All you people who love working from home, come and tell me how you make it work

[GoldenOmber]

I work in the office for part of the week and from home for part of the week. Employer encourages this. And my working from home days allow me to do more childcare pickup and dropoff, so I’d rather keep them as they are for practical reasons.

The problem is that I really don’t like working from home. I find it stressful and misery-inducing.

I know there are a lot of people on here who work from home all or part of the time, and lots of you really seem to like it. So I wanted to find out if there’s anything else I could be doing that I haven’t tried already, to make it better? Maybe I just have the wrong kind of personality or house or something, but if there is anything more I can do to make me less miserable about it I would like to give it a try.

My main issue with it is, I think, that I really can’t stand the feel of work and home overlapping. It makes me stressed and struggle to focus. I feel like work is constantly hanging over me when I’m not working, and home is constantly grabbing my attention when I am working.

Main things:

I can’t work from a co-working space or a cafe - my contract is home or office only.

I don’t have a dedicated separate room for working from home. I do have a desk, but it’s a desk in a communal (dining) room that’s also a through-space to other parts of the house. So it feels like my workspace is always there iykwim. And it’s not a big house, so clutter gets piled up on my desk, DH and sometimes the kids come trooping through the room to look for things, stop for a chat, let me know the vet got in touch about the cat, etc. And I feel like a grumpy witch going “shhh!” and “not now!” when I’m trying to get my brain into work mode.

I have a teeny tiny office space in our teeny tiny box room.

I finish at my finish time (give or take).

I leave my office and close the door, and I leave my work phone in there.

I don't tend to have a lunch break away from my desk which I need to work on.

I'm very introverted and have adhd so working at home works well for me as I don't encounter so much distraction as I would in an open plan office (she says on MN at 09.34am)

I don't have the interruptions you have so my circumstances are different. I have found that having fixed work and non-work times is valuable, and thankfully are respected by work colleagues. Ensuring time without the internet and going out daily for a walk or to shopping I find helps too.

I have taken over our dining room which isn't ideal, but it means that I can shut the door on work at 5pm, but I can also go and do an hour or two in the evenings or weekends and it's all set up.

My work demands that I am online at specific times, but not all the time, so I can juggle putting on a wash, hanging it out or doing a bit of prep for dinner. Often, I'll work through lunch, so that I can get other things done.

The dedicated room and set up is what makes it work.

I have a dedicated room and firmly close the door when I’m not working. I couldn’t do it very well with the interruptions you’ve mentioned either.

Go for a walk or something after finishing work to help you switch into home mode? Turns out in our household the commute was really helpful for this!

If you haven't got a dedicated space then you really aren't working from home, you are working at home.

The trick is to have that dedicated space, and whem your are working, work and not do anything else. Then stop, close the door and then do home stuff.

I also have a dedicated office space which I can close the door on at the end of the day but I do also use it as my dressing room and a craft/sewing space so I am trying to be flexible with the layout and create a separation between the two. The laptops and work notebooks can all be packed away quickly and the sewing machine pulled out for more desk space and vice versa. I also use separate devices (laptop & phone) so it doesn't feel like there is an overlap.

My job in general doesn't really involve much interaction with other members of my team as Its mostly data spreadsheets and system based interactions so quiet focus helps me greatly getting the work done.

I also go for a walk before and after work as a sort of 'commute' to transition my headspace into home life.

I love hybrid working . I have my own desk in the corner of my living room and it's filled with my personal things , little pen pot , flowers , scented candle , cute little shelves . It's my space.

There are no negatives for me , no commute , longer in bed not having to get up so early , chores done rather than cramming them in at the weekend . In winter I can walk the dogs in daylight rather than in the dark . So many benefits .

I WFH full time and have done for a few years now, as does DP - absolute must have IMO is an office room that you can close and leave at the end of the day. Slightly different scenario and I'm aware we're very lucky, but we bought our house when DP was already WFH and I was planning to, so we have 2 separate offices (mine doubles up as a music room and I also have a wardrobe in it, but it's not main living area).

Do you have a guest room you could put your desk in? So at least it's not in your main living area?

I don’t have enough space for a room just for office use, so the dining room is about the best I can do. We don’t really use it for eating in but it is multi-purpose storage and kids’ homework and as I said a through route so not really shut-off-able. In future years we are looking to move or extend anyway.

My work would give me a place in the office for the current wfh days if I asked, but they are a bit grumpy about this unless you really really can’t work from home. And I feel like, well, I do have space, I do have a desk, I’m not sitting on my bed, I should be fine, I just hate it!

Anyway, many thanks for suggestions so far. Could definitely do better at enforcing ‘off duty’ time and maybe leaving a bit early for pickup to get more of a walk in.

It's definitely your space that is the issue. I'd take a really really 'blue sky thinking' look at every corner of your house / garden that crucially aren't a thoroughfare.

Is creating a garden office an option??

I shelled out for a garden office. Best money I ever spent.

Is creating a garden office an option??

Not within current budget. I have sat on the lawn with a laptop before as the low-tech version!

The fact that it’s a thoroughfare isn’t so much an issue because people come through while I’m working - this does happen but most of the day it’s limited - but I think because I have to go through it and use that room even when I’m not working, so I can’t close the door on it. But there really isn’t anywhere in the house I can close off that way. I have been through the house a few times looking at whether there’s any corner I can partially shut off with a screen but there really isn’t, unless I took it down at the end of every workday. Argh.

