Five Tips for Working From Home During Quarantine

Quite alot has happened since my last blog on the first day of spring! Since then, we have been in quarantine here in Philadelphia due to the coronavirus and we are currently in the middle of Week 4. The first week of the quarantine was definitely spent trying to figure out a routine and what worked best for me. It honestly took time for me to get into a routine and honestly, what works for everyone will be different. But I just wanted to share with you all what’s been working for me and I would love to hear from all of you on what’s been working and how everyone is holding up (comment below!!).

I also created an imagine that you can pin with an example of my Monday-Friday schedule! It’s so important to have a routine. For me, it brings me mental clarity and I find myself being so much more productive. I am able to get everything that I need to done and have time for hobbies and hanging out with my hubby (it’s his birthday today by the way!)

For those of you that are new here, I do have a corporate full time job in Finance with a huge company located in Philadelphia so figuring out how to work from home without being distracted was crucial for me. The mistake that I made initially in the first few days is I would sit the kitchen on our kitchen island and literally be snacking all day. So once I moved my laptop and files into our home office I was finding that I was wayy more productive and snacking less (double win!).

How is everyone holding up? What things are you doing to stay productive?

Five Tips for Working From Home During Quarantine

Create a Schedule
Having a schedule is soo important! If you’re like me and get distracted easily, it’s much more time manageable to get things done if you have a schedule that you can adhere too! Usually at the end of each day I will make a schedule for the next day. Similar to the image above (make sure to pin it and refer back!)

Get Dressed
I find that when I am dressed I am so much more productive! So if you’re like me, change out of your pj’s and into “work attire.” On days where I workout at lunch time I make sure to brush my teeth and wash my face first thing in the morning and change out of my pj’s!

Limit Distractions
It’s so easy to get distracted especially if you don’t have a good set up. What worked for me (and I learned this the hard way on the first few days) was to stop sitting at the kitchen island and infront of the tv. I set up my home office and it’s been working great because there are minimal distractions. You’ll find that you’re so much more productive and can get things done at a much faster pace. For me, this means I get to spend my free time doing other things that I enjoy!

Take a Break
It’s soo easy to get lost in what you’re doing. I like to take a break half way during the day which is why I workout during my lunch time. I’ve found some amazing 30 minute HITT Cardio YouTube videos that have been working pretty great for me and I know alot of gyms are doing virtual classes! I highly recommend these two workouts from YouTube: 30 Minute HITT Cardio and this 30 Minute HITT Cardio with Abs. Other things you can do is to take a walk and get some fresh air especially if it’s a nice day outside! Make sure you get up and stretch every hour.

Set Rules/Boundaries
Living with another person can also be very distracting. Make sure to set some ground rules and boundaries with your partner. What works for me is that I shut my door if I am working on an important deadline or if I am on a work related phone call. I sit in the office and my husband uses the downstairs space to do his work.

Cozy Living Room Decor for the Holidays

Living Room Decor:

Sectional: Ikea (Similar) / Velvet Pillows: West Elm / Fur Pillow: West Elm
Lumbar Pillow: West Elm (Similar) / Cozy Throw: West Elm
Area Rug: Joss & Main / Coffee Table: Joss & Main / Coasters: Pier 1
Decorative Platter + Balls: Pier 1 (Similar) / Glitter Christmas Tree: Old
Lamp: Homegoods / Sidetable: Homegoods

My Outfit:

Fringe Cardigan: Madewell / Long Sleeve V-Neck: GAP / Jeans: JCrew

Here is the first look at our living room for the holidays! My husband and I live in a Philadelphia row home which we moved into a little over a year ago. The homes in the city of Philadelphia are narrow but very tall (to put it into perspective). I just love the way our living room turned out.

Over the past year my husband and I have been slowly decorating our home. Immediately when we moved in last year we bought all the bigger items such as furniture and have been slowly layering in pieces when it made sense.

My goal for this space was to create a cozy atmosphere but without being too "girly." Seriously if I could, I would decorate the living room in tones of white, pink, gold, and fur accents. But it was very important to me to find a balance between my style and my husband's. I also wanted to keep the living area neutral because the living room leads into our kitchen on the other side of the first floor. I started off furnishing the living room by ordering the sectional and are rug. We then found this painting at At Home while we were down in Virginia for a weekend and it really helped to pull the gold and blue accents together. The last touch were the lush velvet pillows and the cozy fur pillow which the people over at West Elm in Center City were so nice to help me with.

It was also important to have a side table with a lamp because using all the bright lights in the home make the first floor really warm. I love the soft light that the lamp brings into the room. Both were actually finds from Homegoods so I could not link the exact pieces.

I love that the space is cozy and neutral and we can easily switch out pieces if we need too! I linked some of the items below.