6 Top Tips for Working from Home Successfully

My name is Charlotte O’Farrell, I work from home, and it works for me!

I wrote this piece about working from home for a wonderful publication called Your Elmbridge I have reposted it on this blog section of our website purely because I wanted to get a photograph of my Weimaraner dog Cybill onto www.cleancutmedia.co.uk! Read on and you will see that it is relevant (honestly).

I am the Business Development Manager at Clean Cut Media. My fantastic colleagues are producers, directors, editors, camera operatives and production managers and they are all based in Hampton Wick in Greater London. For nearly three years, I have been working from home.

Based on my experience I would like to share with you my 6 top tips for working from home successfully.

  1. Every morning, before I open my laptop to begin work, I step outside into my garden for a few moments. I don’t have a commute so it’s important to remind myself that there is a whole world out there. And here’s something I learned: “Exposure to natural light helps our bodies produce Vitamin D, improves our circadian rhythms and sleep patterns, helps us to focus, enables us to get more done, and even makes us happier” Cantifix
  2. There are so many wonderful locations to have productive meetings. Sometimes I meet clients at our offices to introduce them to the team and to tour our editing facility and sometimes I go to a client’s office. But very often, a place where neither individual works is best!
  3. Initially I though that I should work from my kitchen table – a light, bright space with a lovely view of the garden. However, my recommendation is to create a dedicated work space somewhere else at home. Your kitchen might be the hub of activity normally but it is probably full of distractions and you will have to move your work at the end of each day. Define your workspace and stick to it.
  4. I co ordinate the content for Clean Cut Media’s different social media channels. Social media is an incredibly dynamic and creative area of external communications, it is therefore important to be open to the bigger picture, and to draw your inspiration for content from the most unexpected places. Being away from the office gives me the right sort of headspace to produce quality content. You can find all our social media links on our video production website.
  5. Try turning off the radio when you work. I save the music, the news and the laugh-out-loud sketch shows for the end of my working day. That way I can give my work and my downtime my full attention.
  6. Step away from the laptop! Take a break as often as you need, it will pay dividends. I share my home with a beautiful Weimaraner called Cybill. Two 45 minute energetic walks with her give my energy levels a boost.

Photographer Nicole York tells us “Yoga balls and standing desks may have become a stereotype of the hipster office space, but there is a legitimate reason for this alteration in traditional office paraphernalia: sitting is bad for you,”.

Working from home isn’t for everyone, and it isn’t for every role. But if you do it already or are thinking about it, consider which key habits would underpin a successful day for you.

I would love to hear from you about your experiences working from home, reach out to me at charlotte@cleancutmedia.co.uk