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I don’t have a normal work schedule. My “typical” day consists of working from a combination of my car, coffee shops, co-working spaces, my home and client offices.

Arik Hanson (@arikhanson) is the founder of ACH Communications, a digital communications consultancy based in Minneapolis.

Since I spend a decent amount of time in coffee shops, I’ve noticed that more and more corporate and agency-type people are spending time there lately too – and working, not just socialising.

As the workplace continues to “shift”, we’ll most likely see more of this in the years ahead. In fact, some marketing agencies (look at the Fast Horse model here in Minneapolis) are already there.

So, since more people are using coffee shops as workplaces, and I spend a bit of time there myself, I thought I’d share a few tips for what’s worked for me in the past and how you can make sure you’re as productive as possible when you’re “out of the office.”

1. Find the power outlets

You know the guy who walks into a coffee shop and immediately starts roaming the room, scanning the floor boards? Yeah, that’s me. Don’t be that guy. But you need to be sure the coffee house you’re working in has ample outlets.

So, make sure to note which coffee shops have more than one outlet. After all, no outlet means no power cord. And no power cord means dead laptop. Don’t get caught with a dead laptop. It’s a quick productivity killer.

2. Make friends with the baristas

If you plan on spending a fair amount of time at one particular coffee house, start talking with the baristas there. You can only benefit from befriending these folk.

They can and will:

1. Offer you special deals from time to time
2. Give you free coffee, if you’re remotely nice
3. Help you with other ad-hoc questions and issues as they pop up

For advanced coffee shop workers: Reach out to and make friends with the manager. Make sure he or she knows you on a first-name basis.

3. Invest in a killer headset

I used to think this was an age-specific tip. But recently, I’ve noticed more old guys wearing headphones in coffee shops - which is good, because I turn 40 in August and I don’t want to be the only 40-year-old wearing Klipsch headphones in my coffee shop. Good ‘phones tune out all the ambient noise around you. And there’s a lot of ambient noise in a coffee shop. You need good ‘phones. Once you have those, make Pandora your new BFF. (Ed. note: Or Spotify!)

4. Never leave your stuff unattended

Seems like an obvious tip, but I’ve seen some people leave their laptops unattended for 5-10 minutes at a time. Sure, you’d probably be fine. But why risk it with employee or client data just a few keystrokes away? My rule: Take your bag with you everywhere. To the bathroom. To the car. To the other side of the store, in some cases. I take zero risks here. And I’m sure my clients like it that way.

5. Know where the bathrooms are located

If you’re going to spend an hour or two in a coffee house, chances are you’ll use the restroom. Make sure you know where they’re located. And, in some cases, they can be tough to find, so this isn’t as obvious as it might sound.

6. Don’t rely on the free wi-fi

Even though many coffee shops offer free wi-fi, I’ve learned (the hard way) not to count on it - for many reasons: They forget to “turn it on.” It goes in and out. Or, in some cases, some shops just don’t offer it (for free, at least). Not to mention, it’s not always safe. So, always go in having a “plan B” - just in case. My-Fi devices are a good idea – but, they’re not cheap - and unnecessary for most folks who only work remotely a day or two a week. I’d recommend using your phone as a hot spot, if you can.

7. Don’t take conference calls

…and I’ve tried. But taking conference calls in a coffee shop just isn’t a good idea. Number one, it’s fairly rude to those around you. It’s also rude to those on the phone, as coffee shops are very loud and I know that comes through on the other end of the line. You can try a Bluetooth device or headset, but it’s still going to be loud; you may have a tough time hearing folks on the line, and, worse yet, they’ll have a tough time hearing you. So, save your calls for the office (or, the car).

What about you? Do you work out of coffee shops from time to time? Any good insider tips to share?

Supported by Plantronics. Simply Smarter Communication solutions for the Mobile Professional

Photo credit: ralphhogaboom

Whether you have the itch to travel or are just looking to mix it up at work, setting up shop outside the office can be as exciting (and demanding) as starting a new job. 

Cora Rodenbusch (@corasauras) is a senior communications manager at PGi (@PGiMeetTweet), a virtual meetings company, providing audio, web and video conferencing solutions to over 75% of Fortune 100.

Six months ago, I left my office in Austin, Texas, to become a Digital Nomad, traveling through Europe and Asia Pacific with my husband and visiting PGi’s 30+ global offices along the way. With visions of French cafés and ocean-front offices dancing through my head, I set off on my yearlong journey abroad.

