[Closed] Working from home - how to get mojo back?

Lunch time walk.
Regular breaks
Realize the world is poo poo and it's ok to step off the gas And chill out a bit (if you can).

Increase or decrease masturbation frequency until peak productivity achieved

See zoom danger **** thread

I haven't been WFH as long as you but for me.
#1. Try to chat with team members. May a coffee break meeting?
#2. I don't always WFH. I have started to visit my parents once a week. They look after my daughter so we interact a lot anyway. This may not be possible for you but you can always try something similar depending on your personal situation.

Morning or lunchtime bike rides (or other exercise) help me, as does closing the office door before dinner & not going back in until morning.

Yeah, team video chats and actually setting specific times for exercise and when "work" stops.

Also avoiding biscuits. Biscuits are the devil's crack. Delicious, delicious coffee and biscuits...

1 Always get dressed
2 Never eat at your desk
3 Know when it's time to 'go home'

And, as others have already said, exercise, break things up a bit and try to find some variety. If I've got a long call to be on when I don't really need to be in front of my screen, I take the call while walking around the fields.

I was more productive at home so did not have to work as late each night and was also getting disturbed less.

I set times for a morning and afternoon cup of tea and also lunch was at 12:30 on the dot, it broke the day up.

I walked around the block when on phone calls.

Spoke to my team on a Friday as a group for a 'coffee break'.

As above, accept it is not normal and it is ok to not just take it in your stride!

I'm in a very similar dynamic and have been struggling with this lately too. I spent a bit of time reflecting on it and have started a deck with some tips of what works for me. I'll share this eve/tomorrow once I've finished it

100% with you. As Uni staff I continue to be really really busy; but I have found a regular half hour walk has certainly helped. Some days are just bad though and I spend too much time on here!

ask one of your team to organise annoying social stuff.

Get folks to turn on their cameras (within reason. See posts #3 and #4 on this thread).

It might not just be a WFH thing.

I've been working remotely for over 7 years, it's definitely been more of a struggle recently.

I'm in a similar boat, I've found that finding the right routine helps. So, I start work at half eight, I tend to have a quick sandwich at lunch, possibly at my desk, and then have an hour off in the afternoon. In that I'll do something for 'me', which might be potter in the garden, watch some telly, not quite managed to be organised enough to get out for a ride yet but I should do at some point.

Then back to work, work till half five, log off, shut the door on the office. Means I work when I'm working, and don't when I'm not, if that makes sense. I'm just coming out of a period where I slipped from that routine, and I could tell that I was just drifting along.

1 Always get dressed
2 Never eat at your desk
3 Know when it’s time to ‘go home’

4 Wear special slippers and piss in your garden

Workplace romance?

4 Wear special slippers and piss in your garden

What Crocs for a mid morning garden slash?

Know when it’s time to ‘go home’

I've taken to setting myself "away" half an hour before "home time" half an hour to tie stuff up. the green circle of attention seems to distract people from the the fact its 1745 and it is not a good time to have a nice long chat about something.

I am exactly same and we set up a working group to look at this, which has fallen away as people are not being fully efficient with time (lol)

Good ideas were -all zoom/teams meetings are in diary for start of hour/finish on hoor or half hour but dont actually start till 5 past and finish at 5 to. This extra time is for chat, people to get a coffee etc.

Also rewarding yourself for finishing on time. Getting to go home from work is a great feeling but you dont get the same buzz working from home as you generally just move to another room! So set an activity, cycle, walk, game of COD on the playstation. Anything fun, anti work will do.

The clock change broke it for me. Until then I would look forward to 5pm to get straight out, either riding or a long walk with my dog. Since it's been dark at 5 I don't have something to plan/look forward to.
I'm trying to make the most of lunch hour, but not always straight forward.

Alexa helped me in the early days of WFH (I started about 3 years ago). Get a morning routine going. Ask for the forecast, ask for a fact of the day, ask for a joke and then get the radio on in the background. Set an alarm for the first coffee break.

