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You will see hundreds of new working from home tips blog posts in the coming months. Most tech companies shifted to working from home (WFH) because of a global pandemic. We are all different, and what works for me will not work for you. I wrote this post to tell you that working from home is not rocket science. All you need is some routine. Don't try to copy, or blindly follow the rules. Build your own. Here is my daily routine, what works for me, and what I discovered during the last four years. Keep in mind, some of those will not work during the global lockdown, but here you have it, to get some new ideas.
My Daily Routine
I usually woke up at 7 am, brush my teeth, take a shower, eat 1000 kcal breakfast, and then start my working day. But, sometimes, I broke this routine by waking up and laying in my bed for an hour, checking the phone for no reason. Yeah, it happened, and I'm aware that this is not an excellent way to start my day. I try to leave my phone far away from the bed because I don't want to grab it first thing in the morning.
While in-home, I wear some pants, a t-shirt, and socks, like a typical day, spent indoor. Wearing a suit will not make me more productive. I like to make myself comfortable, but not too comfortable. Yeah, I had moments of working in pajama. It doesn't work, period. Taking your pajama off tells your brain that time is for something new. I'm making this up, but that is how I see it.
I have built my working space in an extra room, with a standing desk. But I'm too lazy to work standing. I bought a comfortable and expensive chair; it would be a bad investment if I'm standing all day. Jokes aside, a good chair and desk are essential, and rising from time to time will help to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Also, no matter how good your laptop is, posture while working on a laptop is very bad for your back. If you don't have space or don't want to invest in a monitor, consider getting a laptop stand to bring up display a little bit higher.
Lunchtime: Do not eat at your desk! That is my friendly advice. I had moments, but it is a bad habit. Have time for lunch even when working from home. My routine is to go to the kitchen, prepare a meal if I didn't do it a day before, eat and take some rest after. Also, I try to stay away from a phone, or a TV during lunch break. Meditation is great, but I have a hard time sticking to it. And if I want to take a quick snack, I eat it while standing in the kitchen. Sometimes I go outside for lunch with my friends.
I make short pauses during the day. Yeah, coding is all fun, but I need to stay healthy. Walking around in the home is an excellent way to think if you live alone. Also, I do some other stuff, like going to a grocery store or walking outside when the weather is nice.
Finishing a working day from home can be hard to do. You don't see other people leaving the office, and you don't need to catch public transport or something. Writing sync of what I did that day, and the plan for the next one helps me a lot. Then, going to the gym helps me to stay away from my laptop for a few hours, which makes an internal switch in my body that the working day ended.
And last, do whatever makes you happy afterward. Talk to people, go out, enjoy your family time. Simple stuff done today will make you more productive tomorrow.
Summary
After you read all this, you will see that productivity has nothing to do with working from home. Some of those things are good habits when working in the office as well. Organized people will be ok working from home, no questions. Some will even thrive more. Don't try to spice it up too much; it will go wrong eventually. Good luck to everyone!