Over the past few months, I’ve enjoyed finding out firsthand what taking your show on the road really looks like and how to keep the team back home happy.

Before you sign up to telecommute or enter the Digital Nomad’s Wild West of Wi-Fi scavenging, take a look at our Digital Nomad 101 – Your Guide to Working Outside the Office. 

PART I: Are You a Candidate for Remote Working?

It takes the right gig to make your Digital Nomad experience a success. Is there some rare, specialized tech machine you need to complete your duties? Is your work dependent on being physically present? Does your role require manual labor? If so, you might need to work from the office. 

For everyone else, there’s a good chance you could satisfy your job requirements with a laptop, an internet connection and a cell phone. 

But that’s not all it takes to make it work. Every aspiring Digital Nomad should evaluate their personality, motivation and work style before leaving the comfort of the office’s cubicle walls.  Remote working requires flexibility, determination and plenty of energy and optimism to get through the day. 

Think you’re the right fit for teleworking? Take the “What’s My Work Style Quiz” to find the work environment that best suits you. 

‘What’s my work style?’ quiz

I work best when… 

1. I’m surrounded by my team. 
2. I’m alone in peace and quiet. 
3. My headphones are in. 
4. I’m inspired by my surroundings.

When it comes to office hours, I prefer to… 

1. Keep a firm schedule. 
2. Come in early and leave late, allowing for breaks throughout the day. 
3. Stay flexible, adjusting to whatever the day’s duties require. 
4. Keep it fluid by working long hours one day and just a few the next. 

I would describe myself as primarily… 

1. Social. 
2. Self-Motivated. 
3. Practical. 
4. Entrepreneurial. 

On average, I would rather have ____ over _____.

1. Predictability/Surprise 
2. Personal Work Space/Communal 
3. Too Many Options/Not Enough 
4. Variety/Routine 

A good day in the office involves… 

1. Getting out with the team.
2. Solid, uninterrupted work.
3. Having time to work in the coffee shop downstairs.
4. The unexpected. 

When it comes to tech support, I…

1. Need a lot of help! Thank goodness for the help desk. 
2. Can manage on my own 90% of the time.
3. Require help occasionally. 
4. Support myself and resolve most issues.  

If you answered mostly A’s, you’re best suited for the traditional office environment. 

If you answered mostly B’s, the home office is for you. 

If you answered mostly C’s, consider a hybrid scenario with time in and outside the office. 

If you answered mostly D’s, pack your bags! You’re going on the road. 

For more on what it takes to work outside the off, check out Three Questions for the Aspiring Teleworker. 

Stay tuned for “Part II: Three Steps to Taking Your Show on the Road.” I’ll offer advice on how to pitch the big idea to your boss, locate the right work environment and pack the perfect Digital Nomad tool belt.   

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Did you take the quiz? How did you score? Do you think you can adjust your habits to meet your dream of becoming a Digital Nomad?

When I first embarked on my freelance career, I felt unsure of myself and very isolated. While traditional employment provides one with coworkers who can help, the freelancer is left to muddle through on their own.

Or so I thought. My first experience in a coworking space opened my eyes to a different reality.

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Coworking is based on the idea that working alone is unpleasant, and that by simply sharing space with other entrepreneurs, ideas, inspiration, and a profound sense of community will soon be shared as well.

This community comes with it lots of intangible benefits, like being able to ask the designer next to you what they think of your logo, or informally polling the room about a new marketing slogan. And inevitably, the combination of personal and professional relationships that occurs at a coworking space leads to an opportunity for collaboration. 

Why Collaborate?

Traditional definitions of business tell us that work is a competition, a quest to climb the ladder faster than your peers. But today this hierarchical model can feel selfish and slow to respond to quickly changing markets. Collaboration, on the other hand, allows businesses to incorporate unique perspectives in a way that benefits the bottom line as well as the target audience.

As a freelancer, you are a business as well as a person. You need to be able to compete with larger firms yet still provide a level of personal service that they can’t match. That’s where your fellow freelancers come in.

But if you’re a coworker like me, these freelancers are also your friends. And working with your friends can lead to uncomfortable complications that will jeopardize your work and reputation.

How to Collaborate

The answer is not to adopt a policy of never collaborating with people you know. Instead, you need to develop a policy for how you will handle collaborations with other freelancers, whether friends or strangers. Here are some of my favorite tips for embracing collaboration without creating extra stress.