My Wife takes a coffee break to coincide with the Radio 2 Pop quiz. I can see it makes a big difference to her and others in the company now have a teams IM chat during and after it. Takes about 10 mins total. I walk around the garden (assuming its not raining). If its raining I get a snack (pray for less rain, or I won't fit through the door soon.)

Have a fixed lunch break scheduled. Try and do something 'key' before lunch so you feel you have made progress. Break bit tasks down into small ones and look out of the window for 60 seconds between each of the small tasks (supposedly is good for the eyes as well). Bird feeders can work well if the location suits.

Channel hop on the radio. BBC Radio 2 and local drives me mad if its on all the time, but short bursts give a different feel to the day. I prefer Radio 1 first thing in the morning and after lunch as its a bit irreverent and feels a bit like office banter in the background, but all day it would wind me up.

Finally, try and work somewhere that you can walk away from or cover up. At the end of the day, leave and don't go back until the morning. Don't let work invade you life.

Get up, shave shower and shoot then get in your car and go and find a traffic jam. Join it, go round the block and rejoin. When you've had enough go home and feel grateful that you haven't had to endure an hour of that. Do the same at 5.30 if necessary.

I've been working from home since March, was much easier in the first lockdown as sat in the garden at lunch, walk before and after work with the dog, evening rides and a spot of fishing. Since clocks going back it has been much much more difficult mentally. especially since losing our dog.

Had been in a real funk for the last few days, but got up and went for a bike ride, came back feeling refreshed, but I know I have to work slightly later now, its a trade off I can do.

I downloaded a kettle bell app, so do a few 5 minute bursts during the day.
Lunches, I make sure I always make something healthy as I have the time. Todays is a wild mushroom pearl barely risotto.
Kitchen bits- I make something like brownies once a week, or I made chutney with the glut of apples.
Garden bird feeders- I can spend much of my day just watching them. Have you got somewhere to hang feeders? You'll find yourself watching them loads!

It has been finding little bits to break up the day, like at work I'd wander off to chat to colleagues etc. I'd now do something different at home.

Been WfH since March and nothing much to add to all the advice already mentioned. I do my exercise (workout, run or cycle according to a set weekly schedule) after work and it bookmarks the day nicely.

I also have the radio on but ration it (I can't properly concentrate when its on). So, I try and do more taxing work in the morning and then after lunch do more admin or straightforward work in the afternoon with the radio on which kind of demarcates the two halves of the day for me. I take a late lunch which means I've broken the back of the day when I come back to my desk in the afternoon too.

Also go out for a walk and/or a a quick coffee most days.

I don't really mind tbh it but not sure how I would feel if I was told that I have to do it for the rest of my career.

I tried WFH, it didn't work so I resigned. That fixed the problem. Only problem now is the weather is turning pants so riding my bike will be messy.

Looking back I should have done it months ago.

It’s not easy but these are the things that help me

Walk dog before work, important to get out of the house before starting
Run, ride or walk at lunchtime. Good to use the daylight
Tidy up and close everything down at the end of the day

Get a dog

I'm 8 weeks in to a completely new role, WFH and part of a team of trainees in the same boat. Life is a constant cycle of e-learning and Teams calls as we try to figure out the e-learning.

It's pretty soul destroying. 5 minute breaks every half hour, standing in the fresh air, and a quick walk round the block at lunch are keeping me going.

I think you need to work out what works for you so try a few things out. I'd largely disagree with a lot of what has been said. It seems most people seem to want to make it like being at work (eg rigid 9-5 with tea breaks, or getting dressed). That my help but for me WFH is much better than being in an office and I like to take all the advantages. I've been WFH for about 12 years. I like to work when I want to work, if that is at 7 am or 10 pm then so be it. If I'm not feeling it I can go and do something else and come back to it later. No need for boundaries between work and home, I like that I can move seamlessly from one to the other. If the weather is nice go for a ride. Take a walk to the shops. Sitting down in front of the TV of an evening and think, actually I can get a bit more done, then go and do it. I suspect if added up my hours they would be pretty normal but it feels like I work part time.

Same as Nickjb. Try and embrace the freedom it offers. Suns out today so I wont work as hard, raining tomorrow, I'll put some extra hours in.

