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With it being officially over a year of working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are starting to feel the slump of working from home day-in and day-out! But over this past year, many people around the world have found ways to help them work past this slump through simple acts that can be done by anyone!

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule!

If you are working from home and have your family along at home with you, the need to create a schedule becomes paramount! Clearly laying out a schedule for all family members to understand when it is time for work and time for play can help every member of the family! By making a schedule and following it, you can prevent a lot of undue stress caused by work interruptions! Be sure to include times for meals at the same times so you can spend time together, and also to prevent you from eating at your desk and working through your lunch!

Savor Your Free-Time!

Working from home this past year has taught many of us that the line between work and home will become blurred at one time or another! Due to this fact it becomes essential to really savor and enjoy the moments you have outside of working! By setting out clear boundaries for your time off of work, you will vastly help your day-to-day mental state and help you have something to look forward to everyday!

Keep Family Members Occupied!

If you have children, you will know that it is hard to work from home and to make sure that they aren’t getting into trouble around the house! With older children find activities that are able to be sustained through a long period of time, things like reading and learning how to code are great ones to think about! With younger children there are solutions such as virtual babysitters who will play games and do activities virtually!

There are many other ways to beat the WFH slump, but hopefully you will find these tips to be a useful start!

With more and more people doing freelancing jobs as a business and now representing a large section of the workforce, it is essential for freelancers of all kinds to know what they need to protect what they have—and their business as a whole!

If you have assets that are essential to your business such as a Food Truck and need it to be safe, then you should already be considering Business Insurance! If a fire or a natural disaster destroys your equipment or your truck—you will be happy you had coverage when it happens! Or if you were to cause damage to a client’s or someone else’s property while operating could you cover the costs of that?

Having insurance can also be a way to boost the trust of your business to new customers and prospective customers as well! Many people will say that they trust one business over another if they had insurance! Having Business or Contractor Insurance is often associated with being trustworthy, professional, and having financial responsibility!

Many people are attracted to freelancing or opening their own businesses due to the freedom it can provide! Setting your own hours and deciding who you do business with are very attractive perks to have! But remember that there is risk to it, and it might be worth it to find an insurance policy that can help lessen the risk of going on your own!

With Spring coming around it’s time to start getting your home and/or business ready for those March winds, April showers, and May flowers! With most structures there are a few things to look out for, and just like in the Fall getting ready for Winter—there are a few things that you should always try to do each Spring!

With the sun coming out and plants starting to grow again, you can expect to need to take care of your yard or the surrounding area of your business—this would include checking your outdoor plumbing like sprinklers and piping that is outside! Also if you have a lawn to trim you should check to see if your mower is working or if you need to get it repaired!

If you have gutters or downspouts attached to your home or business you should check to see if they are obstructed before the Spring rain comes into town! Get rid of any debris that has built-up over the winter and make sure that there isn’t any damage to gutters and downspouts as well!

Check your roof of your home/business while you are up looking at your gutters as well! If you can catch any damage left by the Winter weather early, you can help prevent a massive repair bill in the future if you fix it before it gets worse! It is worth it to have a professional do this (Especially if you are doing an inspection on a business!), so definitely consider that if you want to know if your roof is in good condition or not!

If you are running a restaurant or bar this St Patrick’s Day, you are probably hoping to start getting back up on your feet and wanting some good, safe, and socially distanced ways to attract some new business! With the pandemic still in full swing and with restrictions around the country still in effect, it is essential to stay safe and work smart so we can get through this challenging time faster!

If you have access to outdoor space you might consider putting some seating outside to accommodate for some more customers during St Patrick’s Day! Just make sure that you are following all local rules and regulations in regard to the pandemic! You can place limits on how long people can sit at tables if you want to increase table turnover rates, and limit the menu to items that are faster and more cost effective to make!

Creating things such as a Take-Home Kit for customers to purchase can also help bolster your business as well! By making a pre-made kit for customers to put together in the comfort of their home you can help them have the experience of your restaurant while being safely socially distanced!

You can also tie this Take-Home Kit idea into a social media contest to help get the word out that you are open for business! If you had a contest for the most reactions to a Take-Home Kit you can attract future customers and help show others how to socially distance properly as well! Although this St. Patrick’s Day will be much like last year’s, there are still ways for your business to hopefully grow and thrive through this pandemic!

As a restaurant and bar owner, you know first hand how devastating this pandemic has been! While a lot of establishments are handling the pandemic through drive-thru, deliveries, and even by cutting costs—but there are a few costs that should not be considered for reduction, such as Bar and Restaurant Insurance!

In the short run it might seem tempting, but in the long term there can be big consequences for your business! If you live in a city that requires you to have at least some General Liability coverage, then it is probably not in your business’ best interests! There is a risk losing your license to operate if having insurance is required by your local/state government—and the reapplication process can be long and arduous later on!

If you have any equipment financing, or any business loans for your establishment, you may default on them if there is a clause to maintain insurance on your business! Also in the long run when you do get insurance again when times are back to normal—it might be more expensive to insure your business since there was a gap in coverage!

There are many more reasons why cancelling your bar and restaurant insurance is a bad idea—but it’s always best to talk with your agent to let them know about your situation and see what can be done before you cancel!

Working from home is now a normal part of business-life these days, and it’s looking more and more like this is going to be the new normal for the foreseeable future! While the increase in flexibility and freedom to live away from your work locale is a huge plus—there are factors to take into account such as long hours, burnout, and loneliness as well!

Instead using Zoom to speak to someone at work, use other methods such as a phone call, or even plan to get a socially distanced coffee with your colleagues from work! Using Zoom, while useful, can be confusing to our brains since there is a slight lack of closeness in a Zoom call as compared to a normal phone call!

Changing things up and keeping your life organized are the biggest keys to having a good work from home life! Do not shy away from increasing your quality of life with things such as a good and comfortable desk and chair, or even taking the time to get up and walk around your house just to stretch your legs!

There are some other easy things you can do such as get a plant for your desk, make sure that you are getting enough natural light (Or using natural light lightbulbs!), or by setting limits for the amount you work each day! But some other methods will require a little bit of planning and help from others—just be sure to always socially distance and mask up if anything is done in person!