We would be glad if this text consisted of just one sentence: “Do not take work home at all”, but sometimes the circumstances are stronger, this answer is impossible. We tell you what to do if your husband, children, cat and a huge analytical report, which needs to be completed on Saturday and Sunday, are at home.
Make a schedule
Not only work affairs, but also ordinary household activities. For example, from 19 to 20 you are working on a report, and from 20 to 21 you are watching a series with your daughter alone. Clearly delineated time boundaries, firstly, will help not to be distracted during work (for example, on social networks), secondly, not to find yourself sitting in front of a laptop with red eyes at midnight, and thirdly, family members will not feel that you forgot about them.
Set up your workplace
Even if you rarely work from home, a corner where you will not interfere with your household, and they will not interfere with you, is a must. Buy a comfortable chair, do not skimp on it: you are unlikely to tear off the irritation from a numb back on a new design project – most likely, it will get to your loved ones, and they certainly did not deserve it. If possible, put the desktop so that natural light falls on it – it is clear that now this is not relevant, especially if you work in the evening, but believe me, on some spring Saturday you will definitely appreciate the proximity of the workplace to the window.
Buy a desk lamp with a switchable color spectrum: Cold or white lighting promotes the production of cortisol, or stress hormone, and is therefore better suited for focused work than warm light. Under yellow light, melatonin, or the sleep hormone, is released, which helps to relax – such light is suitable, for example, for reading.
Create a working mood
If you know that you have to work on the weekend, then change your home clothes for casual: the one in which you could appear in the office. Of course, you don’t have to wear a pencil skirt and white shirt to go from the bedroom to the living room – to the computer, but jeans and a sweater will do just fine. Unlike, for example, pajamas, which does not contribute to the working mood in any way.
Remove all unnecessary from the desktop (or the place that is currently replacing it), ask your family to do the same. There should be nothing on the table that does not relate to work – a computer, folders with documents, a phone. No food, books or children’s toys – don’t get distracted, finish faster.
Dedicate the family to the details
Working from home is often viewed with prejudice – especially by those who are used to working only in the office. It seems to them that it is impossible to do serious business, sitting at home on the couch. Tell your husband and adult children about how much one hour of your working time costs: information about what you earned in this hour, for example, 3000 rubles, is much easier to process than the one that you can write a PR strategy in your kitchen – and it will be no less serious than in open space.
Indicate the limit
Sometimes a side job is very necessary and useful. Sometimes, but not always, this is important. You shouldn’t spend all evenings or both weekends on “homework” – you won’t earn all the money, for the sake of them you should definitely not forget about going to the movies with your husband, talking with friends, lessons with children (even if they are able to do them themselves!) … Set your minimum, say two nights a week, and stick to it.