And get a dog, or two.

The short answer is that WFH isn't for everyone. There's two types of people:

1) "I'm being left alone all day, it's great!"

2) "I'm being left alone all day, it's terrible!"

Fortunately I fall into the former category but many do not. One of my team mates is quietly going out of his mind.

I think I've adapted OK, didn't used to be a fan but mostly as I had little discipline so would end up watching a film (when just WFH the odd day here and there) :p But since the first lockdown I've been WFH and soon settled into it, I'm not a very sociable person anyway though which I guess helps.

I'm def working longer hours (used to work 7am-4pm, start time dictated by when the office opened and end time as traffic was a nightmare after 4pm so was always an incentive to get out the door). Now though I'm working 7am -5:30pm on average but that's mostly due to the workload increasing (security clearance requirements means it takes 9-12 months to on-board someone new so getting extra staff isn't a quick fix). Working on 5 or 6 projects at the same time instead of 2 or 3 means I'm less efficient to and my head's a mess by the end of the day. That's not really WFH related though.

Get up, shave shower and shoot then get in your car and go and find a traffic jam. Join it, go round the block and rejoin. When you’ve had enough go home and feel grateful that you haven’t had to endure an hour of that. Do the same at 5.30 if necessary.

Lol 🙂

I WFH most of the time now and I am crap at it. When there's a situation to deal with I work continuously until it's resolved, but when it is I have no motivation to do any of the more mundane stuff. I just about get away with it. Because I can, I do stuff like play video games during the day when I feel like it and work at night instead. Of course it doesn't apply to everyone, I am given a lot of leeway.

As for tips,

What's actually the problem? If it's genuinely this - finding the hours extending and efficiency dropping - how are you managing your time? If you sit at your desk at 9am and don't move till 5:30 aside from a sandwich at your desk at lunchtime then that could be the problem. It's OK to take breaks, there's only so long you can concentrate for and without the natural office interruptions it's tempting to just try to iron man it. Go make a brew, walk up and down stairs a couple of times to stretch your legs, take up smoking*, fuss any pets you may have. Do something else for a couple of minutes even if it's just gazing out of the window.

Assuming your boss is amenable, do you have to work office hours or is it habit? Are you more productive earlier or later in the day? I've always struggled with mornings even back when I was still at school so this is great for me. I started work at 11am today, but I was chatting with my boss's boss on Teams at 11 o'clock last night. Just be careful that this doesn't turn into working 12-hour shifts, you still need to manage your time.

If you're missing people, or honestly even if you're not, schedule regular team calls. We have two per week, we don't use video because frankly there ain't no-one on the team wants that, and the topics could be around work projects or a colleague's pressing need for guitar lessons.

(* - don't take up smoking)

I too have been WFH since March and I have mixed feelings about it. During the first lockdown I was working with a team that I know physically from the office so WFH wasn't too bad. I then changed assignments and have only met my new colleagues via phone an Skype which has been quite challenging.

Exercise is important whether that is a brisk walk or full on running / circuits. Either before or after work or at lunchtime, you need fresh air. So a typical day is get up, training stuff on and run or circuits. Then shower, get dressed (very important) and get fed. Don't slob around in your dressing gown, pyjamas or whatever, I find getting ready for the day helps enormously.

When you have a break, get a household chore done. Washing, bit of cleaning, change the beds etc. It's amazing how much you can actually do through the week. This has the additional bonus of freeing up the weekends.

Log off and walk away from your computer and use the time that you would have spent commuting to prepare a meal for the family. We've tried some great stuff while I have been home and had the time to make it.

It's easy to look at the negatives but there are some positives if you try and manage your time effectively.

#Edit do you have to work office hours or is it habit. This. Definitely this. If you can adapt your day to suit then do it.