Be discriminating. Don’t assume that because you can drink a beer with them, they’re the best fit for the project. Any collaboration will only be successful if you choose the right person for the job. Look at integrity as well as ability. Think about the way they conduct themselves with fellow freelancers and their clients. They might be good for a laugh, but will they buckle down when the deadline’s looming?

Use a comprehensive contract. Written agreements define who is responsible for what, and when it needs to be delivered (no, a copy of your email thread doesn’t count). If there’s money involved, using a contract shows that you respect your collaborator, and want to make sure they are protected as well. DO IT.

Don’t be a meanie. Just because you’re entering into a business relationship doesn’t mean you have to forget that you are friends. Or at least friendly acquaintances. Be flexible. Understand (within reason) life happens. Try to divide and conquer work in a way that’s comfortable for everyone involved. The best collaborations will feel like they were meant to be, and quality work will flow naturally from their formation.

Don’t be a pushover. In your zeal to be accommodating, don’t forget that you’re a businessperson with a job to do. If someone’s slacking, don’t be afraid to say something. Staying silent will only cause you stress and cost you money.

Beth Buczynski is the co-author of an ongoing series of ebooks about coworking and the mobile workforce. For more tips on how collaboration can grow your business, check out Coworking: How Freelancers Escape the Coffee Shop Office.

Photo credit: Jordan Brock

(Ed. note: Genevieve DeGuzman is a bit of a whiz when it comes to organising her workload. These tips should help you get organised too and start 2012 off on the right foot. Happy New Year, by the way!)

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1. Blur the work-life boundaries.

One of the biggest challenges for hard-working mobile professionals is how to manage and balance their work and personal lives. Many independent workers, from freelancers and entrepreneurs, to startups and consultants, boast about the freedom and personal autonomy their work affords them— but actually do very little to change how they work to reflect these values. 

Inadvertently, many end up trying to conform to the old, familiar practices defined by the conventional 9-to-5 office setup. But work-life balance doesn’t mean strict quarantine. Rather than trying to squeeze work into an 8- or 10-hour time period and adapting our lives around this rigid, corporate clockwork, try knocking down the walls that separate the two and integrating work and leisure. 

As an independent worker, you’re most likely doing what you love and find work gratifying, so this is less tricky than it sounds. Most successful independent workers I know are more productive because they don’t try to lead two, separate lives. They don’t compartmentalize how they work— and this means carefully blurring the boundaries between work and leisure. If you feel like tinkering on that report after dinner, go ahead. If you want to skip your morning number crunching sessions to check out that museum exhibit downtown, go for it and don’t feel guilty. Time during the week expands tremendously when you stop segmenting your day into work life vs. personal life mini-epic battles. 

2. Use to-do lists to create momentum in your workday.

Weekly and daily to-do lists are great tools (especially when used in conjunction with weekly status notes) to create a sense of personal accomplishment as you work. Ticking off items on the lists can be greatly satisfying and helps stave off creeping procrastination (even Renaissance geniuses kept them). Integrate your personal and work-related lists to create a fluid sense of what needs to be done for the day and the rest of the week.

Paper or digital? It all depends on your work style and personal preference. Digital calendars can be synced on your computer and mobile devices and are easy to update and keep track of. At the same time, it’s easy for your electronic lists to get buried under other applications. Out of sight, out of mind. Paper is messy, but it’s hard to ignore that list tacked to your wall like a pouty pinup model. My personal preference is to keep a digital calendar of all my appointments, deadlines, and major milestones (on iCal and Google Calendar), and a cheap, eyesore of a whiteboard where I scrawl my daily and weekly task lists. As I burn through my lists, I happily cross out items with a big, fat red marker. 

3. Be nimble with your time to stave off burnouts.

We waste a lot of time feeling frustrated when we work because we force ourselves to do certain tasks when we’re not at our most productive. Can’t concentrate at your desk because you’re distracted by the beautiful, sunny weather outside? Hit File > Save and take an hour to go for a run in the park. Don’t sit uselessly at your computer just because it’s 10 a.m. and you feel guilty that you haven’t checked off “Write client proposal” on your to-do list yet. When you find yourself feeling this way, manage your restlessness by taking an hour to catch your breath. You don’t have to jump ship and go AWOL for the entire day, but these little timeouts can do wonders to refresh burnt out minds.

