at once may feel overwhelming - start with one, and then slowly start trying the others until you’ve discovered which practice works best for you.
Hire a virtual assistant to help make this shift smoother.
While this whole working from home life might be new to you, virtual assistants are trained in working in this realm and their expertise can do a lot more for you than just cleaning out your inbox. They know all the tools, tips and tricks to make working from home successful and they are trained on how to help you do the same. In short, a virtual assistant will turn your new found chaos into long term clarity.
Hiring a VA will give you the time and bandwidth to focus on the big picture of your business- especially during this drastic switch, and without having to worry about costs of hiring a direct employee. VAs work on monthly retainers, meaning the amount of time you need their help can be flexible to meet your needs and/or budget.
There are many options and ways to hire a Virtual Assistant. One major benefit of hiring a Virtual Assistant company or firm, as opposed to an individual, is the fact you’re then supported by a team, meaning if your VA does have to take a sick leave, you’re still covered and the transition is seamless.
Processes, pricing, tools, standards, number of clients per VA, and operations are also much more streamlined and stable when working with a Virtual Assistant firm, meaning your experience as a client is top of mind and proven to be much more successful than finding, vetting, and establishing a virtual working relationship with an individual.
Rivvly is here to help you, and the growing remote community, be successful, even if it’s not with us. We have opened the lines and are offering free consultations with our founder, Sasha Rowe, along with our Client Relations Team.
In effort to further help during this historical time, Rivvly has lowered the minimum monthly retainer to 15 hrs/mo in addition to offering up a Relief Discount for up to $450 off for the first two months of service.
(Relief Discount applies to all retainer levels. Specific amounts are determined by retainer level. See website for more details).