When I worked in an office I was unaware of the routines that were being subconsciously marked into my psyche, even before I’d left my home I’d entered into a daily rhythm unawares. When you work in an office the routine starts soon after you awake and continues until after you are home.
One of the joys of working from home is having the flexibility to slot things into your day, you no longer need to follow those structures, this is also one of the greatest dangers of working from home. Let me explain a little more.
Tip #1: Routine is good for us and you should seek to establish a daily routine.
While flexibility is sometimes good for us, the reality is that it is comes with a cognitive burden. Routine tasks do not require us to think, that is one of their characteristics. Have you even noticed how it can be difficult to get ready for the day when you are staying in a hotel. That’s not a difficulty you have at home. You know the morning routine where you live. Most people don’t have to think about the location of their toothbrush, they just brush their teeth. In a hotel, however, it’s something that you have to give thought to, you also have to think about what you do with your toothbrush once you’ve finished brushing. The pathways for you morning ablutions is built into your brain as a stored sequence of tasks that are simply followed.
You only have so much cognitive energy to give in a day, you want to use it wisely, and preferably doing things that add value to the role that you are undertaking. Having a set of routines, that don’t require us to think, frees up our brains for those activities where it’s really needed.
While we don’t have to follow the office routines when we work from home, I suggest that you do.
I’ve got tips for some of the specific routines, which I’ll cover later, but for now, some routines for you to consider:
- Going to work
- Leaving work
- Lunchtime
- Clothes and getting dressed
- Start of the day
- End of the day
- Focus time
- Refreshments
- Breaks
- Day plan
- Research and learning
- Administration
- Social conversations
You may, or may not, be in control of each of these routines, but I can guarantee that you are in control of some of them. Now imagine that you have to think through each one of these activities as a unique activity each day – exhausting. Routine takes that need to think away from us, and let’s be honest, most of the time, there is no value in each of these activities being different every day.
While I’m here I suppose I ought to talk a bit about how to establish new routines. The simple answer, for me, is to repeatedly do the same thing and eventually it will become the habit. Remember, there is no set number of times you need to do something for it to become a habit, we are all different in that respect. Sometimes we’ll just slot into a habit, at other times we’ll need to work through phases of discomfort before it fits. The point of a routine is to reduce your cognitive load, not to increase it, so there’s no point in stressing over a habit we find difficult, that’s just defeating the purpose of the exercise.
Until next time 😊
Header Image: Local evening light. This is a field close to where I live, somewhere I regularly visit on my routine morning walks.
New to Graham’s WFH Tips? Here’s a handy list to help you catch up.
- Graham’s WFH Tips – Some Advice for a Changed World (this one)
- Graham’s WFH Tip #1 – Routine is your friend
- Graham’s WFH Tip #2 – Wear Work Clothes
- Graham’s WFH Tip #3 – Put your Superpowers to work (but don’t overuse them)
- Graham’s WFH Tip #4 – Thinking Music
- Graham’s WFH Tip #5 – Enjoy You Spaces
- Graham’s WFH Tip #6 – Plan your first day back before you leave
- Graham’s WFH Tip #7 – Make Time to Stand Up and Get Moving
- Graham’s WFH Tip #8 – Lighten Up – you need more than you think you do…
- Graham’s WFH Tip #9 – Find your Social – It doesn’t have to be about work all of the time
- Graham’s WFH Tip #10 – Lift Your Focus and Feed the Birds
Graham Chastney 
10 thoughts on “Graham’s WFH Tip #1 – Routine is your friend”