I’m just coming off my maternity leave, and with the big re-location as well as a now 9-month old, my work life has and is changing a little. I’ll be working from home a lot more than ever and with this I have finally finished my little snug /workspace in our new house with the help of Land of Rugs.
Moving away from London, where the 90% of my freelance makeup work was, has opened and closed different doors for me now. The makeup industry over the last 15 years served me SO well, and I have worked one some amazing projects, with fabulous talent and stunning locations. It’s allowed me to travel from London to Paris and Italy and I’ve seen some of the most insane things and crazy goings-on that I swear I could write a book about! I love makeup and I still am doing a few bits with my bigger clients (London is only 3 hours door to door) but I will be working a little in social media management and of course, on my blog a lot more.
I have been working freelance for so many years now, that it’s not daunting for me being on my own, running my own business as such, it’s more just taking a step in a different direction that I need to adjust to.
Working from home has definitely it’s positives and negatives and I’m trying to do my upmost to make it as easy and productive as possible. With the bigger space we have now, I’m lucky to have an area I can use solely like an office-space : before I would do all of my blog work off my lap in the lounge whilst Netflix continually played in the background foreground. I found I was about 40% productive so I wanted to step away from that set-up and have something a little more focused, work-friendly and conducive to a more productive day.
The entire downstairs of the house is tiled or wooden flooring (hello high-risk flood area), which is great aesthetically, and I do like it *but* it does look a little cold in some areas and my work snug was in desperate need of a little bit of cozying and comfort.
I chose this grey rug from Land of Rugs which I put down just last week and it’s made such a difference. Not only does the rug feel better underfoot but it kind of sections of my little corner workspace from the rest of the room which is an open-plan dining area.
I wanted a contrast from the deep grey stone tiles so I chose something lighter and I like that lived in / slightly worn look which I why I chose this particular design. Land of Rugs do SO many designs, sizes, styles and budgets that you will find something to suit your home and taste. The quality is great, it’s very hardwearing and most importantly Hilda and Herman have both taken to it so I have 2 fluffy friends always nearby when I’m working.
TIPS FOR WORKING FROM HOME
By no means am I an expert, but these are a few things that have helped me become a lot more productive whilst working from home.
1.) Set work hours. As you would if you were going to an office job, set up your working hours and stick to them! I obviously have to work around Margot a little, but I very much try to start at 9am until about 3pm. I know some successful bloggers who get up at 5am to get sh*t done, and work around their day-to-day jobs.
2.) Take breaks. My coffee machine is my pal and I again, stick to break times for coffee and lunch. I also try and have my lunch outside if it’s nice to get some fresh air and vitamin D.
3.) Workspace. Set up and area that is conducive to good work productivity FOR YOU. This is different for everyone so just make it work for you. I have a desk in my makeup room but I *cannot* for the life of me get anything done upstairs although for some, it’s probably the perfect work set-up. I prefer a more causal coffee table / sofa situation, and I like being amongst ‘it’ a bit more in the living space downstairs. Some people work well surrounded by people and noise, whatever gets your creativity and work flowing.
4.) Social media switch off. Ok this possibly makes ZERO sense if you are working in social media and/or blogging and anything related *but* switch of the unnecessary stuff, the non-work related stuff. Stop going down the insta-black-holes where you end up 20 minutes in looking at Calvin Harris’ dogs Instagram account (it’s @boris_thegolden and it’s fabulous).
5.) Love a list. My second favourite thing in the world after Herman : writing a list and ticking off those points. Juggling so much, for me, can be really hard and I can find myself being distracted and trying to do 4 different tasks at once. Writing a to-to list every single morning keeps me on track and it also gives instant positive vibes when you start crossing off all the things you have accomplished.
What do you think of my little snug / workspace area? Would it work for you? I do have a TV at the side but I only have the news on in the background muted. Thanks to Land of Rugs for hooking me up with this pretty rug to finish my workspace of dreams. Now let’s hope I can make it all work!
*Post in collaboration with Land of Rugs.