I think you need to move your work space. I couldn't work with people traipsing through (can't stand this is the office either). My workspace is in a tiny corner of our bedroom. For some this would be a complete no no but I get a great view and no interruptions. And I can shut the door when I finish.

If you can only work in your dining room, can you get a rattan screen or something to section off your work area?

I have a dedicated work desk in my bedroom for this reason, we tried all working downstairs during lock down but I found it horrendous.

I've got a proper electric stand up desk, a good desk chair.

Desk is on the small side, but it's decorated to my taste. I have some fun legs sets, plants and family photos.

My pens no longer get pinched.

Have a really good desk lamp, and I'm sat by a window so lots of good light.

Have it all set up perfectly for me - so it's far superior to my shoddy, flea infested, last refurbished 20 year old, open plan hot desking hole of an office (I went back for a day and thought you'd be hard pushed to find a work environment less enticing).

I also have some exercise bands to hand, so when I'm doing some thinking, I do some stretches - can't do that in the office without some looks!

For now, if you can, buy one of those screens that is like a laundry airer, hinged panels joined together. If you have your back to the thoroughfare, put it behind you like a false wall, as an encouragement for the rest of the household to think of you as separate from the house while you're working. Wear headphones and be strict about saying "not now, I'm working" or "tell me when I break for coffee" on repeat until they get the message.

I work in our spare bedroom so I can shut the door at the end of the day, being downstairs was definitely more distracting.

A garden office would be my ideal, but there isn't space in the garden nor money in the budget, for now at least.

Lego sets, not legs!

Also, I know that working in the bedroom is considered a big no in terms of sleep hygiene, but to counter that, all work stuff is shut down and put away, lamp switched off and chair tucked in (work mobile also switched off). If I need to work late, I do, but I still shut down properly and don't hover about with email open "just in case".

It would be tricky to put a screen around my current work area as it is but I could probably shift some furniture round and give that a go. It’s worth a try!

I couldn't cope with it when I was working from the sink g table, I know have a dedicated office space and I love it.

I dodn't currently WFH but I did during Covid. Like you, I don't have anywhere that can be a dedicated work space.

I set up in the corner of my 4yo son's bedroom- just got a desk from amazon and borrowed a spare dining room chair. I didn't have any desk clutter and would move the laptop out at the end of the day. If I had to have my camera on, I would just move the desk so that my back was against a plain wall. He doesn't tend to use his bedroom as a play space so that worked well for us.

I have an office, a separate work computer, and a separate work phone. I can effectively "go to work" and on an evening shut the office to "leave work". It really works for me.

I work from home almost always, but I have staff who are like you. They hate it / it doesn't suit them, and we accept that for their welfare they should be in the office all the time - even though hybrid working is our preference. I do think that to work well it needs dedicated space, preferably no major interruptions, and self-control (both in doing the hours AND not allowing it to take over). In all honesty, if you really do hate it that much I would explain to your manager that your positive mental health needs the regimen of office based working, and that is what you want to do. I also suspect that, despite all the sales of electric throws and thermals, once winter starts to bite a fair number of happy homeworkers will find that they also prefer the office since they don't pay the bills there!

I couldn't do it with the constant interruptions so I would probably look at creating a dedicated work zone if I were you - even if it's just in a corner. I've worked p/t from home for many many years and have no problem switching off - the laptop goes off and away, and that's it for the day, I don't have any concerns about work encroaching into my home life or vice versa. For me, the benefits of a better work/life balance far outweigh any negatives.

I work in a corner of the dining room but it's not a through-room...just one door in/out. Other than my desk, the dining table and a cabinet with alcohol and fancy glasses in, there's nothing in there that anyone needs. Everyone knows that if the door is shut, I'm working and might be on zooms or calls and they're not to come in - if it's urgent, they knock. Even the 5 year old knows this but we've been really strict with it.

If this wasn't an option, I think I'd work in my bedroom. Try to set up a desk in a corner that could be screened off with a stand up screen or a voile attached to the ceiling on a runner. I know you're not supposed to work in a bedroom but the benefit of being able to stay separate from the household would be worth it for me.

I WFH for most of the week. Going into the office varies. Perhaps 3/4 days a month. It was a big change for me as I was office based through the pandemic (emergency services). When I took the new job I did worry about WFH and the impact on my mental health.

Tbh it's completely transformed my life in a positive way. I would never go back to a mainly office based role.

I find a few things really make it work for me:

• get up, shower, make up on and properly get ready for the day. I don't dress the same as the office but I'm always in clothes that I'd be happy to take a Teams call in.

• walk every morning before starting work. I do this as I have a dog who needs a walk but I really notice it on the days I don't go.

• keep the workstation clutter free. I have a desk in the living/dining room so it's right in the middle of the living space. Tbh I don't mind this at all. I do find though that I need a clear desk and a clean house in general. Gives me a much clearer head.

• stay connected. Don't sit on your own all day. Have at least some contact with other people. I'm lucky in that I can go and work from a coffee shop but if I don't I like to have contact with someone else in the day.

• stick the radio on. Radio 2 is now my best friend 🤣

These are the main things for me. I absolutely love it now x