Working from home may sound like an absolute dream to some people – no commuting, no colleagues to annoy you, being completely comfortable in your own home whilst you work – but in reality it can actually be quite difficult and bring on feelings of loneliness, lethargy and demotivation. Many people may be working from home at the moment due to the current situation, and it’s extremely important to do so for the time being if you can (as we all know!). But it’s also important to be happy at work – even when “work” is in your house!

There are a number of things you can do whilst working from home to ensure you still feel motivated and happy every day, even when the novelty of being at home wears off. Take a look at our top 5 tips that will help you deal with the situation…

Stick to your normal routine – if you usually wake up at 7am to get ready for work when not working from home, then make sure you stick to this when you are working from home. If you usually get up at 6am and do a workout before work, stick to this. If you usually finish work at 5pm, stick to this too and turn your laptop off at that time! Keeping your normal routine going, especially timings, will help whilst having to work from home– it will ensure your body doesn’t make too make drastic changes and it’ll stop you feeling extra tired. Having a lay in every day until 9am, until the last minute before having to turn your laptop on, won’t be helpful for when you do end up back in the office.

Get dressed properly – although this may sound simple, and also may sound like a waste of time whilst working from home, it’s actually very important. Having a shower, putting on proper clothes instead of your PJs, even styling your hair and putting some make-up on, will help you remember that you are “at work”, even when working from home. It’s easy to start feeling very lonely and blue when at home all the time, and doing small things like getting dressed properly can help prevent this. Feeling “slobby” and messy all the time won’t do anything to help keep your mood up!

Sit somewhere comfortable – and we don’t mean in your bed or on the sofa! Finding somewhere comfortable to work is important. For those of you who have an office, that’s great – you already have a space to work in when working from home. For those of you who don’t have an office or somewhere particular to work, make sure you find somewhere that’s comfortable and sensible; choose sitting at your dining room table over sitting in your bed!

Take regular breaks – this is really important when working from home as it’s so easy to forget to have lunch or take proper breaks and move away from your screen for a while. Make sure your take your lunch break (whether it’s 30 minutes or an hour) to have something to eat and have some rest from your working day. Working solidly for 8 hours straight is not a good idea so add some set times throughout the day to have a break, even if it’s just for 10 minutes to have a cup of tea or coffee.

Get some fresh air – working from home can often mean you’re stuck inside all day long with no fresh air, as you have no reason to leave the house. When travelling to and from work, you get some fresh air here and there, but if “work” is just down the corridor in your living room, fresh air is often forgone. So, give yourself a reason to get some fresh air every day – why not go for a 10-20 minute walk at lunch time, pop to the shop to pick up some necessities or even potter around in your garden or on your balcony. Anything that ensures you get a bit of fresh air each day!