On a long work posting? Get the routine right early

On a six-week work posting, day twenty matters far more than day one. By then the novelty's gone and what counts is the routine: clean shirts, somewhere to exercise, a desk you can actually use on a Sunday, and a neighbourhood that doesn't feel like a hotel corridor.

The first two days

An hour of set-up early on makes the next five weeks run a lot more smoothly.

• Book a supermarket delivery for the first evening, and a regular weekly slot after that
• Test a video call on the flat's Wi-Fi before the one that matters
• Agree the housekeeping day and time with the residence so it doesn't clash with calls
• Find out how laundry works: machine in the flat, laundry room or a collection service
• Walk to the nearest station, chemist and supermarket so you know the way when you're tired

Laundry, housekeeping and exercise

This is the bit people get wrong. Fewer than a third of the residences we list have laundry facilities on site, and only a minority offer maid service, but plenty of flats have their own washer-dryer instead and plenty clean weekly rather than daily. That's fine once you plan for it, with shirts to the dry cleaner on Monday and back on Thursday, and housekeeping on a day you're out. Extra cleans and linen changes are usually available for a charge, and it's simpler to agree a schedule at the start. Keep a few basics in the flat too: a spare phone charger, a travel iron if there isn't one, and enough shirts for a week in case the dry cleaner runs late.

Only about a quarter of the residences have a gym, and a pool is rare, so on a long stay most people buy a day or monthly pass at a club nearby, or use the parks. Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens give you a long loop from Bayswater, Knightsbridge or Kensington, Regent's Park does the same for Marylebone, and near the river there's the Thames Path. Reception staff get asked every week which local gyms do short-term memberships, so ask them.

Working from the flat, and where to live

Most long stays involve more days at the kitchen table than anyone planned. Before you book, ask whether there's a real desk and where it sits, because a desk facing a window on a busy road is a very different thing from one in a calm bedroom. You can hire a second screen for a month from office equipment rental firms, which beats a laptop propped on a stack of books, and if your calls cross time zones, take a bedroom at the back of the building. Get the broadband speed in writing too, since on a long stay a slow line is the fault that hits every single day.

Paddington and Bayswater are the practical pick, with the Heathrow Express at the door, Hyde Park at the end of the street, and lots of supermarkets and casual places to eat. Marylebone has the best high street for day-to-day life. Kensington is greener and calmer, and suits anyone whose family visits at weekends. Mayfair is great for entertaining clients but can feel like an office district after hours on a Tuesday night on your own.

Further west, the riverside round Fulham swaps a longer commute for more room and calmer evenings, which makes it better for a posting in West London or at Heathrow than one in the City.

If the posting might run on, tell the residence early. They can say whether the same flat is free and whether a long-stay rate covers the extra weeks.

Most people hit a slump around week three, when the trip stops feeling like a trip. The fix is usually small, whether that's booking something for each weekend ahead of time, getting a family member over if there's a second bedroom, or changing your running route.