Switching from the office in the company building to the home office is probably not easy for most people. Especially since the necessary preparation was often not made in the company. Switching to home office work quickly now entails major organizational tasks and several hurdles at the same time. There will be one or two articles later on technology and apps that make working at home easier. This guide is supposed to be about productivity first; In other words, about the mindset with which you can work in a targeted manner in the home office. In addition to tips and tricks from my own experience, I have included and linked external information for you.
Chapter in this post:
- 1 A structured working day also helps at home
- 2 Consult with family, partner and roommate
- 3 Work clothes and casual clothes as an aid
- 4 The workplace is not a nonsense or playground
- 5 Ergonomics: Work safely and gently even in the home office
- 6 guides, instructions and tips for a productive home office
- 7 Eating healthy in the home office
- 8 Summary and final home office tip
- 9 Similar posts
A structured working day also helps at home
Get up in the morning, have breakfast, freshen up and go to work - that could be your start to the day. If so, keep it in the home office too. Get up on time, do not be fooled by the time you have apparently gained and do not waste it. Determine your working hours, use the lunch break strictly and call it a day.
Sure, it's all written quickly, but difficult to adhere to. But if you at least try to pull it off day in and day out, it gets easier and easier. If you have children at home, they will also have a clear daily schedule, which you can create in the form of a timetable - as usual at school. Of course, learning and homework are also part of this; but since the home has a holiday feeling, play hours also write in;) You can find tips on keeping children busy with this link.
Consult with family, partner and roommates
As with the children, there is also a strict plan with the other people in the household or in the house. Special circumstances require special measures, so that you cannot hang out with your family, with your partner or with the other people in the shared apartment all the time, even though you are at home. If work has to be done, it is best to do it efficiently, so that there is enough free time and thus capacity for others. So it's best to discuss it with everyone and communicate your own schedule.
Work clothes and casual clothes as an aid
A little psychological trick for the above division of being at home into work and leisure is to simply put on different clothes for the individual parts of the day. Normal work or street clothing for working on the computer then ensures concentration because you are in "work mode". If you then take off these clothes to slip into the sweatpants and the baggy sweater, you can literally feel the free time. It won't feel right to work in these clothes either. This means that the evening "Oh, I'll do that quickly ...", which will stress you too much;)
By the way: Change your availability mode with your clothes. I. E. Work mobile phone off, no more checking work e-mails, etc. The home office does not mean constant availability!
The workplace is not a nonsense or playground
It is also important that you look for a place in your house or apartment that you can set up as a permanent workplace. Sometimes working at the kitchen table, sometimes in bed, that won't work. Specifies a location and also specifies that work will only be carried out there. If you mix the home office with too much Facebook and Twitter, with video games or with long phone calls, it quickly degenerates into another leisure space. As a rule, the apartment should be one of these; but if you currently have to work in the home office without an alternative, you will unfortunately have to accept the exceptional case.
Ergonomics: Work safely and gently even in the home office
If possible, you should not only take your computer or laptop with you, but also your office chair from the office. If that's too late, buying an ergonomic chair can also be worthwhile for the home (very well rated office chair under 100 euros). An ergonomic office table or desk is also recommended. With a height-adjustable support, you can even turn your desk at home into a standing desk. Here some examples:
- Height-adjustable workstation (suitable for multiple monitors)
- Desk converter for sitting and standing desks
- Height-adjustable laptop stand
- Rollable laptop table with extra space for the mouse
Advice, instructions and tips for a productive home office
In addition to my own and externally used tips for productivity in the home office, I would also like to show you completely external sources on the subject. It is true that I could present everything that was written there; but why ruminate when you can link it? At least when it comes to such a comprehensive home office guide as the one from t3n! By doing free PDF eBook you can find these chapters on 33 pages:
- Is there a right to work from home in Germany?
- Moving to the home office - this is how you set up your workplace
- Important tools that make home office possible in the first place
- Productive work in the home office - tips for your workflow
- Managing meeting situations efficiently - what to look out for
- Stay uptodate - this is how team communication works in the home office
- Tips for getting enough exercise in the home office
- Daycare and school at home - tools and links for learning and playing
- Measures for hygiene and virus protection
Eating healthy in the home office
Those who are used to going to the canteen or a snack bar during their lunch break have to change quite a bit now. You can still order pizzas, burgers and the like, but you don't really practice using delivery services Social distancing. So keep at least one hour free for cooking and eating in your schedule for lunch! Alternatively, you can pre-cook it in the evening so that you only have to warm it up at lunchtime.
Quick but good dishes include salads, soups, stir-fried vegetables, rice pans, bulgur and couscous dishes, noodles (of course!) With a nutritious sauce, and so on. I found recipes and shopping lists for a healthy home office in the Austrian career blog: Have a look here ;) Do you have any further tips on the subject (including keeping away from snacks), please leave a comment!
Summary and final home office tip
Switching from work in the office, with fixed hours, colleagues, a certain working atmosphere and the like, to working at home is certainly not easy. That is why the general appeal about the corona crisis is important here too: act calmly and prudently. If you need two or three days to set everything up, install new tools and buy accessories for the computer, then that's the way it is. If you need a week or two to come to terms with the new situation and be able to work at home, then that's the way it is. So the final tip: don't stress yourself. Three days of quiet familiarization are better than three weeks of improvisation and stress :)
- Beck, Rositta (Author)
- Wittig, Christiane (Author)
- Beck, Rositta (Author)
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Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He acts as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with technical problems. In his spare time he rides electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with the iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions to current bugs.
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