Top 5 Tips for Working at Home - A Guest Post by Nathan Walker

As a wedding photographer, I’ve learned how to work effectively from home and I wanted to share my top 5 tips for adjusting to working from home so that you can have extra time in your day to enjoy.

Show up for work ‘on time’

You could get up a little later than normal, after all you have zero commute. But, if you maintain the discipline of getting up at the ‘normal’ time for you, as if you had a commute, you’ll create so much more time in your day. Maybe you could use it to push towards your goals?

(Ok this assumes you don’t have any children. The days of the lie in are long gone for me!)

Dress for work

Don’t roll out of bed and into your makeshift office in your PJs. I know its tempting - there’s no commute and no one’s going to be seeing what you’re looking like.

If I do this, I’ll bring my ‘Pyjama mind’ to the table also. You know the kind of lazy Sunday morning mind that says hey its time to chill.

Dressing like you are going to put in a full day’s work will prepare you mentally by signaling to you that you are supposed to be at work. So when that postman comes and you hear that letterbox clink you’ll be less tempted to be distracted to think I’ll just go and get that!

De-clutter your home

Ok you’re now into your work, but that washing-up from the night before starts beckoning, or that bin suddenly needs emptying or… you get the picture!

Take care of these jobs the night before, or plan to do them as part of your planned breaks in your working schedule. This will help you not to be distracted by unnecessary clutter.

Work like your boss is in the room

When no-one’s looking over your shoulder, you could easily find yourself opening another tab cheekily perusing Pinterest looking for wedding inspiration. We all do it. You’ll just be less aware when you are. You could end up needing to work longer hours to get through the to do list for the day if you get pulled into the time-sinks too frequently.

Thankfully there are loads of great apps that can block access to sites for set windows in your working day. Then when you are done for the day, you’ll be free to scroll away - remember that hour you saved having no commute?

Phone a friend

Working from home can feel quite isolating.

When I worked in an office I had the constant buzz and banter and it was great to be able to bounce ideas off each other and resolve things quickly. When you work at home you have only yourself to talk to and you can go a little stir crazy.

I’m sure I drive my wife crazy when she gets home because sometimes I’ll just brain dump. Plan some time into your day to phone colleagues for a 5 min catch-up even if it’s just to check-in and say hello, it will make all the difference to quiet the inner scream of isolation!

Nathan Walker 

Our Guest Author

Nathan Walker - Nathan Walker Photography
Nathan is a Nottingham-based wedding photographer. He shoots beautiful weddings for fun-loving couples across the East Midlands. His relaxed photography style suits couples that are planning a laidback wedding and want their wedding story to be filled with authentic moments.

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