One of my most requested posts as of late is what a typical day looks like for me right now, and what tips I can share to increase productivity while working from home. My schedule varies from day to day (for example, on Wednesday mornings I do my food shopping for the week, and I have online lectures on Monday and Wednesday evenings). The schedule I’m sharing below is on a day when I have no class and I’m not leaving the house for any essentials other than my daily exercise. Having somewhat of a constant routine has really helped me stay focused and remain productive at home.
MY NEW DAILY ROUTINE
8am: My alarm goes off – I usually lay in bed for a bit and review the days to-do list, as well as catch up on what I missed from the previous night (being 5-8 hours ahead of the states I miss a lot of evening content!).
8:30am: Get up, make the bed, put on my workout clothes.
8:45am: Outdoor run in Hyde Park. I usually do about 3-4 miles on weekdays.
9:30am: Barry’s UK Instagram live class (if you’re looking for great workouts to do from home, check out this post for a list of my favorites!).
10am: Make coffee (still obsessed with my new Nespresso and milk frother) and have a quick breakfast while I skim my emails. Breakfast is usually yogurt with berries and granola or a rice cake with peanut butter and honey.
10:30am: Shower and get dressed for the day (aka put on some loungewear – shop my favorites in this post!).
11am-2pm: Blog work at my desk. Answering emails, responding to Instagram DM’s, blog post brainstorming, editing photos.
2-3pm: Lunch time! I usually make some sort of healthy bowl with whatever ingredients I have in the fridge that day. Today’s bowl will be cheesy jalapeño scrambled eggs with arugula, avocado, and tomato.
3-4pm: After lunch I’ll dedicate about an hour to schoolwork. I’m on spring break at the moment, which means no class, but I’ll still use this time to catch up on reading or working on my final essays (if you missed why I’m back in school, I explain everything in this post).
4pm-6pm: I typically spend another 1-2 hours working on blog content (as it’s my only source of income right now!) before calling it day. Somewhere around 5pm I’ll have a snack of popcorn or chips with an orange or apple 🙂
6pm-bed: Wine, dinner, and Netflix time! My flatmate Mel and I are loving the new season of Brooklyn 99.
5 WORK FROM HOME TIPS
- Make a to-do list. Everyone and their mother recommends making a to-do list because they WORK. Write down everything that needs to get done that day, and then prioritize based on urgency. I actually like to plan out even further than one day, so I have a running to-do list that can go as far in advance as a month for any long-term projects.
- Try time blocking. I find this really useful, especially since I’m currently juggling both school and blogging. If I didn’t dedicate certain hours of the day to each, I could easily get caught up in work and not get anything for school done and vice versa.
- Resist the urge to work from bed. I know it can be tempting, but it’s important to keep your work space and your relaxation space separate. I find that making my bed as soon as I get up in the morning keeps me from jumping back in after my workout.
- Take breaks when you feel like you need them. Take a walk around the block, drink some water, do some stretching / yoga. I think there’s a lot of pressure to be hyper-productive right now, but this is a stressful time and we should all cut ourselves a bit of slack. If you’re feeling anxious or spent, listen to your body and step away from the computer for a bit.
- Get blue light blocking glasses. When these first came out I thought they were just a gimmick, but after using them for over a year I can honestly say that they help a lot with eye strain and headaches – I even switched over my prescription glasses to have blue light blocking lenses. If you’re someone who spends all day on the computer or your phone, I highly recommend investing in a pair. This brand is my favorite!
Have you settled into a new “normal” routine? What are some of your favorite work from home tips?
xx Mollie
Such a good post! I definitely need to try time blocking!!
I agree with all of these tips! Love your schedule too! Mine is quite similar – although we don’t have a park nearby to exercise in, sadly!
Lizzie
http://www.lizzieinlace.com
this sounds a lot like my day, except I do my workout around lunch time~!! these are also great tips. it is so important to take breaks and not stress out too much.
xx rebecca // thecrystalpress.com/blog
These are great tips! Time blocking and resisting to work in my bed really helps with keeping me productive!
http://www.rdsobsessions.com
So many great tips in this post!! I love the idea of time blocking – I’m the worst at jumping around during projects and definitely going to try to work on that during all of this!
I’ve been blogging full-time for almost 5 years, so working from home is nothing new for me. Especially considering the fact that I was home-educated all the way through high school graduation as well. I definitely have this down to a science. And my routine pretty much looks like yours – but replace that 4-6 time with either cleaning, reading, or doing more work rather than school. Good for you for getting ish done!
What a great schedule you have! I love your work from home tips as well! Thanks for sharing!
Kileen
cute & little
I need to get better at time blocking my day. When I’ve actually done it I’ve been so much more productive! Great tips! xoxo, Sarah
Nice to see post like this in this time of lockdown as it makes the situation feel real with other people too.
http://www.busyandfab.com
I need to do a better job of time blocking, its so helpful to stay focused and get things done!