Adjusting to working from home has been a challenge for most people. We have rapidly had to learn how to remain productive without access to our carefully honed desk set-up and effortless social interactions with colleagues. For me and many of my peer group, an added challenge has been adapting to life within the limited space of our one-bedroom flats.

When your living room becomes your office, and your kitchen table becomes your desk, the line between work and home life can become increasingly blurred. I find myself slightly nostalgic for my cramped commute at the end of the day, with that half an hour providing not only a physical but mental transition from work to home. For those of us without even a commute down the stairs, or from one room to another, it can be hard to make the mental transition that is so important for our health and wellbeing.

I can’t claim to be an expert, and some days are more of a struggle than others, but after six weeks of combined self-isolation and lockdown I have developed some coping techniques. Below are my top five tips for separating work from home in limited space.

• Clearing everything away at the end of the day ensures that my kitchen table can be reclaimed for its intended purpose and helps me switch off from work rather than continuously thinking about my to-do list for the following day.

• With no commute to create physical separation between work and home, I have found that taking my daily allowance of outdoor exercise once I log off helps me to psychologically distinguish the end of the working day and unwind ahead of the evening.

• I have also been taking advantage of the fact that many of my favourite gyms and studios are live streaming exercise classes. Although the more enthusiastic HIIT classes are ruled out for the benefit of my downstairs neighbours, I have found that a yoga mat can be squeezed into even the most limited floor space.

• It is proven that breaks are beneficial for productivity, but it is still tempting to continue to work through lunch. I have learnt that getting away from my screen for a lunch break, even if this means eating on my sofa, helps me stay focused through the afternoon. 

• I have also become more appreciative of the space that I do have. I am lucky to have a balcony and, helped by the sunny weather, I have been making the most of this additional space. It has become multi-functional as somewhere to exercise, to read and to retreat to when my partner is on calls, and as a space to grow herbs for use in our ever more elaborate dinner menus.   

Further information

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