As non essential businesses are being told to close and high street footfall is down an estimated 80%, many estate agents will be working from home. As the novelty of working from home quickly wears off, it can be hard to keep momentum going and find some self discipline. So we’ve put together 10 tips to help you work from home more effectively.
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Get Dressed and Ready In The Same Way You Would As If You Were Going Into Work
Working in lounge wear is so tempting when you first start out, but it will impede on productivity and morale. Getting showered, dressed and ready in the same way you work is essential to putting you in the work mindset.
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Put Shoes On
As strange as this one sounds, it’s a great little mind trick you wouldn’t necessarily think of. Most people wear shoes at the office so for the same reason to get dressed, wear shoes whilst you’re working. Tricking your brain into thinking it’s going to work as usual is a surprisingly effective technique.
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Set A Space Especially For Work
Working from your bed or the sofa is a no go. Working in bed or from your bedroom can (and has been proven) to interfere with your sleep. Creating a workspace with comfortable furniture and a calming atmosphere is key when trying to stay productive.
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Use a Planner
At the start of the day, write out your to do list so you have a goal to work towards. Make the goals SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable and Time Based. This will help increase motivation and time management in a place of many distractions.
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Exercise regularly
Working from home isn’t the most ideal situation for everyone. Not leaving the house in the morning to go to work can be difficult and demotivating. Exercise releases endorphins, increasing motivation, focus and interest, and will also keep you sane and healthy.
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Start A Healthy Morning Routine And Stick To It
Without a commute to work and a set start time, the temptation to hit the snooze button is colossal. Creating a healthy morning routine is key to starting your day right. Things you might include are: exercise, showering, healthy breakfast, doing your hair and perhaps doing some housework or tidying before you start your work for the day.
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Utilise Your Lunch Break For Errands
Take the hour for lunch. It will give you some time away from your desk to have a mental break, and will be good for your eyes to leave the screen for a while. Lunch breaks at home are great because you can hang the washing out, run the vacuum cleaner round the lounge or start the slow cooker for dinner. Completing little tasks like this make you feel like you’ve achieved something whilst taking a screen break.
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Separate Work and Home Life
Have set working times helps you distinguish between working and leisure time. Blurring the lines makes life difficult and feel chaotic. When you’re done with work, close your laptop, leave the room and don’t look at it again until morning.
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Switch Off At The End Of The Day.
Make sure you leave work behind at the end of the day and make a conscious effort to do so. If you finish at 5, close your laptop, and engage in a different activity straight away. (Even if it is sitting on the sofa and putting the tv on).
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Use Video Chat
Keeping in contact with colleagues you’d normally be with every day is necessary, for work and social purposes. Keep in contact using video chat for meetings using programs such as Skype, Google Hangouts, or Facetime.
If you are working from home, now could be a great time to look at ways in which you can make improvements to your estate agency website or look at property software alternatives. Take a look at just some of ways we assist estate agents with their websites here or find out more about our affordable basic estate agency crm software here.
