WFH survival guide: Travel vlogger, Sandy, shares her experience

Travel vlogger, Sandy (Sandy Makes Sense), has adventured to 37 countries exploring different cultures, food, languages and history. Originally from Germany, she’s become an expert on London living and has many dedicated blog posts and video playlists about nailing life in the city.

Used to the jet-set lifestyle, we caught up with her to see how she’s adapting to life in lockdown.

Tell us about your daily routine when working from home?

At first I didn’t have a routine, which quickly turned out to be not the best way forward.

Now I get up every morning at 7, I do an exercise class at 7:30 and am at my laptop for 9am. From there I work until lunch, I take a break away from my desk and then work again until exactly 5:30pm every day. Why? Because I have a date with my best friend every day online – we do a barre class together.

Once I’ve cooked dinner I try to be in bed by 10/11. My evenings are usually full of YouTube editing, but sometimes I take some time for myself and binge Netflix or take a bath.

What’s your no.1 tip for staying motivated when creating content from home?

Make every day your project! Plan your week ahead and put everything in your calendar. I even add little emojis every day to make my calendar fun! My projects may be as small as ‘Try to make Chinese Dumplings for Dinner’ or ‘Do laundry’ but they each have little emojis to keep me going.

What’s the best thing about working from home?

Routine! I am a travel blogger part time so I simply never have routine and I am embracing it. Also healthy skin (no make up) and healthy hair (I wash mine once a week now, wow).

What’s the worst thing about working from home?

Being alone. I have a flatmate but she is not very social, so for the last 8 weeks I often felt alone.

What advice do you have for creators who are sharing a home workspace with friends, partners or family?

Good question, in that sense I am lucky that my flatmate does not get involved. But my number one tip has always been to communicate with them about what you are doing. ‘I’m going to talk to myself for the next 20 minutes btw.’ or if you need to use communal spaces, ask them if it’s ok.

How do you look after your mental health when working from home?

It’s hard. In general I have a healthy mind, but during lockdown I have seen some sad thoughts developing so three things that have helped me are:

Exercise! (No surprises)
Telling my best friend how I feel via 5-6 minute voice notes (because talking on the phone often gives me too much pressure to be happy).
Projects – as mentioned above. If I know that today is the day I will shoot my Instagram picture that I have already announced to my followers, then my mind will focus on that. Which is good!

What should you absolutely never do when trying to be productive when working from home?

Never eat in front of your laptop, never skip a meal, never sit inside the whole day and finally, don’t wear your PJs to work! The first day I dressed up just for myself was wonderful!

What’re your 3 top tips for a successful video call?