At the same time, at the end of the day, don’t resign yourself to leisure if you want to work. Maybe you’re itching to get on the computer to work on a new blog article that evening, but the bossy work-life balance angel sitting on your shoulder sharply tells you to crush all thoughts of work and watch reality TV instead. She means well, but sometimes it’s liberating to go with what feels right or to act when inspiration strikes. Trust your instincts. Take advantage of that late-night manic energy and move swiftly to your desk.

Yes, at some point the best productivity strategy is sometimes a grim, butt-in the-chair attitude. But as a daily routine, hunkering down in this inflexible way can quickly become exhausting because you’re constantly battling yourself. What’s worse, you’ll begin to resent your work, the pressure, and then feel wracked with guilt. It becomes a vicious, negative cycle. 

Judge yourself not on a daily time commitment but on what you achieve for the week or the month. If the goal is to finish that proposal by the end of the week, make certain that you plan ahead and achieve it, but don’t feel like you should put in an inviolable amount of hours each day to complete it. 

4. Outsource the work you can’t do.

When you’re working for yourself, it’s very easy to fall into the mindset that you need to do everything on your own. The risk is you end up feeling overwhelmed, stymied by these frustrating shortfalls in skills. But it’s OK— you’re not supposed to know everything. For example, you might be stellar at what you do for your business, but just hate doing marketing and PR to woo new clients. You don’t have to scale back just because you lack the marketing power. The solution is to outsource some of the work to others— experts in their respective fields— to help you.

One advantage of mobile working is that by working in different settings like the local coffee shop, Jelly, and coworking space you’re able to nurture a wide network of colleagues in different fields. Do you have letterhead and business cards to design? Talk to the graphic designer you share your morning coffee with. Need to create a mini animation video for your presentation? Talk to that instructional designer who works at the coworking space you frequent. Time to spruce up your website? That programmer who runs the weekly Jelly can probably recommend a developer. If you’re not skilled at something, don’t waste time struggling over the fact that you don’t know anything about Ruby on Rails or lack a grasp of typography. Time is your most valuable asset. Place a premium on it and don’t waste it.

5. Reinvent yourself and redefine what you do.

It’s a false premise that you have to work full-time at something to succeed. You can hone your craft and be 100 percent dedicated without shortchanging other aspects of your personal and professional development. Take some time to assess what you can offer to reinvent yourself and rekindle new passions in your work. Apportion a part of your core work day (say 1-2 hours) to exploring alternative opportunities to consult, coach, do speaking engagements, and write. 

No job, not even the most backbreaking kind, needs our full attention all the time. In fact, there are many fragmented, idle moments that fill our workday. Make your time more efficient by getting the little things done during dead periods in the day (e.g. during that commute on the train; waiting in the line at the store; lingering at the laundry mat), and in turn, tap into all the time saved to cultivate other ways of using your skills and experience. Read a book, do some research, take a class— do the necessary groundwork to keep improving yourself and the work you do.

Genevieve DeGuzman is the co-founder and managing editor of Night Owls Press, a San Francisco-based editorial services and digital publishing company for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. For more stories on how to take advantage of collaboration to become more creative and work more productively, check out, Working in the UnOffice: A Guide to Coworking for Indie Workers, Small Businesses, and Nonprofits.

Photo credit: Helga Weber

Ladies, gentlemen, WorkSnuggers: Episode 7 of our work-style podcast is out now! Stream it, download it, treasure it - and tell us what you think in the comments. If you like it, subscribe in iTunes and gorge yourself on past episodes.

About Snug Sound

Snug Sound is an audio podcast, presented by WorkSnug community manager San Sharma, and produced by WorkSnug in association with Plantronics.

It provides wi-fi hopping, coffee-sipping mobile workers a free slice of news, guides and reviews – and helps digital nomads work their best wherever they work.

This episode

In this episode, WorkSnug San (@WorkSnugSan) chats to author and ideas man Ian Sanders (@iansanders) about why you don’t need a business plan to start a business and how coffee shops are the new business incubators.

How to subscribe

You can subscribe to Snug Sound in iTunes or directly via RSS (http://feeds.feedburner.com/SnugSound). You can also listen to Snug Sound via the AudioBoo website and mobile app or just below. It’s better to subscribe, as you’ll automatically get new episodes as they’re released.

