With more of us working from home, whether it be our day jobs or creative endeavours, staying productive can be a challenge. Here are our top tips!

Working From Home Set Up

The temptation to whack open the laptop whilst pyjama-clad and still snuggled up in bed is hard to beat. But, one of the worst things you could do whilst working from home is to confuse your workspace with your chill space. Find somewhere in your home that you can dedicate to being a home office. Understandably not everyone has the luxury of a separate room, but even just a spot at the dining table will do.

Ensuring you have everything you need at your fingertips will help you settle into a good workflow as well. Whether it’s reliable video conferencing software, or lighting gadgets for great webcam videos, try to have all your work requirements set up and ready to go each day.

Stick to a Schedule

Some of us crave strict routine, some of us loathe it. Some of us enjoy a happy medium (God bless flexitime). Even if you’re a freelancer who makes their own time, it’s a good idea to stick to some kind of schedule. Set hours can help you get the ball rolling with work and battle inertia, but equally it can prevent you from burning the midnight oil and even burning out altogether.

Take Breaks

Part of any sustainable work day schedule should include a few breaks. This is particularly important if you’re working on a screen. If you’re spending the day glued to video editing software, or you’re working on a new script, then stepping away from the screen is key. It helps the creative process, giving you time to pause, reflect, and return with fresh eyes. Furthermore, giving yourself a break to look forward to is a solid way to maintain motivation (just 10 more minutes, and it’s time for all the toast).

Dust off the Radio

Absolute silence may be your preferred working environment, but for many it can become a bit stark and lonely. Between the Teams meetings, turn on the radio and feel slightly more connected to the outside world. Comforting chatter and tunes you may not be 100% into can provide a pleasant audio backdrop, without being too distracting.

Stay in Touch

Those Teams meetings might be your main hit of social interaction each day, or an unwelcome nuisance that interrupts your rhythm. Either way, it’s important to stay connected with colleagues and collaborators. Bouncing ideas off one another can help create new perspectives and maybe realise a change of direction is needed. Platforms like Slack are great for work-based chat, or Discord is ideal for hanging out.