Remote work was something I did much before the events of the last two years changed the world. Even when I worked at a digital marketing agency, I was always free to choose whether or not I wanted to work from home or the office. Most of the time, I chose the office.
It might sound absurd or unnatural to you, but I found the 1-hour commute quite relaxing and productive.
For me, this was the only time of the day when I could read, in the subway, uninterrupted. I could also grab some coffee and breakfast along the way and ease in the new workday. It was helpful to calibrate my body and mind that way – I also found the sense of structure comforting and purposeful.
Of course, when lockdown struck, I wasn’t given much choice anymore. We all had to work from home, plus my freelancing career was picking up, which meant I had to make more hours behind my home office desk. Don’t get me wrong, in the beginning, I, too, was ecstatic. “It should be a piece of cake,” I thought to myself.
I couldn’t have been more wrong!
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This is What Happens When You Don’t Have a Working Schedule In Place
I should have known that this lost track of time and structure I had before would make me unwillingly sluggish, distracted, and dare I even say – a bit lazy.
I took every opportunity to sleep in late, work from my pajamas in bed and do the occasional chore or two between tasks. Back then, I wasn’t well versed in catching this faulty behavior before it turned catastrophic. Still, sure enough – eventually, it did.
My sluggish and laid-back mentality started to show in my work, and my clients began to ask questions. At one point, I was drowning in work, and I couldn’t see any way out of the situation.
This was when I experienced the first major burnout of my life – and trust me, recovering from it was no easy task.
So, my advice? Don’t be like me!
Don’t think that working from home is as easy and magical as it may appear upfront. You need to put in the time and effort to restructure your workday and find the best formula for you. I encourage you to experiment but don’t take the subject too lightly either. If you structure your day right, you will reap plenty of benefits in the long term.
My (Im)Perfect Work From Home Schedule Example
Here is what my schedule looks like now. Hopefully, it will serve as an inspiration to help you craft your own.
6:30 AM – Wake up.
Come on, you can do it.
6:45 AM – No, seriously, wake up.
Hitting the snooze button won’t do you any good – you know how many things you have on your agenda for today. Your future self will hate and curse you if you sleep in, and then it’s up to it to deal with the consequences.
7:00 AM – Get your morning routine rolling.
Morning Routine
When I was but a toddler in the home office environment, I often didn’t bother to start my day the way I should start it.
Working from bed, not brushing my teeth until the afternoon, or not even bothering to stretch and drink a cup of refreshing water was the usual for me. At some point, I discovered that maybe this was why I was feeling so unmotivated and sluggish.
Then, little by little, I started pushing bad and unproductive habits away from my routine.
Do I want to scroll through Instagram for 30 minutes, or can I take a shower, brush my teeth, apply skincare, get dressed, and make coffee instead?
I even stopped working from my PJs a century ago – it doesn’t make me feel either productive or good about myself. Now, don’t get me wrong – even though I have experimented with my morning routine waaaay too much, I still don’t have all the correct answers.
At one point, it naturally evolved into the one I am currently using.
This is what it looks like right now:
- Put on some light music – I can never start my day without music. My usual picks are indie, jazz or Christmas jingled – depending on my mood and the season.
- Take a shower and brush teeth – If you read my example above, you probably know why this is so high on the list. I do these two together so I can save water (and time).
- Apply morning skincare routine – This isn’t something optional to me anymore. And honestly, my skin feels thankful for that.
- Get dressed – I usually reach out for something comfy yet presentable. I enjoy cozy sweaters and stretchy pants, so why not wear those when working from home?
- Make coffee – An essential for starting any day, I usually make a whole jug for easier refills throughout the day.
- Journal for 10 minutes – Before, I used to do meditation, but I have found that journaling is the medium that works best for relaxing my mind. I am a writer by nature, so it feels natural to opt for the pen and paper instead of crossing my legs on the floor.
- Read for about 30 minutes – A big part of me was sad when I stopped commuting because that meant my daily reading time was gone. However, I found a way to fit it into my schedule, making me more than delighted.
