LL - Making working from home stress free Lesson 8

A list of ways to make working from home easier compiled by our team.

Usually when we tell people we work from home their first reaction is always "that's so cool" and we can tell they think it's an "easy" job. Well, we all know from experience this is not always true - yes,  it might be cool, but it's certainly not easy!  While most of us feel truly blessed to be at home, we're also honest about the downfalls it has as well. 

 As a group we shared our techniques to turn the pitfalls into positives! Because it all tends to run together, we decided that learning to separate "work time" from "personal time" is one of the best ways you can help yourself. We came up with lots of other helpful hints too, so here's our list we'll let you decide which ones work best for you! 

1. Treat your work day as if you actually work away from home. Get up and shower, get dressed, make yourself beautiful,  and eat a healthy breakfast. This helps to get mentally prepared. (it also allows you to participate in video meetings - wink wink!).
2. Have a designated office area. This allows you to enjoy other parts of your home so when you are on "off time" you don't feel "work" creeping in. One agent shared that she uses a large closet as her office, this not only keeps her distraction free, it also gives her an away from home feeling.
3. Take your breaks away from your computer and don't eat at your desk. This is another great way to separate your off time from work time.
4.  Say no to boredom and yes to being active! Practice the "wiggle and giggle" method by standing up and moving around during your work day like Cheryl.  Or as Marcia Miller suggests, start doing some counter top push-ups during your breaks.  Lori mentioned she likes to take a short walk or do a quick work out during her lunch break. Dylan likes to break up the monotony by standing up while he does his tasks. He showed us pics of how he altered his treadmill by placing a wide board across the handrails. He sits his laptop on the board and then walks at a slow pace while working. Pretty cool invention! Did you know standing up throughout your day can burn up to 150-180 calories? so don't forget to move around a bit!!
5. Marcia likes to sit in a different chair when she works than when she uses her computer for personal stuff on her off time. This helps her differentiate between "work" time and "not work" time.
6. Did you know staying home all the time or being secluded too much, can make mild depression or anxiety worse?...so make sure to get out and socialize OR find something enjoyable to do during your off time. Learn to leave work at work and separate your off time from work. This can be especially challenging because home is work and work is home...
7. Jumping jacks, working out, hanging out with friends, and nurturing your garden are other enjoyable off time options - just make sure to take some time to get away from home - which is work which is home which is work! 
8. Really try to have a clean break. Turn your computer off and don't check emails or do other work related stuff when it's your time off.  Let your mind regenerate its creativeness!
9. Step away from the computer screen.........do something "un-virtual" like read a REAL book!!
10. ....if you missed the meeting and think of other suggestions or things you do to make it through your work at home days please let us ALL know and comment below this post!