Our homes are designed for sharing time with family, resting, recharging our batteries, inviting friends round and feeling good.
However, since the pandemic, our homes have also had to accommodate the work aspect, even though nothing lent itself to this.
We've had to equip ourselves, somewhat neglecting the primary functions of the rooms.
However, today we understand better the importance of having a working environment at home that encourages the desire to work there.
What is a good working environment at home ?
An environment is dertermined by the lifestyle habits you establish in it.
Let me explain: a sofa is designed for relaxing, so as soon as you sit down on it you know it's for watching television or reading a good book.
A dining table is basically for eating alone or with the family, or for playing a board game.
A desk is for your administrative or professional work.
When you start to mix things up and end up using your dining room table as your office, that's when your brain loses its bearings.
That's why it's been very difficult for some people to enjoy teleworking, as they haven't had the leisure to create a work environment conducive to productivity, switching between their dining room table and their sofa while feeling the discomfort of not being as productive as they would be in the office.
This problem is largely linked to habits that you established in your home before the pandemic, but which you now need to rethink in order to incorporate Home Office.
How to create good habits to work from Home ?
New habits are put in place by creating new "triggers".
As soon as a trigger is activated, your brain goes on automatic pilot to move on to the next stage.
Let me give you an example: every morning I open the wall-mounted secretary, switch on my Mac, prepare my coaster and my coasters and go and make myself a nice cup of coffee.
I know that this ritual tells my brain: "Ok when you come back you start working" and I don't wonder when I go into the living room to make my coffee, if I'm going to sit on the sofa to watch a series because my trigger is very clear to my brain. Every little step of a new habit is important, sometimes the little steps can seem like a big effort at first, but only if every day you flesh out your "baby steps" will your trigger become clear to your brain. Did you know that the process of a bad habit is the same and can be avoided?
How to make bad habits difficult to do?
According to James Clear, a bad habit can be made difficult to achieve if you give yourself the means.
In his book "Nothing can change everything! "which I highly recommend, he explains that human beings are basically lazy.
So if you want to get rid of your bad habits, they have to become difficult to do.
Let me explain, if you want to reduce the amount of time you spend watching television each day, you can decide to unplug the television after each use, remove the batteries from the remote control or hide it. All these little actions could discourage you from watching television, especially if you have a book you'd like to read close at hand. The choice will be quick.
I'm going to draw a parallel here with seeing your desk permanently in front of your eyes when your working day is over.
If you see your computer in your living room or bedroom all the time, what will trigger it in you ?
I see my computer screen -> 'trigger', I've just remembered that I forgot to send an email to my colleague so I turn my computer back on to work even though my working day is over. As a result, I find myself tapping away at my computer at 9.30pm when I was supposed to be having a relaxing evening.
If, on the other hand, your screen and everything to do with work are hidden away or in a closed wall secretary, there will be no trigger and you can spend an evening relaxing on the sofa.