As so many of us can relate to, working from home while raising small children is quite the balancing act. For our own Dominique McMullan — who operates off a hybrid model — dividing work time from down time and business from pleasure is an absolute essential.
Since remote working became a more readily available option, the working world has changed completely. If you are yet to perfect your own at-home office set-up, we’re getting some tips from those in the know.
From daily to-do lists and a warm cup of coffee from her tiny blue cafetiere to blue light glasses and go-to lunches, read on for an insight into Dominique’s WFH routine, interiors, tips and tricks…
Good lighting. I find on a gloomy day it really helps my mood to turn on my little lamp and light a candle. Also a good selection of pens, a little notebook, a nice hand cream and a plant!
A cup of something warm.
I have a photo of my eldest son – my youngest is one-year-old and I still don’t have any photos of him printed! Complete second child syndrome there! I also have a few little relics – a smiling Budda, a Portuguese chicken nativity and a little silver elephant. All have meaning despite being, admittedly, quite weird!
My to-do list is essential each day. I write down the three things I want to achieve that week and make sure to keep going back to them. It’s so easy to get swept away by emails and other people’s to-do lists!
I send them off to creche in the morning with a smile!!
Yes, I have a tiny blue cafetiere that I love (and is falling apart!). I make my coffee in that and drink it while sitting outside on my bench and taking five minutes to think in the fresh air.
Oooh good question. Either a nice rice bowl, a veggie burger or something with eggs. It’s such a perk being able to cook a nice meal for lunch.
I try and do phone calls when I can feel like I need to move around, rather than a Zoom or an email. You can’t beat chatting to someone face-to-face but a phone call is a close second.
INSTAGRAM. I am awful for scrolling through Instagram, who isn’t these days? I block out half hours on my iCal and I get notifications when I need to start working on something different, that usually snaps me out of whatever I am procrastinating in!
I think getting up and walking around every 30 mins or so is the best way to prevent any of that. I also occasionally wear Ambr blue light protecting glasses (when I remember!)
I am quite good at closing the laptop and being able to turn off. I kind of have to as it’s at that point I have to go and collect the boys and until their bedtime there isn’t a chance of any work happening!
I love WFH on some days, but other days I love being in the office. That’s the great thing about working flexibly – different types of work require (and benefit from) different environments. When I am at home I can get a lot of writing, strategic thinking and planning done. When in the office I can think creatively, I can brainstorm and complete small tasks through conversations rather than reems of emails.