Working from home in your PJ’s used to be an added perk for freelancers, a bold statement of independence even, and employees lucky enough to able to work remotely were loving it too. Now of course, we HAVE to do it, which makes home working not quite so appealing - rules ruin everything! Then, of course, everyone else is home too, which means you might also have a kid hanging off your arm, a cat’s arse in your face or a dog that keeps sitting on your keyboard, or all of the above - lucky you. Whether you’re an employee brand new to home working or a freelancer missing the benefits of coworking, chances are you live in one of three ‘home worker’ camps:

1. Thriving: Loving it mostly with intermittent moments of “blah”

2. Okay: Indifferent and plodding along, making the best of it

3. Struggling: Off your game, unproductive and scratching at the walls

Hopefully most of us have moved on from the “WTF is going on?” phase and are learning to adapt to the new normal, but for those that need some help to be more productive, we’ve put together some tips for successfully working from home. So, you can go from thinking of home working like hard work, and flip and reverse it to “work it” like Missy Elliot - because you’re worth it.

1. Have a designated work space or nook

If you already have a desk and designated area then kudos to you, now jog on to the next point, there’s nothing for you here.  For those of us who only have the sofa, or make do with propping up in the bed, it’s time to get creative and carve out a space, solely for home working productively.  Our Founder Jennifer Le Roux, has never been able to work well at home. The Friday before lockdown she nabbed a desk via Facebook shop and set up a home workstation in her bedroom, she said:

“I’ve always hated working at home, but I’ve never had a desk either! I have ADHD, so being able to leave the house and go somewhere else to work has been hugely important for my productivity. Now that I have a dedicated area upstairs, I have actually found I can be just as productive by animating that idea of ‘going to work’.”

But what if you don’t have much space? 

Well, then it’s time to get creative. Whether you’re living with family, in a houseshare or living in a small studio space - there’s still likely a corner or area you can transform. Worst resort; fold down tables or portable solutions that help you do the same. If you live with others, it’s also important to create new boundaries when you are in that space. Agree that when you are in that space or wearing your headphones, you are not there, you are at work. Albeit still sensitive to sound of course, so maybe agree quiet times to avoid a defiant blast of their radio validated by you not being there “blah blah you’re not here remember”.  

When the sun’s out  take it outside

If there’s no space inside and you’re one of the lucky ones with outside space, take advantage of the good weather and let the sky be your ceiling! The change in scenery might keep you interested and motivated to productively work from home. Greenery is a known soothing element and can keep your motivation levels up. It will also give you that opportunity to soak in the sun, like you’ve been plotting to do all-day, whilst also successfully working from home. 

2. Create a flexible plan for the day ahead

Author of The 5AM Miracle Jeff Sanders said: “Plan tomorrow on paper tonight”, which basically means it’s a good idea to plan ahead, even if we need to change it later. This sentiment could not be more appropriate right now but whatever the circumstances, working without a schedule can be stressful and overwhelming for anyone. So, if you’re currently flying by the seat of your pants and hoping for the best, then it’s no wonder you feel a bit lost. Let’s get one thing straight, you’ll never be able to do the full 9-5pm at home in the current climate, especially if you have kids to homeschool, and that’s okay. Instead, try to plan 4-5 hours of work a day, and you might just kick in and do more on a good day, most importantly if you achieve those smaller goals you’ll get a sense  of achievement that’ll help ground you in this crazy time. 

To do this effectively it’s a good idea to use a calendar, task list, pencil and notepad or trello board to help you set ‘moveable’ goals. Whatever helps you create a working plan for the day ahead that can easily be adapted throughout the day.  If you find planning difficult, another way to find motivation  is to  create a bullet or BUJO journal, which is an organisational system that allows you to plan your work schedules and anything else life throws at you. 

Whatever you do though, don’t be disappointed if you can’t achieve all those tasks in one day, it just means you can add it to another, and try again. For more tips on how to manage your day and set smaller tasks during your day, you can check out our recent blog on how to set SMART freelance goals in lockdown.

3. Online working from home “tech” toolbox

Now more than ever, it’s a good idea to utilise  planning, management and communication apps for freelancers that can help you stay connected with clients, colleagues or your peers, manage our work loads effectively. Luckily there are plenty of tools available, too many in fact, which is why we’ve created a shortlist of our favourite tools that can help you get the best out of working from home. If you haven’t heard of any of these yet, it’s worth giving them a download and having a try: 

• Time management: Toggl.com

• Project management: Trello, Asana or Clickup

• Video meetings: Google Hangouts, Skype, Microsoft Teams and Zoom

• Comms and IM: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Facebook, Whatsapp (web)

We use  Trello a lot, to manage projects and content planning. It’s easy to use because you can create boards, lists and tasks that can be dragged and dropped with custom labels, deadlines and assigned team members.  