Always, always get dressed.
Be strict in your hours. Know when you start, know when you finish and educate your colleagues that you're not available outside of those times.
Get outside for 20 or 30 mins at lunch.
I like breaking the day up in terms of my listening, I like lively music in the morning and something with talking in the afternoon.
Put a couple of Zoom/Teams calls in the dairy each week that are the virtual equivalent of an informal coffee chat. 30 or 40 mins to off load, chat and try to feel normal. Did one today and ended up spending 20 minutes talking about soup makers, it'll be some peoples idea of hell, but it's that informal interaction that I often miss.
Leave the desk for 10 mins every 90 mins. Stretch the legs, maybe go into the garden or just move.

Similar to all of the above. We have daily Meet calls with the team at 9.30am so everyone has to be dressed and ready. Don't be afraid to video call people to talk through work and also to just chat. I had a '5 minute' project call with our office manager yesterday that turned into a 30 minute chat and a bit of a laugh. You'd make small talk with colleagues if you were in the same building so take that to video calls too.

And with that, I am going for my lunchtime dog walk....

It seems like there are some really common experiences here.

My work (NHS) went bonkers from March and I'm just about to start my fifth switch of role. After the initial lockdown WFH-only approach, I decided that it would be ok for me to visit my very socially-distanced office within our building - not least because I was going back to a role that had teams in the building 24/7 and some visible leadership wouldn't go amiss.

Because my work calls now start at 08:00 and finish around 18:30, I've been trying to cycle to work before the first calls and then pop home before my afternoon / evening ones start. In that way, I break up what would otherwise be a 10.5+ hour day and get about 26 miles of riding in... albeit on tarmac. This is a pretty weatherproof arrangement, but it was a lot better in earlier in the year when I could hit the bone-dry trails during any breaks.

I've had to work 6 or 7 days per week when things really got bad, but my wife and kids are happier now that I'm around the house more overall and not travelling.

I pretty much only every interacted with colleagues / customers via Skype / Zoom when at work (as they were mostly all in different countries), so WFH isn't that much different.

OK, I miss the non-task related inter-office chat about random stuff, but I get to hang the washing out / clean out the hedgehogs etc in my coffee breaks, so swings and roundabouts.

I mainly work listening to music on noise cancelling headphones both in the office and at home...

I have taken the odd 2 hour break to go for a quick 60km ride in the sunshine and then worked late to make up my hours.....

Not that my job is very productive, but my thing is to get up an hour early and go for a ride.
If I just stumble out of bed and switch the computer on I feel like shit all day.
Not looking forward to a miserable winter, cos motivating myself will get harder!

Similarly have been working from home now since March and won't even be contemplating going back to the office until January according to leadership. If I do then join everyone else it will be one day a week and in light of the currect new lockdown it wouldn't surprise me if they extend it more. It definitely has it's challenges but tend to find I'm mostly in the camp of it being a positive thing. Other than the fact because of my clinically vulnerable status and living alone I do find I miss the human interaction some days. I've found that I'm definitely more productive first thing in the morning and can manage until about 2pm before I really start to lack productivity so because of this I tend to start at 8am and strike while the motivation is there. I have a break around 11ish to do my half an hour workout routine and then if work load permits I'll have another half an hour break in the afternoon to do some instrument practice but on both occasions I'm signed on and ready to stop if theres a bing of an email or message. Don't have problems with working over, once the time comes around it all gets turned off and I dont look again. Have managed a few times to combine both breaks into an hour break and go for a ride in the daylight which really helps with the work once I return because feel like I have to catch up/make up for it.

Similar here as a non-essential worker (defined by my employer!) I'm on WFH until Jan at least, but realistically probably much longer. (am non essential as work at a uni and don't have a role which supports students and income they bring)

Things that have helped me:
-Having a routine - currently doing morning quick routine of stretching, exercise (core etc), meditation, shower, breakfast, plan day, drink 2nd coffee etc.
-Planning my day in a more strictly scheduled way than i would have done previously. Helps to get tasks done.
-If the weather not awful, getting out on the bike. Even partially recreated my bike commute on Monday.
-Chopping logs in the garden at lunchtime - super effective stress relief
-Rehoming a cat. (nothing like empyting a litter tray is there?!)
-Doing the occasional social things with colleagues, like Friday beers online (but must be something you want to do, not just another zoom meeting)

Things that don't help
-Wife also working from home but only 3 days a week
-Social media distractions
-Working on a project between several different companies working together for the first time, so quite challenging without workshops in person etc.
-Personal motivation

Don’t be afraid to decline meetings.

