Permanently wfh - tips and advice?

[Lochnessgiraffe]

Does anyone have any tips and advice? I've been wfh since lockdown but it always felt like a temporary thing. I'm about to start a new perm position that is permanently wfh so I have possibly years of this. Dh is also changing jobs to be wfh in Jan. So both of us wfh permanently. So any tips?

Dh and I have both wfh for several years now. Choose a lunch time everyday and try and stick to it and try to get away from your desk too for it if possible. Background noise reducing headphones if you can hear each other in your seperate rooms. Also to echo lots of other posters, a decent chair, a right height desk, mouse and keyboard rest etc I have awful rsi, posture, carpel tunnel from years of just not taking care of any of that at home.

My ‘office’ is a corner of our loft room and I have a proper desk and chair, a heater, a fan and a radio. I have a kettle, tea and coffee up there so I don’t have to trek up and down two flights of stairs. I’ll go down for lunch though. I take a 2l jug of water and try to drink that through the day too.

DH has also been WFH but has recently retired so is about the house all day. He knows not to disturb me though and will message if he wants to ask anything.

If I have to sit through a presentation or a meeting in which I’m an observer I’ll often take the laptop to the bedroom and get under the duvet.

I'm 2 floors up from the kitchen and going to make a cuppa and nip to the loo is a good break tbh.

I embrace the being able to shower at lunchtime or in a spare 15 mins part of wfh. Plus being able to throw the laundry on.

I get my job done so if I chose to faff about for a few minutes then that's ok by me.

I agree with getting a monitor etc. Plus a proper office chair.

Look t getting a Jaba speaker rather than a headset. They are about 70 quid on Amazon. That way if you are not on camera you can stand up and move around a bit during long calls.

@Lochnessgiraffe

Will definitely set out a lunch break when I start at the moment I'm eating at my desk as I have so many meetings. So far I need to get a proper chair as I've been using a dining room chair and a new monitor.

Your company should provide you with that.

Following as it looks like I will be wfh full time for the foreseeable future. Currently my desk is in the lounge/dining room which is nice when I have the house to myself, was handy when DS's bubble burst so I could work and keep an eye on him, but not nice when DH is home (shift work) and he can't watch tv or play his music whilst doing housework as i'm in a meeting, or when DS is home from school and he wants my attention.
After reading this thread we have started talking about turning the 3rd bedroom/store room/laundry room into my office/store room. Just need to figure out where to put the clothes airer and rearrange the storage so it's more organised. Window has just been changed in there so it shouldn't get as cold.

Room dividing screen are useful to hide your workstation during the week.
A hot water bottle for you feet is surprisingly effective at keeping the chill off.

@Figmentofimagination does your budget stretch to ikea type wardrobes all storage is tucked away?

In 2020 I was in denial but now I’ve adapted but looking for more tips! There are some great ones here.

Mine:-

1. Work as far away from the fridge/food cupboards as possible
2. Water bottle filled up at the start of the day so you don’t need to go back and forth to the sink
3. iPad/a little speaker. If I’m doing review work etc I fo sometimes put music on for company!
4. Microsoft teams - if used at your company is a great way to instant message chat people you work with to feel connected.
5. Storage
6. Snacks
7. A lunch plan so you don’t over eat
8. Exercise
9. Block out time in your diary. All etiquette has gone out the window when booking meetings and people seem to think you can do back to back all day!

10. If dh is wfh, avoid like the plague. My dh will message if he has a question! I didn’t marry to work with them.

Block out half an hour each day on your work calendar for lunch. My boss at the time complained bitterly when I did this and refused her meeting request, but I pointed out that if I didn't, I would never get a break. She wasn't terribly sympathetic, which is one of the reason I don't work for her any more (hi Caroline!).

My DH is wfh. He already was 3 days a week, so has the office. I prefer to be in a separate room.

If your DH is a talker, lay down firm boundaries now. Mine still doesn’t get that I don’t have time for a 20 minute talk about home stuff multiple times a day.

Probably repeating others advice bur def echo having a different space for work where possible. I really wish I'd done this earlier but if any way you're tempted to have work profiles on personal devices, don't. If they're offering equipment take them up on it. You'll be grateful for it in the longer term.

Even if you have a great relationship things can get strained being in each other's pockets all day so if possible try to set yourself up in the house where you can hear yourself think. For example I ended up working downstairs in our dining room as if we're both upstairs I get so distracted by sound of his work calls etc

Wish I took my own advice on here but get out house for a walk once a day. For me not always possible but the ideal would be in middle of day. I've noticed it really helps to jolt me out of any panic I'm feeling by giving me a breather

Finally as it can affect the Blur between work and home a little tip I found is take an item or do something during your work day that connects you back to your life outside work. It's very easy for work life to become all encompassing when it's invading your home so set times to spend say 10 mins on a house job or doing something you enjoy at home like sitting with a cuppa in a cosy spot away from work space. Makes all the difference

@Mangozesty what about a nice room divider screen so you can hide the work table in the evenings?

