Working From Home Tips
A few weeks ago I talked about the pros and cons to being a work at home entrepreneur.
Today I want to share with you some tips I have to help you work from home.
Get the right desk / chair set up
Oh my god, you guys. I have never had more headaches and back pain than last year (aka the first year I was working on my business full time). The way I was sitting was just asking for me to slouch so badly.
I recently decided that enough was enough and I need to get a better set up! No more elbow pain or neck pain causing me to stop myself from working (although sometimes that was a good reminder to get moving instead of sitting all day).
When you're looking for a desk and chair combo, you want to make sure that when you're sitting at the desk your arms are at a 90º angle – no more, no less. I realized that the reason I was having extreme elbow pain was because my elbows were bent way too much and I realized that wasn't ergonomically correct.
Here's what I'm currently using: desk + cubby | chair | laptop stand | bluetooth keyboard
Move every hour
If you have a FitBit or any other fitness tracker, it might be letting you know to get up and move every hour. When I first got my FitBit I thought this was annoying, but now I'm thankful for that reminder. FitBit recommends moving 250 steps every hour, at minimum. Some times that's all I get, but just moving that little bit seriously helps.
Schedule 15 minute breaks every hour and your body and mind will thank you for it. Seriously. You'll come back feeling less sore and more focused!
I originally typed this as I was using my moms treadmill (with a wood board attached to the hand bars acting as a desk). I have never felt so focused when working than when I was working with that set up. Now I'm really contemplating getting a treadmill just for the fact that it allows me to forget that I'm working out and I get so much more work done when I'm able to "fidget" and not let myself get distracted.
Don't let the chores distract you
The kitchen is easily the biggest pain in our house. We don't have a very good dishwasher here (base housing) so I end up washing 90% of the dishes by hand. I will either do the dishes in the morning if I wake up early, or I will have my breakfast and go to my office and tell myself that at lunch I will do the dishes during my "break".
Instead of taking breaks because the house is dirty, I take breaks when I need to move around or stop staring at my screen. During this time I will sweep or wipe the counters... something small that doesn't require me to fully stop working.
Make your office less bland
Because I live on base housing, I can't paint my white walls. I also happen to have a white desk and a majority of other white furniture. So, it's pretty boring in here. To help make it feel more my own I have added candles, succulents, a collage frame, prints from other artists around the room. I'm still working on adding more color to the office, but so far just this little bit has been helping me.
I also have a "second" desk if you will, that is in front of the window. I work on orders at this desk and it gives me something to look at. I recently put marble contact paper down on that desk and that has helped me feel like it's prettier and nicer than just a plain white cheap desk from Ikea.
Below are all of the places you can find Jordyn Alison Designs.
- Shop: cards, stickers, lettering worksheets, and more
- Blog: lettering tips, product announcements
- YouTube: lettering tutorials, small business tips
- Pinterest: lettering, military, small business
- Instagram: lettering and product updates
- Facebook: product news and updates
- FontBundles: fonts and svgs
- Creative Market: fonts and svgs
- Redbubble: my designs on stickers, mugs, and more
- Society6: my designs on rugs, towels, and more
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