It’s fair to say that life has become very strange for everyone during the past year. Although things look like they could be finally easing soon, the question of going back to working full time in an office is unanswered. We, at GRM, have been out of office for a full year now so we have come up with our top tips to help you tackle working from home.

1.      Create and stick to a working day routine

It’s extremely important to create a routine for yourself so you can stay focused and motivated. This also includes breaks, make sure to schedule in breaks as you would normally take them in work.

You should try to get up at the same time, get yourself ready as you normally would and maybe even use the commute time to do a work-out or do some reading. Sophie, our new account executive, started creating a schedule for more or less every aspect of her working day and finds that she is much more productive.

It’s also vital when you finish work to shut down your laptop/PC and stop checking e-mails. Use this time to relax, de-stress and focus on some family/home time.

2.      Set up a workspace

It’s important to take yourself away from distractions such as the TV or even the kitchen where you may feel like you want to spend your time snacking. You should get everything you can in the one place and shut the door, so this will keep work life away from home life and also give you a bit of privacy.

Although we can appreciate some people may struggle with this if they are living with parents or house sharing, so even if you have a small dedicated space in your bedroom would make a difference.

This tip is sworn by Alice, our marketing executive, who initially was working from her dining table. After a few months, Alice set up a workspace, got herself a desk and a second screen and now she feels that she has her own space that she can properly focus in.

3.      Be kind to yourself

You must remember that this is a bizarre situation and things will not feel normal. You need to be kind to yourself and appreciate that you are not under normal circumstances, therefore you might not be as productive as you would like to be.

Another of our new account executives, Caitlin, supports this tip as she feels starting out in her career at GRM was unusual to say the least due to the current lockdown. Caitlin had not long graduated from university and she felt she was putting too much pressure on herself to transition from university to the work place whilst working from home. 

We would encourage you to plan your day out, set out goals and tasks and when you complete them you can relax and fully switch off to prepare yourself for the next day.