16 Ways to Have a Happy Work from Home Day (Everyday)
We’re all after an easier, happy and more fulfilling day. Well, it’s easier said than done, right? There were some small tweaks that we made recently to our schedule that has made a vast difference in how we approach our work (and heck, how we approach each other). So if you’ve been in a little bit of a brain suck lately why don’t we share with you some ways to get you out of that!
Workout before you start your day
It all starts before you even step foot into your office or work mode. We’ve found that by heading to the gym (like Abagail does) or doing a quick Pilates video (like Emylee does) we are able to be more clear throughout our day. When you workout in the morning your body is energized for the day because it literally wakes up certain hormone produces. By starting with a quick workout you’re setting a positive tone for the entire day.
Clean your desk (the night before)
If you spend just 5 minutes when you wrap up your work day cleaning your office and tidying up your desk you’ll help your next work day start off even better. Put papers where they belong, pens in containers, snacks back in the kitchen and socks off the floor. A lot of us work from home so it’s especially easy for us to leave things scattered, but treat your office space (whether you have a dedicated room or corner) like it’s a traditional 9-5 and clean up!
Have plants in your office
Plants literally help us breath! Whether you’re a green thumb or not you should consider adding a few plant friends to the mix. We love Fiddle Leaf Figs, Rat Tail Cactus, Aloe and Succulents (all low maintenance plants!).
Have a morning meeting
Whether you’re a solopreneur or you’ve got a team, a morning meeting is a great way to start the day. This is something we’ve recently added into our morning routines and it has truly been a game changer. We spend about one hour on Monday morning planning the entire week and catching each other up from the weekend then we spend about a half an hour Tuesday-Friday touching base first thing. This helps us stay on the same page, know who’s doing what and insures we don’t forget anything! If you’re a one-woman team you can still have a morning meeting. Just spend thirty minutes to an hour planning out your week and day. Assign dates and time frames for things to get done and sort by priority. Don’t do anything else during this time frame except plan!
Diffuse some oils
Sometimes you need a natural pick-me-up or kick in the pants. Maybe you’re in launch mode and stressing out or you’re in writer’s/creators block and need some inspiration. We love diffusing Essential Oils like Joy, Stress Away, Envision and Lemongrass to help boost our day. It helps us get in a positive mindset to tackle our to-do list. (But you can learn more about that here).
Get a dog
But for real. We work from home and get to see, cuddle and talk to our furbabies all day. Yes, we have full on conversations with our puppies #noshame. Even as a twosome we still work alone in our own offices so it’s nice to have another breathing thing in the room with us. Heck, they even help us get out of the chair every once in a while to let them out. They say just looking at your dog will instantly make you happier, no joke.
Only check your email twice a day (at a max)
This is another thing we recently enacted and we love it! We check our email first thing after our daily meeting and give ourselves only a half hour to respond and “deal” with our emails. Then we don’t check it again until about 4:30. This is helped tremendously because we used to let ourselves get so distracted by a new email. We felt like we needed to stop everything right then to respond or deal with that person and it was a super time suck. You don’t even have to check your email this often if you don’t want! We know some people who take days off from checking their email, but we’re not quite there yet.
Have a full bottle of water at your fingertips
Dehydration makes you tired and want to snack, so prevent it with a full bottle of water right next to you. We love our Swell bottles and have them in multiple colors all over our desk!
Get a comfy chair
We have to say this might be the biggest game changer for our entire day! We were getting icky, achy pains in our lower back and shoulders just because we were in a crappy chair. We spent a little money and found ourselves one that is totally eye catching and comfy. No one can have a happy day if they have a constant ache in their body!
Surround yourself with things you love
Whether it’s framed prints, an inspiration board, or knick knacks on your desk surround yourself with things you actually like looking at. As creatives we are inspired or drained by our visual surroundings. Even if you don’t have an entire room for you office consider sprucing up your work “corner” to make your day happy. Brighten it up, add some color and personality and you’ll be good to go.
Get some sunshine (outside)
Anytime the weather is nice we try to take our work outdoors. Maybe we can have our client call while on our back porch or write that email down at the park. Sunshine is good for your skin and your happiness hormones. It’s recommended we get at least 30 minutes a day of sunshine for good health so step outside!
Get some sunshine (inside)
We know sometimes the day gets away from you or you just can’t do your work outside. Consider moving your workspace near a window that gets good natural light (Southwest or West facing windows are the best). Widen the curtains and open up those blinds! Let the light in!
Use food for fuel
It’s really easy (especially if you work from home) to snack, snack, snack on unhealthy things. Remember to try and use food for fuel instead. Use foods that can get you more natural energy and that will fill you up with substance rather than fluff. Emylee starts her day with a smoothie bowl loaded with fruits and veggies and it sets the tone for the entire day of good food choices.
Get organized
The #1 happiness stealer is disorganization. When you’re able to plan things out, write it down, see it on paper and track your results you’ll gain tons more clarity. We personally use our own materials inside our member’s only program called the Biz Chic Co-op. Those worksheets and guides have helped us track our numbers, plan new content and check off goals. Hello happy dance!
Take a walk
Get your body moving! This is something we still need to get better at, because it’s so easy to stay sitting behind your computer all damn day. Move those muscles, crank out those bones and get some blood flow. Taking a walk also helps us brainstorm and gain clarity if there’s a trick project we’re trying to plan. You never know where you next breakthrough will come from!
When you shut down, shut down
This one hits really deep, man. After we check our emails at the end of the day and respond to who we need to at the time we shut down. Like, yup that’s it, off of work kind of shut down. There is no drive home or no clocking out so we’ve got the be extra careful to not take out work outside of work. Sure, there might be another Instagram post, but we won’t respond to clients or talk about new content after hours. It’s really helped us approach the start of the day fresher instead of feeling like the day before never ended.
We want you to have the best day ever, every day. We know it’s easy to get in funks as a creative business owner, but if you start adding in some of these steps you can start to make your day a little brighter. We know you can do this. We believe in you and your passion.
Let us know what you do during your day to make it happier! Make sure you’re following us on Instagram and leave a comment on our last post telling us all about it.