8:15 AM – Start working
I start my workday by checking my email and other communications and aligning myself for the day. Most of the time, this means I check my calendar and see what my schedule looks like.
8:45 AM – Deep work
After making sure I am on the right page, I am ready to dive right in. My experience shows that my brain is the freshest in the morning, which is why I prefer to handle tasks that I consider more challenging precisely at this time.
10:15 AM – Short break
I use my first break to refill on coffee and make some easy, healthy breakfast. I might also read some news or check my socials.
10:30 AM – Back to deep work
After giving my break something to munch on, I am ready to head right back in and focus on my biggest priorities.
12:30 PM – Lunch break
Every day, I spend my lunch break differently. If I have anything left from last night’s dinner, I might eat at home and watch something. Or I might opt to go outside for a walk and pick up something to eat along the way.
Now that we are on daylight saving time, I’m more willing to pick the second option. It gets dark depressingly fast, and often by the time I finish work, the sun has already set.
1:30 PM – Meetings
When I come back from lunch, I like to focus on meetings, and I deliberately push all my meetings to this two-hour window, so my structure remains intact.
Suppose there aren’t any meetings to get to. In that case, I focus on non-priority tasks and anything that doesn’t require my immediate attention. Sometimes this is as simple as cleaning my inbox to get to inbox 0.
3:30 PM – Short break
Here I make some tea (I am not a fan of drinking coffee in the afternoon) and pick up fruit to snack on. Again, I check socials and respond to any unanswered texts.
3:45 PM – Final work chunk of the day
Now it’s time to wrap up any remaining tasks for today and plan tomorrow. I usually check my calendar to see what’s coming up and mentally prepare for what’s coming. It’s a good idea to write down five priorities for the next day (in order of importance), so you can be better aware of where your focus should be. If you don’t manage to complete the full list – that’s okay. You can simply transfer some items to the next day.
5:45 PM – End the workday
Congratulations, I made it through yet another workday – and you followed it until the end. After finishing work, I usually take a walk and buy some groceries or meet up with friends.
There you have it – my rough routine when working from home. Use it or adapt it any way you see fit, I assure you I don’t mind one bit.
When you are composing your schedule, consider what kind of habits and interests you have. You might not be big on journaling or reading, so consider replacing these with other activities that make you feel productive and kickstart your day.
Experiment and note what works and what doesn’t. For me, it took me a couple of weeks to truly get to the schedule I currently run by. If you still need a little nudge, here is a planner I have put up – you might find it helpful.
This gorgeous 34-Page Hygge Planner promotes mindfulness, coziness, focus, and finding happiness in the little daily moments.
If you are ready to get organized without getting overwhelmed and doing that while enjoying some hygge atmosphere, this is the planner for you. Every day will be just an idea more beautiful than the previous until you turn your planning routine into a ritual of creating beauty in your life.
Do you already have a set home office routine? What does it look like? Feel free to share in the comments below.
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An aspiring wordsmith with a gift of understanding the intricacies of human relationships. When she is not busy wrapping up her Master’s degree in Social and Organisational Psychology, Snezhina likes reading, learning new languages, and capturing moments with her camera.
Leane Pothof
Wednesday 5th of February 2025
i luv this!But i thought i was the only one in the world who thought like this, so nice to know that i'm NOT!
RachelJo
Thursday 6th of February 2025
I've come to realize that there are very few unique experiences in this world which tells me we are never alone regardless of how we feel. I'm happy you enjoyed the post, thank you :)
Ginny
Monday 2nd of October 2023
It's actually a misconception about daylight savings time. It ENDS in the fall, so we go back to standard time. Daylight savings time is supposed to give us more sunlight in the evening during the summer. It starts in spring and we go one hour away from the more natural timing of the sunlight (hence why the sun is highest between 1pm and 2pm instead of around noon). It didn't change how many hours of sunlight we get in a day for summer or winter, so it's a pointless change in our schedules, especially because the summer evenings are already long because the summer daylight hours are long.