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Experts Name the 5 Golden Rules of a Healthy Work From Home Life

Kells McPhillips

June 16, 2020

When you're essentially spending all your time between the four walls of your home or apartment, your desk truly has to be a productivity sanctuary. Otherwise...what's really going to motivate you not to WFB (that's "work from bed") every single day, and potentially compromise your circadian rhythm in the process? On the most recent episode of What the Wellness, host Ella Dove asks industry experts to name five work from home rules to guide you until all of us return to the office.

First thing's first: Let's all remember that the goal of creating an office space you love doesn't mean you should want to spend 15 hours there instead of eight. Instead, your top goal should be to create a space that feels supportive, calming, and inspiring during the time you do spend there.

To get you intel on how to outfit your space, Dove consulted two experts in the world of workplace wellness: Karen Dawe, senior research engineer at Dyson and clinical psychologist Chloe Carmichael, PhD. In the full video, the duo offers five tips you'll want to implement, like, yesterday. Check out the first three below.

3 work from home rules that will make your space somewhere you actually want to work

1. Invest in binaural headphones

Dr. Carmichael waxes poetic about the power of noise-canceling, over-ear headphones as a way to totally block out the world around you. "One of the reasons that a lot of people like [these] is because it keeps you focused by what we call tactile feedback, so it actually kind of grips your ears and keeps your focused," she says. "It also blocks out any distracting noises that might be going on around you."

Dove opts for Apple AirPods Pro ($250) because she's not a big fan of the over-the-ear feeling. If you do like the immersive, "I can't hear you!" feeling of noise-canceling headphones, this pair from Sony ($50) are a solid option.

2. Good lighting, good lighting, good lighting

"One of the key things we've found is that the changing lightness and intensity throughout the day is it's really important to maintain that internal sense of the passing of time," says Dawe. "I think that since we've all been stuck at home, these normal-day rhythms have gotten really out of whack—and we can really use light to bring ourselves back."

Dyson's Lightcyle Desk Task Light ($600) does this automatically for you, but you could also use Brilli Charge Up Lightbulbs ($16 for a two-pack) to accomplish the same tasks on a budget.

3. Add plants. All the plants

Dr. Carmichael is a pretty huge supporter of the office-as-jungle mentality, and you can follow in her footsteps by buying a snake, succulent, or moss ball plant. "I do like to have a really serene environment if I can, so I actually got some plants. You can just be surrounded by nature, which I really like," she says.

For the last two genius tips for winning work from home, watch the full video.

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