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Music: ‘Wired But Disconnected’ by duckett

Hold onto that holiday cash. If you’re thinking of replacing your home wireless network, there are some inexpensive alternatives you should consider first. You can upgrade your current network’s performance with a much smaller investment than you think. Check out these ten inexpensive upgrades for your wireless network.

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1. Range Extender – You can improve your signal in spotty areas, fairly cheaply, with a range extender like this one . A plug-and-play device that connects to your USB port, it can save you from the expense of replacing your router by extending its range.
2. Home-made Reflector – You can find templates, plans, and even how-to videos online that make building these a snap. A parabolic reflector will focus your wireless signal whereas a standard omnidirectional antenna will, as the name implies, scatter it in all directions.
3. Replace Router Antenna – Alternately, you can buy a replacement for that omnidirectional antenna your router came with, and accomplish the same thing, for just a few bucks. A high-gain replacement antenna will boost your signal.
4. Network Adapter – Another alternative to replacing your wireless network is to upgrade at the other end – your device’s network adapter. If it has a PC card -based adapter, it may benefit from a USB type.
5. Change the Channel – It may be thatthe router is getting radio interference from other nearby devices. You can switch the broadcast channel that your router is set for by accessing the manufacturer’s configuration web page.
6. Update Firmware – Additionally, your router’s manufacturer will periodically release firmware upgrades, some of which will enhance its performance. While you’re at the website, check for any of these updates.
7. Upgrade Router/Repeater – We found this 802.11n wireless router, which can also be configured as a repeater for your current router, for pretty cheap. Amazon, Newegg.com and other online retailers offer it for under $30.
8. Re-position – As we mentioned earlier, wireless devices share frequencies with appliances such as microwave ovens, garage door openers, and cordless phones. Your upgrade may just be in the form of a simply re-arrangement of your equipment, to reduce any interference degrading its performance.
9. Add a Game Adapter – You can find WiFi adapters to connect your game consoles to your wireless network for under $30. Hook your PS3 up to the internet-ready big screen TV in the living room, wirelessly.
10. Add an Access Point – For about the same cost, you can get an additional access point for your network. This is sometimes a cheaper alternative than replacing your router, though not as often with the drop in prices for routers. Routers can be used as access points as well, so shop around.

Melanie Slaugh blogs for My ISP Finder, an ISP directory and discussion forums.

Photo credit: Palagret

It’s National Freelancers Day here in the UK. Hurrah! Wherever you are, and whatever you do, we hope you’ll find gems of wisdom in this compilation of posts from our blog.

It covers business, wellbeing and tech advice, as well as tips for homeworkers, coworkers and mobile workers. At the end of the list, we’ve even included information on a couple of freelance positions at our own company.

Perhaps, in the comments, you’d like to share links to blog posts you’ve written or come across that are useful for other freelancers?

In the meantime, happy National Freelancers Day!

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Business

• ‘Zoom’ from napkin idea to business start-up
• 8 Key Skills for Virtual Meetings

Wellbeing

• Ridiculous motivation tips from the WorkSnug team
• Work-Life Balance vs. Work-Life Blur
• Can mobile working save your life?
• 5 ways to make sure you don’t work too hard
• Money-Saving Travel Tips for Flexible Workers
• 10 cheers of solitude: Why working alone isn’t so bad.

Tech

• Investing in the right technology for the way you work
• 5 reasons why you should use a headset
• 5 tips to improve your Skype call quality
• 10 apps to save you time
• 10 cloud apps to help you work anywhere
• 10 apps to boost your concentration

Working from home

• Why working at home is both awesome and horrible
• The problem with working from home – and how to fix it
• Snug Sound Podcast #2: Working from Home
• 5 places to work when you don’t want to work from home

Coworking

• Snug Sound Podcast #3: Benefits of Coworking
• Join ‘Jelly’ for a delicious taste of coworking.

Laptop-friendly workspaces

• 20 Reasons Why Creative People Like to Work in Cafés
• Snug Sound Podcast #4: Coffee Shop Workers’ Code of Conduct
• WorkSnug Coffee Shop Code of Conduct
• 5 ways to protect your laptop when working on the move
• Two Pints of Lager and Wi-Fi, Please: ‘Pubworking’ an option for UK mobile workers?

Jobs

• Job: Mobile User-Experience Magician
• Job: Experienced Windows Phone developer. Email hello@worksnug.com for more information.

Photo credit: soopahgrover

On the last episode of our podcast, we interviewed mobile working employee José Reyes about being part of a virtual team, in which he happens to be the only member working from home.

