Covid-19 may have made working from home a necessity but performing one’s duties virtually has been the norm for many workers since the technology has been available to do so efficiently.
For those for whom this new workplace scenario is not routine, a home-based office may present some challenges for staying on task and being as productive as desired.
Here are some thoughts on how to keep yourself accountable, collaborative, and productive as you navigate your new work process:
- Prompt your brain to know it’s time to “go” to work. Your previous routine may have meant getting ready for work, commuting to the office, sitting down at your desk, and drinking your coffee while checking your email. Emulate this behavior by having a designated workplace, whether in a separate room or area, where your office supplies are handy, and you are relatively free from interruption.
- Maintain regular hours. The temptation is to start when you feel like it and to work whenever it is convenient, after the kids go to sleep or very early in the morning before anyone else is up. Conventional wisdom says you should have clear guidelines for when to start and stop working. However, one of the benefits of working from home is flexibility. Balance is the answer to feeling in control of your workday. If you need to extend your day or start early, be sure to make up for it the next day by wrapping up early or sleeping in a bit.
- Keep distractions to a minimum. Decide the best time to review your emails … first thing in the morning, at noon, and mid-afternoon, perhaps … and resist the temptation to read them while completing other tasks.
- Speaking of distractions. Social media and news outlets can draw you in and be supreme time wasters if you let them. If you use social media as marketing activities, be sure to stay on task and not be pulled into reading non-related posts that can sidetrack you.
- Set ground rules with the people you live with. Just because you are home, it does not mean that family members can assume you are there for them and you can switch gears to do things for them. Create a plan so that your productivity doesn’t suffer, and you don’t feel taken advantage of.
- Resist multi-tasking to do non-related activities. The laundry can wait until lunchtime. If you get a personal phone call, politely tell the caller you are in the middle of a work project and will call back later. Designate someone else to answer the doorbell and to tell visitors that you are busy working in your office.
- Stay motivated. Keep a to-do list with items labeled A, B, and C. Tackle the A items first. Some believe working on the most difficult A items first is best; others feel you can knock off a bunch of smaller A items, giving way to a block of time to devote to the most challenging. Whichever way works best for you, is OK. At the end of the day, feel a sense of accomplishment by viewing all the items crossed off your list and move the others to tomorrow.
- Hold yourself accountable. When you are working remotely, you must be responsible to schedule your time responsibly. Don’t forget to take regular breaks to refresh yourself mentally and physically. Schedule non-work activities as well, so they are not forgotten. Schedule time to exercise, take the dog for a walk, organize childcare, make personal phone calls. These are all important, but need to be scheduled, so as not to be forgotten or overwhelming.
- Plan for collaboration. Most home workers must still interact with others from time to time, whether meeting with your team, giving or receiving feedback, getting or giving assignments, or discussing projects-in-process. Face-to-face collaboration is ideal and today’s videoconferencing technology offers several options. You can research zoom.com, googleconferencing.com, Skype and others to see which is best for your needs.
- Get up and go. Get out of the house each day for some time to breath the fresh air and enjoy a walk around your community or to relax in your backyard. Maintain social distancing while talking to a neighbor. You need to move your body and refresh your soul. The fresh air and sunlight will do you good.
Above all else, stay positive and give yourself the permission to try new things to assist in your quest to find the right balance in your virtual workplace. Do what works best for you and you’ll find the advantages and perks of working from home.
Feel free to share this article with someone who can benefit from its helpful guidance.
Enosis Graphic Solutions © May 2020