5 Tips To Working From Home
I woke up Monday morning, March 16th, 2020 to my typical routine. I got showered, dressed, and headed down for my coffee and listened to hear what’s going on with COVID-19. The only difference this morning was my kids were sitting there asking what’s for breakfast and what they were going to do today.
As someone who’s been working from home for many years, the reality of having my kids home for the foreseeable future was the new reality, so we had to discuss how work and play time would occur.
Later that afternoon, I read a social post of a friend who’s never worked from home. He had an epiphany that working from home is great, he’s so much more productive and there aren’t any distractions. I chuckled as I said to myself, “just wait.”
As most of the working world woke up this past Monday to a new way of working, I thought I’d share 5 things to think about when working from home. These aren’t in any particular order, but I hope they are helpful:
Your Technology – Being tech-savvy is important to being productive. It is scary to think you won’t have IT at your fingertips to call if something isn’t working. Error messages and software not working may be a big source of frustration for you. I’ve learned to rely on YouTube for videos on how to address error messages or issues that occur with software and hardware. I’m a visual person, so seeing how to fix something is better for me than reading a forum.
Your Office – I would encourage you, if you can, to not work from the kitchen table or counter-top, especially with your kids being home from school. It can be very distracting to focus. If you have a room where you can set up a desk, laptop, and cell phone, make that your office and ensure everyone in the house knows that it’s your work space. I would even consider putting a sign on the door when you’re on a conference call so the kids respect your desire for quiet time. This can really help you to be productive and focused. Working from home involves setting up boundaries to keep work and home life separate. This is obviously very challenging but will definitely go a long way.
Your Morning – Think about your typical morning routine, when you get up for work in the morning: you set your alarm, get ready, and arrive at the office at a specific time. Many people, depending on their schedule, need to get to the office by 8 or 9 AM with some travel time built in. One of the best-kept secrets people who work from home understand is the freedom and peace of mind that comes with not having a commute. Now, you’ll have some extra time in the morning to make breakfast for the kids, listen to the news, and have a little more time with the family. During the week, I would encourage you to establish a set schedule, where you sit down at your desk to begin work and establish a routine built around that time. This is another boundary. It is incredibly easy to work way past when you normally would and also just as easy to stop working too early. Try to make a schedule that works for you and your family that closely mimics how in-person work is typically done.
Your Schedule – When setting up virtual meetings, you’re going to be on many more calls than you would face-to-face meetings, so there will be a tendency to schedule back to back calls that are 30 minutes or 60 minutes in length without any breaks built in. Instead of a 60 minute meeting, try to schedule a 45 minute meeting with a 15 minute buffer in between calls. You may find yourself being much more productive during that time and you have some precious minutes to take a bio break, check your email, and also tend to any family matters that come up. I’m sure they will.
Your Focus – Discipline can be the biggest struggle people face when working from home. There are just so many distractions that hit us every day, and with the COVID-19 happening, staying on top of the news will be tempting for us. I would recommend while working in your home office to silence alerts from social media. This will be very difficult, but let me tell you, it will help keep you focused. If you really have a need to get social updates, use your 15 minute time between meetings to check social, then focus back on work. The other thing is that if you find yourself leaving your office to head to the kitchen for snacks and getting distracted, consider bringing the snacks to your office and storing them around your desk along with bottled water, coffee, or tea.
The last thing I’ll mention is that my spouse is also working from home now. I believe it is really important that you treat each other’s work space and work schedules equally and share in the responsibilities. I hope these tips are helpful to you as you’re settling into your new normal. Feel free to message me if you’d like to have a Zoom video chat about your new work situation. I’m happy to support you and offer further advice.
