Tips for dealing with home office isolation

Is isolation making you wonder if it’s time to leave your home office? Working from home can sometimes be isolating, making it hard to stay motivated. I recently mentioned that shared office space can help. If there’s a solution like that in your community, go for it. But here are some other tips for dealing with home office isolation:

Nine tips for dealing with home office isolation

1. Go for a walk. Get out every day.
2. Buy a light book. Reset your routines and perhaps your mood.
   
3. Create some routines. Buy a latte every morning at the nearest coffee shop. Go out for lunch. Take a lunchtime yoga class. Go for a jog. Incorporate some of the structure you’d have in an office setting.
4. Rent cubicle space. I’ve seen cubicle rentals on Craigslist for $10 an hour.
5. Share an office. I know a group of medical professionals who rent out the receptionist’s desk because they have no use for it. 
6. Work from the library. Take your laptop and grab a desk.
7. Work from a coffee shop — lattes, WiFi and lots of small business owners.
8. Share another home office. I know a couple of graphic designers who share a home office. It helps them feel like they’re in a regular office environment.
9. Invent work that keeps you out of the home. I teach university-level courses. I have friends who teach at community centres. Come up with ways to get out of your home office and get paid for it.

Update: Lifehacker has picked up the above post on home office isolation. One commenter there wanted to know why on earth I’d suggest renting a cube for $10 an hour. If you’re the kind of person who can’t stand working in a coffee shop and you can’t afford to rent an office, renting a cubicle for $10 for a couple of hours once a week or once a month may be well worth it. If the cube comes with free local phone access, you may also save on cell phone charges.