I was working from home before it became cool to work from home due to Everyone's Favorite Virus™️.
I thought I would address some of seun 's points from a history of over ten years of remote working.
"how many people who work from home shower in the morning."
I don't. Of course, I live alone and hopefully, my cat Chewy doesn't mind. Some people suggest that you should start the day the same way you would have if you were commuting to an office. If that works for you, great.
"When you finally hit flow state. It's hard to stop. it's hard to even take a break. The brain just doesn't want to stop."
I can vouch for this. Lately, I've been working on very complex SQL queries that require deep, uninterrupted thinking. I have the ability to sit for hours without moving. I know that is not healthy, and I try to schedule breaks to force myself to get up once in a while. I can do better with that.
"working from home is the perfect environment to develop all manner of bad habits"
It can be. You do have a lot more control over your home environment compared to an office environment.
I have a few tips that have worked over the years:
Have a dedicated space (ideally an entire room) devoted to work. Not only is the environment more distraction-free, but also it represents a separation between work and your personal life. If you work at the dining room table or from the couch, it's going to be much more difficult to mentally separate.
Make your workstation ergonomically sound. Working directly on a laptop is not good. Either your arms and hands are up too high or your head is constantly looking down. Remember that comfortable is not necessarily best for long periods of sitting (or standing). Don't cheap out on a good chair, and make sure your keyboard and monitor are at the right height.
Schedule breaks. Use your calendar to block off time for breaks, lunch, etc. Build in time when you are away from the computer. You should not be sitting at the computer for eight hours straight. You wouldn't be doing that in an office, so why should be expected to do that at home?
Communicate your availability. Keep your calendar up to date and make sure your coworkers are aware of when you'll be unavailable.
Have turn-on, turn-off rituals. Decide on a way to start the work day. Maybe it's that first cup of coffee or playing a specific song. Pick something that signifies that you are starting work. At the end of the day, pick something else that you can use to turn work off. Shutting down the computer? Closing the door to the office? Pick something that signals you're done with work for the day.
It's nothing fancy. I have a three-bedroom house. Two bedrooms in the front and the master in the back separated by the main living area comprised of kitchen/dining room/living room. One of the front bedrooms is my office.
seun