I’ve found there’s been an explosions in having calls about all and sundry, and I’m used to being a remote worker in a globally distributed organisation. So much so, there’d be days where I would actually get any work done other than sit on calls all day.

So I’m fairly militant about declining stuff if it can be resolved by other communication methods such as email or chat, or pointing out that the reason there’s a gap in my calendar at 12 is because it’s lunchtime, not because I need another meeting.

I always struggle at this time of year. Since the clock change I have extended my working day, 8 - 17.30 but with a 1.5 - 2 hour lunchbreak when I either go for a ride or run. I spend ~7 hours a day in meetings, so I have blocked this in my calendar and just decline meetings if people try and book meetings in this time.

I can't explain how much this has helped - being able to see daylight more than 2 days a week is a huge improvement.

Since the clock change I have extended my working day, 8 – 17.30 but with a 1.5 – 2 hour lunchbreak when I either go for a ride or run

I'd been doing that since March, completely unsanctioned but my boss doesn't care as long as we deliver. All was fine until late September when one of the board tried to get hold of me while I was out for a ride, and noticed that I had a 2 hour booking in my diary every lunchtime... That got a bit awkward for a week or so then one of the agencies we use sent an email saying "To promote staff welfare we will be blocking 12-2 in everyone's calendar to give them a break from meetings and a chance to get outside during daylight" which was then picked up by the senior management as a great idea and all teams were encouraged to try to adopt this. Works for me!

Other stuff we're doing - encouraging at least one official chance each week for the team to get together to just chat rather than being work focussed, and having some times where everyone continues working but joins a call so any quick questions can be asked. Mostly it's just the sound of keyboards, dogs and traffic but that's pretty much what the office sounded like anyway. Oh and not using video for most calls except for the aforementioned chat session.

not quite managed to be organised enough to get out for a ride yet but I should do at some point.

If you've not managed it in +6 months I'd guess you never will...

I use to be up at 0530, leave at 0600 and at my desk for 0700 - and then leave at 1600 and home 1715-30.

Now I'm usually at my desk before 0630 and work through until I've had enough or (before the clock change) a twice a week ride from 1600. Now I'm back to taking a 2 hour lunch twice a week. I just book it out on my calendar as a 'private' session and no issues (my Manager has kids so he's booked out 0800-0900 most days).

Luckily I can ride straight out the house (today was 7 miles & 1,000 feet, pure offroad), but often take the gravel bike for the lanes etc.

For whoever mentioned keeping away from biscuits I've found that a large generic bag of mixed nuts and raisins (not salted ones) works for satisfying those sort of 'I'm bored so I'm going to search the cupboards for food' kind of moments.

Firstly, I think it's key to cut yourself some slack. I used to be ultra productive WHF, but somedays recently, even getting out of bed and logging in seems like a triumph. It's been a long, uncertain and stressful year which has taken a toll on most people, consciously or not. People haven't been taking leave so are tired, and there's no guarantee you wouldn't be feeling like this in the office too.

Echoing the others above, going for walks/run/rides at lunch help, especially if like me you're not a morning person so before work is out. Talk to your bosses too, I think WFH gives a degree of flexibility, so as long as you're not supposed to be in a call, taking a 2 hour lunch to go for a ride and working an extra hour later is probably fine. We've been told that, within reason, you're free to work when's productive and convenient rather than 'you must be at your desk between 9 & 5' as long as goals are being achieved.

Podcasts/radio in the office helps too, I used to only have music on, but the spoken bits kind of help with the missing human interaction stuff. Audio books too.

I've also found (where allowed - i.e. Scotland), meeting local colleagues or friends for lunch in a cafe/park really helps stave off the isolation feeling.

Lastly, chrome apps like Stayfocusd are great for nuking your web-based procrastination. Setting yourself set social media/STW breaks etc.

Taking the dog out for a walk first thing makes a big difference to me.

