Like many of you I’ve been working from home for some time now and the office has become a distant memory.
Coping with the situation is quite a challenge for some, and based on some of the research I’ve seen some are better at working remotely than others.
Take this study for example, which found that a quarter of UK employees admit to sleeping on the job while working from home during the pandemic.
Clearly staying self-motivated is the key to working from home successfully, as you don’t have a boss literally staring over your shoulder forcing you to be productive.
To keep yourself motivated therefore you need to establish a solid work-from-home environment. It sounds obvious, but you need to make sure your home is an appealing place to be.
No wonder we’ve seen numerous pieces of research about people making home improvements during lockdown, as adding a new coat of paint or wallpaper can make an environment a more appealing place to both live and work.
Broadly I would encourage maximising the amount of light you are exposed to, by working from a room with plenty of it, or placing a desk near the window for example. The more sunlight you get, the more mood-enhancing serotonin your brain produces, so it can have a big impact on your ability to motivate yourself to work.
Secondly removing clutter from your environment can help you be productive, so stow items away.
It’s true that many of us are starting to get back to the office again, but as I’ve discussed before it seems likely working remotely will become more common even after coronavirus is just a bad memory.
Therefore it makes sense to make the best of this and make sure your home is a good place to work.
Ryan Bembridge, Editor, PropertyWire
