Last week, I released 10 Tips to Effectively Work From Home. This post looks at some tips from those within the aelf team who have been working from home for years, coming from many different countries. This could provide some varied advice as cultures and individual needs vary greatly.

When you started that new job, you wished you had this person who had done it all before you and could provide you with a list of tips to make your job easier. Well the transition to working from home is similar and can take some adjusting to get used to it. It is easy to build the wrong habits and before you know it, your health, mental capacity and productivity decline. At aelf, we’ve been working from home (remotely) for years and we thought we could provide a few top tips to get you off on the right track.

Tips from Zhuling Chen - Co-Founder & COO (Singapore)

Eat well

This is particularly important during these trying times, when you can’t go out to eat and have to do take-away all the time. Nutrients make a huge difference in our morale and productivity. Don’t go for the easy way of fast food all the time. Put decent food on the table, have some quality dining time and recharge yourself

Remember to exercise

All the online video exercise programs have become handy. Before or after work, clean up your workspace, set up your yoga mat, and do a half an hour workout with minimum space requirement (particularly true in Asia as we mostly live in small apartments in cities). A good exercise lightens up your mood and keeps you away from depression

Do video calls when possible

Thanks to technology, we can now talk to anyone virtually anytime we want. Seeing other people’s faces makes you feel less isolated. And you can show off your virtual background as well!

Tips from Dee Lee - Social Media Manager (Korea)

Be your own DJ! 

If you’re like me and become more productive with music, use this to your advantage. Make a playlist of the day to get you pumped up to work. While you work, sing along, get up once in a while to dance along and don’t forget to stretch regularly!

Tips from Joshua - Head of Content & PR (Australia)

Get plenty of Fresh Air

We all function much better if we have fresh air in the office. But this might also mean, taking a break for 5 minutes to stand at your window, on your balcony, or in the backyard. Breathing in and stretching can do wonders for productivity.

Get a good sleep

When working in the office, you always try to get a good sleep at home. While working from home this should be no different. It is easy to slip into a less regular or disciplined lifestyle, staying up later, getting up later. Keep a strict sleep schedule where you can.

Tips from Doris - Global Operations Manager (China)

Choose your own priorities

This is crucial: Don't let yourself be dominated. When multitasking, make a list of your priorities.

Create a sense of ritual

Start / end the day with some sort of routine, like getting ready for work. For example, check your schedule every morning, look at your To-do list, and then get to work.

At the end of the day, update your to do list for tomorrow and turn off the laptop.

Communicate With Colleagues

Timely meeting with team members to synchronize progress and information is very meaningful for team collaboration. Let everyone know what they are doing even if they are not in the same place.

Personalise for Yourself

Similarly to my previous post, If you do every one of these suggestions, you are not guaranteed to have the same productivity and efficiency as at the office, but on the other hand, some of these may not apply to your situation in order to maximise your work ethic. Working from home is very tricky, and everyone’s situation and personalities are very different, accounting for an almost endless variation to the best solution. What works for me might not work for the next person.

If you have any other tips, comment below to continue to help others improve themselves!