Many of you may have found yourself working from home and trying to get your job done as you would do if you were in the office. Unless you work from home on a regular basis it might not be as easy as you think and stepping out of bed and into the office can be a challenge.
If you are used to working in a team of people, bouncing ideas off your colleagues and generally having interaction with others, suddenly finding yourself alone all day with just your partner, children, the TV! to talk to won’t be easy.
To help keep you motivated and productive here are our tops tips for working from home.
Keep To Your Morning Routine
You won’t need to do your usual commute so you’ll have a bit more time in the morning but try and make sure you get dressed and have breakfast and be ready to start work at your normal time. It is not a good idea to stay in your pyjamas all day so shower and get dressed as you normally would.
Create A Workspace
Set up a work station, away from the usual household activity if you can. Sitting at the kitchen table while your family are around will mean huge distractions and keeping focused on your work will be difficult. Work in an area where there is the least foot traffic and it’s a good idea to explain your need to disengage while you’re working. Of course you need to balance the needs of your home and the needs of your work while making room for a space that’s purely professional.
Laptops are not ideal for sustained periods of work so making your laptop work like a desktop, by making it sit higher on a table or desk is a good idea. You can use a laptop riser but a pile of books will also do the job. Your eyes should ideally be level with the top of the screen, so you can work without slouching.
Manage Your Time
Without the office routine it can be easy to find yourself scrolling through social media or doing the odd job at home here and there and before you know it a couple of hours have passed and you have done no work at all.
In order to remain focused, start by planning out your day at the end of the one before by listing out your tasks for the next day. Beginning the day with clear goals in mind will help you to get through your priorities.
Take A Break
No matter how organised you are, working from home will not be the same as working in the office. Ensure you take regular, short breaks and get up out of your chair and move around. Equally, once you get into the working from home routine it can be easy to carry on working after your normal end time – which is fine every now and then but you still need to keep that ‘normal’ routine in place and have time with your family at the end of the day.
Eat Well
You may have read our blog about eating well for nutrition and productivity. Making sure you eat properly at the usual times of the day will aid concentration and keep you alert. Plan what you will have for lunch if you normally go out of the office to eat, so that you have all the ingredients for a healthy lunch. Take your normal lunch break and get outside if you can. Incorporate some exercise into your day as this will also help with your general mental and physical wellbeing.
Embrace Technology
In the past few days people have been learning how to use various video based technology to make face to face calls and keep in touch. If you can, make these calls a regular part of your day to catch up with colleagues – you can have group meetings too! Why not try a coffee break call as well as something more formal at the start or end of the day. Knowing you will need to summarise your work for the day at an end of day meeting will also help you plan and prioritise your work. Having someone to be accountable to will help you to stay focused.
If you have any questions on video calling or need any more support we are always here to help.
