Working from Home Can Feel Special
There is something special about the transition of driving to the office, getting to your desk, then working. And then reversing that at the end of the day. Your brain has clear and defined transitions that signal when you are working and when you aren’t.
Working from home, there is not the same delineation of work and home, much less a transition time (thanks to a much shorter commute). While there are so many advantages of working from home, the lack of boundaries and transitions can be one of the biggest challenges.
You can, however, create this same experience by being intentional with your time, space, and experiences, all while keeping the short commute down the hall.
It’s all about ritual, reset, and reflection. So let’s dig into these three areas where you can shift your work experience to one with stronger boundaries and a more enjoyable environment.
One – Create a Ritual: Beginning and Ending Your Work Day with Intention
The first is creating a ritual to reflect the beginning and end of the work day. To start the day, this can be as simple as turning on a lamp, lighting a candle, starting your diffuser, and turning on some music. Open your planner/calendar/schedule/journal, and review your day. Shift what no longer works and add in anything that is now on your radar. Now, you can start your day with intention, telling your mind, body, and spirit, that it’s time to go to work!
At the end of the day, do this all again. Review your planner to shift the schedule and note the tasks for tomorrow. Turn off all scent makers, lights, and music. Tidy up your papers, emails, and anything else that’s on your desk and not in its spot. So now you’re telling yourself that it’s time to leave work.
As a bonus ritual, put on some music, listen to a podcast, or go for a short walk to start and end your work day. This gives you some transition time to switch hats, release any yuck from the day, and step into your next role.
Two – Do a Physical Reset: Make Your Office Your Own
Whether you have an entire room to yourself or a corner in the living room, creating YOUR space is so very important. You want to have everything you need (and want) right there at your fingertips.
It’s time for a physical reset of the space. You want to make sure you have everything you want for your rituals, plus then layer in all of those functional items in a way that makes it feel easy. Meaning that if you like things tucked away, then figure out how to do that in your space. If you want things out at your fingertips, then arrange your containers and such where they are in reach and easy to access. Remember to make things beautiful as you go. It’s a space for YOU, so make it what you want! Shift your positioning with the windows and walls. Move things around. Don’t be afraid to shake things up.
One of the keys here is to clearly delineate the space as being separate from another shared space. Your office space needs to be yours and yours alone.
Three – Reflection: Looking at how you live and how that’s working is key.
The most important task to do is reflection. This is something you can do daily, weekly, or whenever it strikes you. The more you reflect on what you’ve set up and how it’s working for you, the more you can continue to refine it to perfectly suit you.
Reflect on what you’ve been loving in your space, with your time, in your rituals. And what you don’t. Are there things you’ve enjoyed before that you can bring back? Is there something that is bugging you that needs to change? Is your ritual solid enough that you are ready to add to it? Has life and/or work changed in such a way that you need something different now?
This reflection allows you to see how far you’ve come, take stock of what is working, shift what’s not, and move forward with clear intentions. The more clear your mind, space, energy, and time are, the more you will be able to focus on your work, living the life you truly want, and making it feel easy and fun!
Now you have the knowledge and power to create a special experience working from home!
These three tasks won’t take you a ton of time and they will give you the tools to shift your energy and your space for YOU! I wish you a beautiful next season. May you find your way there with ease and delight.
Jennifer Major
Professional Organizer & Digital Creator
Related Articles
