7 Tips for Working From Home During Lockdown

Mikael jokes that he is a guy who has spent 35 years trying to avoid "normal" jobs. So he might be the guy to listen to about tips for working from home during lockdown. Some people can easily work from home - others find it difficult. But many people are doing it during the covid/corona crisis. Urban designer and host of the urbanism tv series The Life-Sized City - Mikael Colville-Andersen - offers up seven tips to working from home that hopefully will make it a more productive experience.

Life-Sized Living.

0:00 Intro to working from home
1:39 Got to work! Get dressed for work. No sweatpants!
2:39 Physical and mental separation of work and home
5:15 Choose a stable location to work from
6:07 Establish a routine and stick to it. Start work at the same time each day
7:52 Make a to-do list
8:18 Keep your social life in the same time frame as you normally do
8:42 Don't feel guilty if you sleep in once in a while
9:18 Don't get distracted
10:13 Get out in the morning before you "go to work"
11:58 Remember to STOP working!

[pappy]

Thank you Michael.
Some really good types.
I'm out of the city (Dublin) now due to C19 so I'm in the car dependent countryside and miss my urban cycle to work.
From Monday a 5km 'commute' will start my day beautifully.
Thanks again.

[jabsyou]

I'm an urban designer based in Birmingham, UK and I can say distractions are the biggest challenge for me! I try to allocate time in the morning to get urgent jobs, meetings done and allocate the afternoon (when I'm a bit more tired) for creative time and learning if I can. Routine is key.

[rostislavsvoboda]

I've been working from home exclusively for about last 1, 5 years and I've been doing things and organizing my space quite the opposite way you recommend. I go to bed between 2 and 5 am and I let myself as much rest as my body and mind needs. (~8 hours) The separation of space for eating, working, chilling etc. - I have it a waaay less rigid. And yes I do have my routines but they don't last longer than 3 to 4 weeks. Most importantly the "don't get distracted" part at 9:28 - quite contrary, instead of resisting an urge to polish a mirror or scrub tiles I do it. I know that after some 15 - 20 minutes I'll be back at the desk doing something productive having my mind rested. It's the time away-from-keyboard when my mind is solving problems efficiently. I literally get the best ideas in my sleep. More precisely when I'm at about 4/5 of my sleep time. And I've been repeatedly realizing this over past 10 years or so.

[BobcatSchneidermann]

Super useful. Wish I had seen this two months ago!
Tak for hjælpen :-)

[nothke]

_Watches this video while working_
DON'T GET DISTRACTED!
Oh..

[hmidlashkham]

Great advice. I've been struggling with this a lot and I think the stop working at a specific time part is going to prove the most useful. I allow myself to get distracted because I keep seeing sunlight and thinking hey, I still got time.

[kaca]

Oh, I thought this would be a video on how get work-from-home jobs within urbanism. Would you do this one as well?

[roucoupse]

I regret to disagree. You should live the opposite way and work without any routine.