Also, noise cancelling headphones to block out the wife on her interminable HR calls.

Make sure you don't slip into working late.  Log off when you are supposed to and shove all the work shit back in your bag/box/shut the door on it.

I was thinking about starting a similar thread to this last night so perfect timing for me.
I've only been WFH for 2 months having been furloughed before but in that time I've gained about 5lbs and my general motivation is dropping.
I'm getting to the end of the working day having done less than 2000 steps and that's just either walking to the bathroom or kitchen for coffee/snacks. On a normal office based day that would have been nearer 6000 steps by that point just in natural moving around to talk to others, nip out to the shop at lunch etc.
As other have said, the change in clocks hasn't helped. The general darkness outside isn't appealing. But we're due to move house in a couple of weeks (currently living with family) so hopefully getting some privacy back and having our own place again will spark up some motivation.
If not then I'll be large enough by Christmas to put on a Santa suit without needing any padding.

WFH since March. I do get a bit fed up with it. Initially worked between conservatory and summer house, but missus then furloughed and I was getting disturbed - she sews alot, and a sewing machine next to my screen wasn't great.

Moved into the shed. At least I separate home/work. I do take advantage of an extended lunch a couple of days a week for an hour's bike ride, even more needed now with the shorter days. It does allow a bit of flexibility, can have a break and potter in garden etc, but weather not really helping.

Previous WFH experience was a day or two a week in a former life. That was fine.

These days it’s full time. It’s quietly killing me, but I have a responsible job so can’t let that show to my team or the wider business. A 30 minute lunchtime walk works wonders.

But the thing that’s really doing my head in is working in the same house as my other half. She’s an academic so there’s lots of teaching - I gave her the study after the first 2 months as the noise from her temporary desk in the dining room was unbearable.

What’s worse though is her previous inability to separate work and home life could, to an extent, be held back when she had her own office in a university 30 miles away. Now, it is pervasive and disruptive. I cannot escape her work stress, hassle and general wailing and gnashing of teeth. Combined with that, now the in-laws have taken self-isolation almost completely literally, I bear the burden of the majority of school/dance drop offs and pick ups. I love our daughter and am happy to run her around, but it is also disruptive to any sort of concentration or flow (for want of a less ****y word).

So I’m now rapidly considering spending the loft conversion savings on a “garden office”. For my wife.

Also been WFH since March. First 6 months was pretty hellish moving around the house to find a quiet space to work away from wife and child. Work announced it was likely to become a more permanent arrangement so I decided to sort a proper environment out. Did a semi garage conversion to move the Turbo into and did spare room up with a desk but also somewhere to stand and work which I try and do when just on Teams. Plants have recently been added to bring a bit of the outside in which has improved my mood.

Forcing myself to exercise has definitely helped even if that means just something outside a normal lunch break etc. I'm lucky enough I can be flexible and work hours as needed. Work have accepted the 'normal' working day is no longer applicable.

Still struggling with boundaries at the end of the day but getting better at walking away and closing the office door.

I WFH at start of first lockdown when our office was closed. Due to my current living situation I hated it, and started going back in as soon as the office was reopened. It’s far far quieter (often only 2 people in whole building) but means I can get on with stuff without distraction.
If I had a spare room to use as an office then I would undoubtedly be doing that and really enjoying it. Just can’t do it at present unfortunately, though as the current situation will no doubt be normal for the foreseeable future, it may change when I can afford to move house.

If you have a work mobile, can you link it to your emails/skype? That way you can do stuff like walks, shopping, gardening whilst still being available and avoid any guilt about not being at your desk.

Mark out an out of office or unavailable time every day in your calendar. People will learn that you're not available. Everyone else will be doing similar anyway.

As long as you're getting the job done I wouldn't worry about not being available every minute of the traditional working day. It's crazy that we have all this technology and progressive attitudes to mental health yet there's an expectation that we should be tied to a rigid hours which were probably based on clocking in and out of a factory and being constantly monitored by a tyrant.

Just think about the extra tax you could be paying for the privilege.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/11/staff-who-work-from-home-after-pandemic-should-pay-more-tax

Idiots.