[quote 8MinutesToSunrise]@Mangozesty what about a nice room divider screen so you can hide the work table in the evenings?[/quote]
Yeah I've been thinking about that actually, that's a good idea, thank you

I bought an egg chair for the garden and a blanket. It’s in a sunny spot and my idea is that I’ll have a cup of tea out there on a sunny day all year round to get away from my desk for 30 mins.

Dh and I do half and half so are often at home together working. He’s now build a office in the garden as it just got too much, he talks so bloody loud! I’m in the study so it works well. Have lunch together and walk the dog etc. We have no issues really

@1Dandelion1, it does. We were talking about getting some of the deep billy bookcases to fit around the box in the room that is part of the stairs. Make use of an unusable space. Unless anyone can recommend something better?

H has been wfh for 5 yrs, me: on/off for 20.
Apart from the obvious ones....

1. have signals for when you are in a "don't disturb me even if the house is burning" to " I am just listening in".
2. Have a proper workspace. My H has a perfect setup in the living room. Desktop computer needed so he gets priority. I am on a laptop. Have a desk in the living room, but meetings are from the kitchen, bedroom. Annoying, but this is what we have space for. If there is a post it on the kitchen door the boys (H and teen) can't come in.
3. Have working hours. Apart from working hours work laptop should be closed, put away.
4. A lot of housework can be done in meetings :) especially if some are listen in types.
5. Try to have together time with H. Eg.: have coffe at around 10, or lunch made together. If both are working from home it is hard to not slip into a living next to each other routine. Make an effort to have things to talk about, go out on date night - regardless that you are seeing each other 24/7

I disagree with others on the stock up everything in your work area. But it might be just me. I cannot sit on my backside for more than 40 mins. Never could. In every office this has been pointed out to me that I roam. a lot. I don't get mentally distracted by going for a sip of coffee, but gives me purpose to stand up.

www.amazon.co.uk/VonHaus-Monitor-Ergonomic-Rotation-Dimensions/dp/B076QF49ZP/ref=dp_prsubs_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B076QF49ZP&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

An adjustable monitor stand like this is much better than risers and frees up lots of desk space

We both wfh. We have separate offices, mine is off our bedroom, and has the entrance to our ensuite, so I had to get him to start using the family bathroom! We don't really see each other during the day apart from sometimes we arrange to have lunch. Though he does have an annoying habit of flinging his door open if I go down the stairs to see what I'm doing 🙄 😆

I take breaks every hour, usually do something, a bit of tidying, unload the dishwasher. Anything to move a bit. And have chatty video calls on teams with colleagues at least once a week, just 5 min here and there, but once I started doing that, it really improved the relationships. I've been wfh for about 4 years, and never worked in person at this company, so whilst I have been to the office and met everyone, I had to work to create the relationships.

We have 2 internet lines as well. That was a post pandemic thing for us, work offered to pay and we were struggling to do meetings, as the rest of the street were also working from home!

Me and DH both work from home. We work in separate parts of the house which is great. He likes music on while he works whereas I generally prefer quiet.

We usually have lunch together (at least 4 days a week - occasionally a meeting gets in the way). It's lovely having him around as my work is very meeting heavy and his isn't so he appears with cups of tea for me.

We're the opposite to a lot of people on here I think in that we get lots of jobs done in the day - DH will empty or load the dishwasher whilst tea is brewing. I'll get washing in the machine in the morning then move into the tumble drier when I'm passing by. Often one of us will prep bits for dinner whilst the other makes lunch. One of my favourite things about working from home is that we can keep on top of bits like that.

I do agree about being able to shut work away. My office set up is in an annex away from our general living area and for my own sanity I need to be able to close the door on work. DH is much less bothered and works in one of our living areas so that side of it depends on your personality a bit.

Yes both wfh. I have always been part time wfh and thank goodness I am still out for part of the week.

Separate space right away from
One another . We have had words about how loudly he talks on calls and his music playing whilst working . I am on the first floor and he is in a room downstairs .

I am working with clients online with sensitive issues so need to be very focussed on their needs .

Separate lunchtimes... I want to just eat my lunch quietly and not think about anything.

For dh , wfh is a novelty ( especially as he has just become self employed ) after working in the city . I think he didn't realise how lonely it can be especially as he is working for himself .
I think he looks to me to provide the social chit chat during the day .

The whistling has also had to be nipped in the bud as has the singing out loud whilst wandering through the house.

I get up and get dressed properly everyday , hair and makeup. Dh is in sweats ... it's really unattractive.

Of course there are positives but these are the things people don't talk about .