What tools have you found useful? Share your tips in the comments or on Twitter @wearefribe #homeworkingtools.

4. Find the right beat to your productivity drum 

The right soundtrack can make all the difference. While singing along to “Dancing Queen” by ABBA and Missy Elliot’s “Work It”  have their place when you need some motivation, don’t even try denying they’re not in your playlist, lyric-free music is ideal if you’re struggling to focus. Slow jazz and fast paced music also works if you have a big deadline coming up, some even find video game music works well. So, create your own playlist and get cracking or take your pick from our favourite playlists, all created specifically to encourage focus:

• Focus beats playlist: created by freshgoodies 

• Focus Music - Work & Studying playlist: created by kroschi 

• House Focus playlist: created by Spotify 

• Electronic Focus playlist: created by Spotify 

• All-Nighter playlist: created by Spotify

Not your jamm? Send your playlist suggestions on Twitter @wearfribe #homeworkingplaylists and we’ll add them to the blog!

5. Surround yourself with pretty and inspiring things

Whether you’re a freelancer or an employee hurled into home working life in lockdown, if you’re struggling to be productive working from home and having a desk plonked in a designated space isn’t doing the job, it’s worth addressing your immediate surroundings. There’s a reason your boss made an effort with the decor and plants in the office, your working environment can have a significant impact on your state of mind. No matter how small your little designated workspace is, a simple cork board with pics and pretty things, or books, ornaments and plants - whatever you can find (or order online) to help pretty up your space, will make all the difference!  

You don’t have to do a full interior design job, it’s about creating the right aesthetic in your direct eye-line while you work. You could start by facing your desk towards a window, then add little gems like  framed  inspirational quotes and cute charms or perhaps retro dolls and gadgets are your thing. You can improve your mental wellbeing and productivity by making your space all about you, without any worry of judgement, because it’s your home desk - you can do what you like! Get creative and enjoy it. 

6. Make time for breaks and be kind to yourself

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes... including you.” - Anne Lamott

It’s good to “work it”, but you also need some downtime, which can be active or just being still for a moment. Move away from your designated workspace to grab a snack or a cuppa.  A change of scenery will help you feel motivated and come back to work with a fresh perspective.  Other ideas for some break time activities could be:

• Go for a walk and enjoy nature around you - Walking is proven to boost productivity, the change of scenery, and an aesthetic walk will motivate you further to successfully work from home. Whether your local surroundings have some trees, a small park or the beach. Try and connect with the outdoors and nature - social distancing of course and as part of your designated daily exercise. 

• Socialise friends in your household or on video chat - Working non-stop can be difficult and unhealthy, and not to mention overwhelming. Taking breaks to talk with your household, whether it be a houseshare or with family, it gives you a human interaction, to brighten your day. Or if you live on your own, call family and friends, it'll boost your mood to be more motivated. 

• Stick on an exercise app or YouTube - Exercising from home can be difficult, not all of us have home gym equipment, and therefore would need to order off our favourite pal; Amazon Prime. But with delayed delivery times,  rather than waiting for our helpful Amazon staff to deliver things in this tough time, why don’t you follow gym instructors on youtube or instagram, where they have put together a daily fitness routine to follow. Or use fitness apps, which have month long programs inbuilt, or daily short burst workouts, and they track your weight and calorie burn. Nifty, right?

• Read a chapter of a book  - We all have that book we started years ago, but have never been able to finish because we are too tired to read after work, and want to lounge on the couch and drink a glass of wine. Take this time to read during your breaks, just one chapter though! Don’t let yourself get distracted and go down the rabbit hole of reading for hours.  

The point is just give yourself a break man, and as Missy herself might say:

Now, put your thang down, flip it and reverse it

Change is never easy, and it’s okay to feel a bit lost right now. But if you do need to get shit done amidst the shit storm, then you can. You just need to be kind to yourself and implement new tools that help you adapt to this new idea of normal, working from home. You’re still going to have bad moments, days or even weeks - but on the good ones we hope these tips will help you to boost your productivity and get plenty done, so you can enjoy some time off later in the week. 

When you get stuck, seek out some human connection for outside help. That’s why we’ve also written a blog on how to connect in a socially distanced world, just a short video chat with a friend, colleague or like-minded group of people could make all the difference. 

And if all else fails and you haven’t managed any of the above - just get dressed man. Another cheeky trick, just get dressed! It will help you feel like you’re at work and you’re ready for any spontaneous video calls, camera on? Go for it! 

There’s only one way to play this blog out, go on - hit play and “work it!”

Written by Ramsha Khan
Edited by Jennifer Le Roux
Missy Elliott lyric adaptations by Latisha Berker-Boyd.
Photography sourced from unsplash.com (unless stated otherwise)