The 5 Biggest WFH Mistakes

(and how to fix them)

If you had just torn down an old house and started building a new one, would you keep it the same? Or would you think about all the things you want in a home and start making improvements?

A lot of people were thrown into working from home in a panic, so it’s understandable that we didn’t get much of a chance to thoughtfully design our setup. But now that we’ve settled in and recognize that we’ll be staying here for a while, it’s time to put some thought into designing and organizing our spaces.

After several hundred conversations with people about their challenges adapting to working from home, we have summarized the top 5 mistakes people make and offer the remedy to fix them.

Mistake #1 – Using the same desk and chair you did in the office. Your office setup is the way it is because it’s practical and cost effective, not because it’s the best way for you to work. Your body needs regular movement to be healthy and happy. So ditch the arbitrary desk and chair, and create a more dynamic setup. Your body will thank you.

Remedy: 3 Position Cycle. Create 3 positions that you can work in and make sure you can transition easily from one to the other. For example, sitting, standing and lounging. If you spend 33% of the time in a chair, 33% of time standing, and 33% of the time on the couch, you’ll be far better off than if you were spending 99% of the time in an office chair.

Mistake #2 – Always being on call. I don’t need to tell you that constant pings and messages and calls stress you out, you know that already. This stress is amplified when working from home, so we need to put in an extra effort to mitigate it.

Remedy: Time Boxing. You should have three ‘modes’. 1 – working and available, 2 – working and unavailable and 3 – self-care time. The key with this strategy is sharing it, making it obvious to the people you work with which mode you are in. For many, it’s as easy as using the status updates on Slack. For others, it can be done by email (“Hey everyone, this is how I work through my day..”). People won’t be upset when you don’t respond immediately if they know what you are doing.

An advanced form of this mode working is the Pomodoro technique. Look it up.

Mistake #3 – Ditching the ‘commute’. Most of us have realized by now that we actually miss our commute. Our subconscious used the time to switch between modes of work and personal lives. We need to create a ritual to give us that transitional time.

Remedy: Transitional rituals. They can be virtually anything. A book, a yoga session, a smoothie, a coffee, a walk or run or cycle. Anything but reading emails and getting into work prematurely. Practice keeping that ritual for a month and you will covet that time between waking and work, and the freedom that comes with detaching after a straining day.

Mistake #4 – Buying ergonomic equipment you don’t need. I estimate that 60% of ergonomic office gear is superfluous. A lot of us buy office gear without much thought to our specific needs. We are swayed by what our co-workers get and by marketing pitches.

Remedy: Consult an expert. Ask your chiropractor, physiotherapist or similar what would serve you best in your context. It’s also helpful to consider the impact of a piece of furniture by an important criteria; will it have you moving less or moving more (we want the latter).

Mistake #5 – Being too flexible. Mass transition to WFH has brought about all sorts of nuanced challenges. Employers want to do everything they can to support you and keep you engaged. Good intentions sometimes backfire, and a lot of people are now subject to a plethora of virtual social events on top of all the virtual work time. To make matters worse, meetings go longer, work takes longer, and we have extra life stressors because of the state of the world.

Remedy: Protect your boundaries. Practice standing up for yourself. It’s like a muscle that gets stronger. “Sorry I have to go take some personal time” is not as hard to force out the third and fourth time. Take your lunch time. Go for that walk at 5pm sharp.