Create transitional habits! 

People get very excited about the prospect of working from home. But what is often forgotten is that the daily commute disappears.

It may be that the time spent travelling from your home to your workplace was used to catch up with friends and family, plan your bedroom makeover on Pinterest, read a book, listen to music or sit in silence!

But when you work from home, the travel often transforms into the walk from your bedroom to your spare bedroom where your office is. Which is 10 steps or so.

Without the commute, where you have time to complete your daily ritual and transition into “work you” on your way to work or “home you” on your way home, you end up with very blurry lines.

It feels like “work you” and “home you” become one – and boundaries start to tumble down!

It becomes hard to stop working when it’s so accessible and hard to fully relax and enjoy the comfort of your own home.

The Solution = Transition Habits

Alongside creating your designated Work Sanctuary, it’s important to re-build habits and rituals that symbolise the start and end of your working day!

These habits need to be aligned with how you want to feel and also aligned with what brings you joy. You won’t complete them if they feel like hard work or they make you feel mediocre!

So I know we may have more “yous” that work and home, but let’s keep it simple here…

Transitioning to “Work You”

Picture this… you wake up, complete your morning routine, get ready for the day and then walk to your workspace. Your commute from where you get ready to your desk is likely less than one minute. 

So, I recommend that you create a new habit or ritual as you get to your workspace that symbolises – “It’s time for work, baby!!” – or whatever you choose to say to yourself.

Firstly, connect with how you desire to feel as you start your day working. It could be inspired, creative, motivated, joyful…

And then choose a task that you can complete that enables you to feel this way instantly.

It could be…

• Connecting with your goals + daily intentions – firing you up for what you will create/achieve that day
• Reading affirmations – connecting with the words, phrases and emotions you link with your professional self
• Power dressing – choosing the colours, textures, materials of what you wear to symbolise the badass business owner that you are
• Motivational sounds – playing a song (perhaps your theme song!), video, podcast or music that anchors you into the moment and prepares you for a kickass day

Transitioning to “Home You”

So, you’ve had an amazing working day, achieved your goals and feeling high-vibe. You feel unstoppable… and you find it hard to stop.

Firstly, it’s important to set a time to end your working day. Schedule this time in your plans and aim to complete your day when this time comes. Anything not achieved, can be completed tomorrow!

Still, it is very likely that work matters will be buzzing around your mind and will impact on your evening. So it’s important that you create a new habit or ritual that symbolises the end of your working day and calms your mind.

Again, the first step is to connect with how you desire to feel as you step into your evening. It could be relaxed, calm, peaceful, present…

And then choose a task that you can complete that enables you to feel this way instantly.

 

It could be…

• Daily reflections – close the day by spending 15 minutes reflecting on what went well, what did you learn and what are the focuses tomorrow
• Move your body – go for a walk or a jog, practice yoga or simply stretch your body
• Change your clothes – if you have power dressed for the day, changed into something more relaxing and physically remove the day and step into cosiness
• Mindfulness – meditate, visualise or treat yourself to breath-work to calm your mind ready for a relaxing evening 

Get Started Today

All you need to do is choose 2 short activities to complete daily to create a habit that transitions you while working from home.

What will you be introducing to your daily rituals? x