As more and more businesses are starting to ask their employees to work from home, I thought I would share some top tips from experiences on how to be productive, and at the same time ensure that you still have a work life balance.

There is a common perception from people that do not work from home, that those that do, are working around watching Netflix, loading the washing machine, and not really ‘working’. Because of this misconception, a lot of people who do work from home are constantly trying to ‘overwork’ to compensate. So Set your hours, have a time that you start and finish and communicate this to colleagues.

Some people find they have a ritual before setting off for the office, this could be the way you dress, when you have your coffee or even how long it takes you to get to work. This all puts you into the mood to work, if this is you, then don’t stop. Get dressed, as you never know who may want to video chat you! ‘Walk or cycle to work’, go for a walk or cycle for the time that you would normally commute to work (this could just be around your garden or up and down your stairs, etc).

When you work from home, and all the local distractions of an office are removed, you will find that time has a habit of going by too quickly. Ensure you Have regular breaks, just like you would if you were in the office. Stand up and walk around, grab a coffee, take your full lunch break. If your breaks are part of a routine, then let those in your home know when you will be free for chat.

When you work from home, you can start to have the feeling of being isolated from your team, the best way to beat this is instead of sending an email, have a Quick video chat, generally beats talking to your cat for the whole day!

At the end of the day, either come out of your study and shut the door, or if like me your study is the dining room table, then close your laptop and clear it away, this ensures you are keeping Work and personal time separate.

Part of commuting home from work for some people is the decompression of the day, if you need your commute time to decompress, then ‘Walk or cycle back home’, take a stroll around the block, before starting your evening.

Everyone is different in their routines and habits in the office, and this is no different when we are at home. Do what works best for you to be as productive as possible, while maintaining your work life balance with your family and friends.