HabitsTime

Work from home routine

A work from home routine gives a day at home the edges an office gives it: a start, blocks of work, real breaks and an end. The planner below has those four parts. Set a time on each work block and break, and it sorts them into a card you can print and keep by the desk.

Free · No account · What you type stays on this device

Name your routine
Your steps

Change, add or remove anything. Each step sits in a part of the day and can have its own time.

Total: 307 min

Before work: 20 min · Work blocks: 240 min · Breaks: 40 min · After work: 7 min

A work from home routine template

The planner's starting point: three work blocks and two breaks. Add a time to each block and they sort in time order on the card.

My work from home routine

Before work20 min

  1. Get dressed for work10 min
  2. Set up the desk5 min
  3. Plan today's work blocks5 min

Work blocks240 min

  1. First work block90 min
  2. Second work block90 min
  3. Third work block60 min

Breaks40 min

  1. Step away from the screen10 min
  2. Take a full break away from the desk30 min

After work7 min

  1. Close the laptop and put it away2 min
  2. Change out of work clothes5 min

Total307 min

How to plan a work from home day

Mark the start of work

Pick one or two before-work steps, like getting dressed for work and setting up the desk, to mark the start of your workday.

Plan work in blocks, with times

A block is one stretch of work on one kind of task, with a start time and minutes. Add, rename or remove blocks to match your hours; the planner keeps up to 12 steps.

Put the breaks on the card too

Breaks are their own part, so they show up on the card next to the blocks instead of being squeezed in when a block runs over.

Close the day the same way each time

Habits form as people repeat the same response in the same context. Ending with the same after-work steps each day, or a full shutdown routine, gives the end of work a fixed shape.

Work from home routine ideas

Before work

  • Get dressed for work
  • Set up the desk
  • Plan today's work blocks
  • Open only the apps for the first block

Work blocks

  • Deep work on the main task
  • Calls and meetings
  • Messages and email in one go
  • Small tasks batch

Breaks

  • Step away from the screen
  • Take a full break away from the desk
  • Step outside for a few minutes
  • Call or text someone

After work

  • Close the laptop and put it away
  • Change out of work clothes
  • Tidy the desk for tomorrow

Other days, other routines

For a workday you spend partly away from home, the daily routine planner groups steps by morning, midday, afternoon and after work. This planner has no food, drink, water or exercise steps: those are health topics this site doesn't cover.

What happens to what you type

Your routine stays in this browser and is never sent anywhere; it lives on the card you print or save. “Start tracking” adds it as one habit to the habit tracker on this device only, with “when my workday starts” as its cue. To add one new habit after a step you already do, stack it.

If you need help now

These tools are for everyday habits. They are not a crisis service. If you are struggling or don't feel safe, you can contact:

  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

    988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US): call or text 988, or chat online. Free and confidential, 24/7.

  • Emergency services (911)

    US: call 911 if you or someone you know is in immediate harm or danger.

  • Samaritans

    Samaritans (UK and Ireland): call 116 123, free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

  • Emergency services (999 or A&E) · NHS 111, mental health option

    Call 999 or go to A&E if someone's life is at risk or you can't keep yourself or someone else safe. For urgent help that isn't an emergency, call 111 and select the mental health option (NHS).

Elsewhere, call your local emergency number.

Sources

  1. Wood W, Rünger D (2016). Psychology of Habit. Annual Review of Psychology 67:289–314. PMID 26361052
  2. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org
  3. Contact Us. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org
  4. Contact a Samaritan. Samaritans. samaritans.org
  5. Where to get urgent help for mental health. NHS. nhs.uk