Work from home tips you haven't heard yet.

Everyone is in a different boat right now. Some of us are back to work in our offices full time or part time, some of us have been told our places of work are going to remain closed until there is a vaccine for COVID19, and some of us are picking up working freelance or remotely for the foreseeable future. In any case --we're probably in this for the long haul.

Over the last seven years of navigating the work-from-home (WFH) world, I've learned some tips and tricks that might be beneficial to you no matter where you're at in your journey of making it work while working from home:

• Start your day slowly, if possible. Journal and read in the morning to center your thoughts before diving in to all the things you have to accomplish.

• Make your bed, babe! Let your bed be a safe place to retreat to. Making your bed everyday separates that space in your mind. Just walking by and seeing a neat bed sets a relaxed tone in your mind.

• Look at the weather one day at a time. There is enough disappointment and cancelations happening right now. The weather will likely change before you get to next week; let it be and look at the weather one day at a time.

• Keep a to-do list running…then give yourself grace when it all doesn’t get done. Crossing off items is satisfying (at least for me) and will help keep you on track if WFH is distracting for you in general. This helps immensely in the accountability-department for me.

• Light a candle or change the sent in your diffuser at the end of your work day. This signals new energy as you enter in to the next portion of your day. Keep a "work" sent and an "out of office" sent when you switch from one to the other as another signal to your body of what mental mode it should be in.

• Integrate something that sparks creativity and gives your brain a break throughout the day. Maybe that looks like cooking a meal from scratch, working on a craft, reading a book, listening to a podcast, working out, logging into Pinterest, learning a tiktok dance, or something else. You need to separate yourself from work in order to sustain the work your doing. Committing to a creative break daily will make you a better worker.

• Be aware of what playlists you’re listening to. Music directly affects our moods, so if you let an upbeat playlist play, you might find yourself in a better mood. Alternatively, listening to a moody playlist might get you down after a while. Take note of what you’re listening to when you feel most creative, and let that play throughout your work day. You have the opportunity while working from home to be able to bop your head and listen without headphones — so take advantage of it!

• Have a few dedicated areas or spots that you do work from and stick to them. If you have the privilege to reserve an extra bedroom in your house to be able to work from, obviously that is a super ideal place to create your WFH office. Beyond that, maybe you have a little deck or patio that you can work from, maybe you claim your kitchen table or counter as your new office, maybe it's your couch. Pick one or two spots in your living space that you will do work from and leave other places off limits. If you're able to stick to a spot or two to work from, you'll likely find yourself being more productive and spending less time "preparing" to do work.