Working from home has become such a common occurrence – With most of our jobs happening online, the need for physical office space has become less important! That’s become even more true in the last year. At Be Inspired PR, we’ve been working from home since March 2020. If you work from home, either for a company or for yourself, you know that there are pros and cons. It’s convenient, comfortable, and gives you more freedom over your schedule. On the other hand, it can be lonely, unproductive, and easy to fall into a rut! We put together a few tips to help make working from home easier and more productive, and help you find that elusive work-life balance.

1. Set boundaries:

When your home is your office, it’s tempting to answer emails or take calls at all times of the day. One of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself is to set and maintain hard boundaries from the beginning! Work-life balance can be even harder to achieve when you work from home, so do yourself a favor! Close your computer when you’re done for the day, and let yourself relax at home!

2. Have a dedicated “working” spot:

This can be interpreted as “don’t work from your bed!” When you’re at home, it can be difficult to get yourself into the working mindset. It’s easier to focus if you have a place in your apartment or home where you work every day, whether it’s your dining room table or your desk.

3. Get out sometimes:

Try new coffee shops, go work from a quiet restaurant, or go on a walk during your lunch break! If you don’t ever leave, you will go stir-crazy very quickly. Some fresh air or a change of scenery can revitalize your whole day, and make you much more productive in the long run!

4. Change clothes:

If you’re working from home, you’re obviously going to wear more comfortable clothes than if you were working from a corporate office. However, you’d be surprised at just how tempting it is to just work in your pajamas! A change of clothes, even if it’s just into our favorite trend – athlesiure – will help you be more productive and help you stay focused on your job.

5. Communicate with your team:

Phone calls, FaceTime, and G-Chat can help you stay in touch with the rest of your coworkers! When you don’t all work in the same office, a lot of communication is lost and it’s easy to feel out of the loop on all of the different projects you have going on. Set up weekly (or daily!) calls with the rest of your team to touch base on your current workload and just feel like you’re part of a bigger picture!

Do you work from home? If so, what are your favorite tips? For more business tips like these, follow along with our PR blog and our Instagram where we share regular content to help you build your business through public relations and social media strategies.