“Do your office-based colleagues envy the way you work?” we asked.
“If I said it like this,” José replied. “I get up in the morning - probably later than my office colleagues do; I don’t get in the car. We finish at five-thirty, and at five-thirty I’m already home… I think they probably do envy me a little bit.”

José stressed the importance of communication when working in a virtual team. His needs introduced tools, such as Skype, to the company as a whole.

But how can you avoid ‘them and us’ when you work in a team made up of office workers and flexible workers?

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1. Familiarity - Build strong relationships with all team members, especially those that are office based. These people are often the ‘glue’ that holds teams together.
2. Availability - Try not to become too protective of your time or evasive about how you spend it. Although flexible working allows the freedom to organise the day as it suits you, the team should remain a priority.
3. Be subtle - Don’t over evangelise flexible working or be defensive about it. Either can arouse suspicion or resentment among those who are unable to take up flexible working.

Learn more about trends in flexible working in the free white paper study Home Working: Lost In Translation (PDF, 6 MB) by Plantronics.

Photo credit: pieter.morlion

With your help, we’re compiling a Code of Conduct for mobile workers who spend time in coffee shops. Many of your suggestions were about sound - grievances about customers’ talking too loudly on their phones or Skyping with their speakers on.

Whether you spend time working in coffee shops or in other public spaces, you’ll know that the acoustic environment is a big deal for mobile workers.

It’s noisy out there.

To maintain a professional and viable connection to the outside world, headsets sit alongside the phone and laptop as an absolute requirement.

But what should you look for in a headset?

Quality headsets provide:

1. Improved ergonomic comfort and safety, reducing shoulder and neck strain, for mobile workers who spend a good part of their time on the phone
2. Noise reduction so you don’t bombard the person you call with the noise around you
3. Automatic volume gain, so you can hear the party calling, no matter how loud it is around you
4. Much better acoustic quality, especially if you’re attempting a VoIP call. Use a headset rather than the ropey built-in speakers and microphone of your laptop
5. A good degree of insulation from the hustle and bustle of casual workplaces, effectively creating your personal acoustic environment, particularly through listening to music

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Photo credit: Jeff_Werner

Tell someone that you work from home and you fill their imagination with ideas of pyjamas, ‘duvet days’, and cookie jars. “The easy option,” as it’s often, and mistakenly, referred to.

But you and I know that it’s not always the easy option – and that misconception can contribute to how home workers see themselves and take care of themselves.

So, what are some of the misconceptions of working from home? And where do they come from?

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Historically-speaking, flexible working was first requested by mothers and less able people. Nowadays, it’s a choice for many different kinds of workers, and yet there’s still a bit of a prejudice that flexible working is somehow a ‘soft option’ and that flexible workers are less competitive or productive than their office-bound counterparts.

This kind of negative perception can chip away at people’s self esteem, and lead to home workers not properly looking after themselves. Office workers, on the other hand, are very aware of their entitlements to breaks and refreshments, and equally aware of any infringements on their personal health and safety in the office.

San Sharma (@WorkSnugSan) is community manager at WorkSnug.

Home workers, myself included, can start to feel guilty about the way they work, put pressure on themselves to work harder and forget to eat properly, exercise, take breaks or get outside.

For example, a little considered side-effect of working from home is that we move about less. Some days are as long as long haul flights, but I bet you make more effort to get up and move around on a flight, non?

Here’s WorkSnug founder Richard Leyland (@WorkSnugRichard) going out of his mind, working from home…

‘Take care’ tips

Now, I know we’re all adults and can look after ourselves, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded every once in a while. So, here a little print-out-and-keep guide to taking care of yourself when working from home:

1. Where possible, stand up or walk about while working, like when you’re thinking or on the phone
2. Don’t stay in the same place for different tasks – use different environments around your home or in a local laptop-friendly workspace to vary your work position throughout the day
3. Try keeping a log of the hours you work to the nearest half hour to help you identify unhealthy work patterns
4. Schedule time for food shopping, so that you always have good, healthy food in the house – and don’t skip meals!
5. Take a break outside of the house at least once a day
6. If you live on your own, make sure you plan face-to-face meetings with others during the week
7. Take regular breaks, and move about when you do – go into the garden, do some physical exercise or a domestic task (oh joy)

What do you do to take care of yourself when you work from home? Let us know in the comments below.

Comments

Photo credit: Bibi