Working from Home- Top Tips

[SnowStag]

Like many i am working from home.

It is slower, at the moment less efficient and often frustrating.

So... what are your top tips? (Daytime drinking excepted... for now anyway....).

Today I am trying to take a 10 minute break every 90 minutes. To put on washing and clean up. It makes me feel better if I take that time away from my desk.

I have also put makeup on and some amazing earrings.

I have banned the Dcs from my home office from 9 am - noon. Up until now they barge in and want me to look at whatever they have done on popjam. I try and get the hard graft done between then and then the easier tasks in the afternoon when I can be more easily disturbed.

Your top tips?

The banning of ther DCs did not go so well. But they are banned again.

I am about to make lunch. Frustrating morning trying to deal with a Government online website that is critical for some of my clients. It keeps crashing despite the home page claiming that it is operating atb 'green' (i.e. good) capacity.

Accept that you are not going to perform as well as normal?

Even without dc, I think it's very hard to concentrate for long. I can't manage much more than an hour at a time at the moment.

More positively, I write a to do list, prioritise and enjoy ticking off each item as it gets done.

I've managed by starting earlier so I start before lo is awake.
I also have set tasks for education that have to be completed that require minimal input - lo in my office is actually most efficient for this. However, I time Los downtime for my multiple conference calls.
I also plan what activities will be after the formal stuff. That can be anything from art and craft to garden challenges and lego.
Then I allow tv/electronics until I finish my day. At that point we exercise and have time together.

Clean and tidy work station. Nothing distracting.

Comfortable clothes, I cannot sit about in jeans. I video call in the afternoon so in yoga pants with a smart top, earrings and lippy (so I don't look dead!).

Notebook and pens at the ready, I cannot abide having random bits of scrappy paper about.

When my door is shut, I cannot be disturbed so DH is in charge of DC, homework, Lego, tablet, lunch, washing up whatever.

DH WFH anyway, so not much change for him. DS made him two small Lego statues, one green one red. If the red is sitting on his desk he cannot be disturbed, if the green one is there then he can be interrupted with offers of tea, random waffle, look-at-my-picture etc.

I have a strict timetable because I'm a teacher with online classes at specific times. DH is more flexible and can work early/late as needed.

I like the red and green lego bit.

I might make something like that.

I had DC1 in a meltdown earlier because I asked him for the upmteenth time that if he was going to be in the same room as me then he needed to keep his youtube videos down.

He is now in his room sulking and I hope to heavens he stays there until after 5.