Join us for part 1 of a 4-part series dedicated to the new challenges of working from home. Our other topics in this series will be:
- Parents – Working from Home with Children
- Maintaining Self-Development While Working from Home
- How to Support Your Remote Team
We want to assist you in developing strategies to successfully accomplish and work through some new challenges you may be facing during this global crisis.
Working from home might have been a dream that many have had for some time now…avoiding the commute, sleeping in a little later, enjoying the comfort of your own space in your own home. Perhaps now, however, you’re working from home due to COVID-19 and the need for social distancing but are wondering how to cope with the challenges and distractions that go along with it.
Are you ready to face these challenges, overcome them and remain happy and productive while you work? Here are a few tips on how to make your working from home experience a successful one.
Everyone who works from home needs to ask themselves the following questions:
- When will I work?
- Where will I work?
- How can I keep my work and my personal life from colliding?
Here are some useful tips to help you:
When will I work?
Maintain regular working hours. Fight the tendency to sleep in and just start working whenever you get up. Have a fixed schedule and try to stick to it. Include breaks in your schedule. You need to step away from the computer or the phone from time to time. If your company allows breaks while you’re working at the office, take those breaks while you’re working from home.
Prepare your lunch ahead of time, perhaps the night before. One common pitfall with working from home is that you tend to avoid eating properly. If you want to maintain social distancing and avoid going out for lunch, make sure to keep healthy snacks in the home and make your lunch before you start work for the day.
Don’t allow chores to interfere with your work. Avoid putting on that load of laundry, starting dinner or washing the dishes during work time. Set the alarm as you normally would to include your commute time, but then use that commute time to do chores or other activities. Start work at your scheduled time, after your “commute” is finished. Finish the laundry or start cooking dinner after work and during the time you would have spent commuting home again.
Where will I work?
Set aside a proper workspace. Try to find a dedicated spot to work, so that you can leave it behind when you’re finished working. It might be a spare room you can convert, or maybe a corner of the room that you can isolate a little. Make it comfortable and as bright and airy as possible. Don’t work on the couch, and absolutely don’t work in bed.
Open a window and let in some fresh air if possible. It’ll keep your mind fresh while also allowing some light background noise in from outside. Trying to work in a place that’s silent will probably only make it harder to focus.
How Can I Keep My Work and My Personal Life from Colliding?
Dress as if you’re going to the office for work. This one may be a challenge, but don’t stay in your PJs. Instead, dress appropriately so that you can be in the right frame of mind for work and so that any last-minute video conference calls won’t leave you stranded.
Don’t work on the couch or in bed. We’ve mentioned this one already, but it’s worth repeating. Keep these areas sacred as your personal spaces. You don’t want to start associating your relaxation or sleeping zones with work!
Leave home while still maintaining social distancing. Go for a walk in a quiet area or just around the block. Avoid busy areas, of course, but get outside for at least some part of the day. The fresh air will work wonders for your spirit and your alertness.
Those who have worked from home for years have often discovered it has its challenges. Having said that, these are challenges that can be overcome. The tips above can make a BIG difference in your productivity and your level of enjoyment as you cope with working at home during the current global crisis!
We hope you found these tips helpful. If you need any more tips to work more efficiently at home, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and/or Twitter to see what training and free tools we offer and for regular updates and announcements. We have been training people across the country virtually for years and we are fully equipped to assist you as well!
Don’t forget to join us for parts 2-4 in this series dedicated to the new challenges of working from home during this global crisis. Next time, we’ll concentrate on parents and how to successfully work from home with children, followed by “Maintaining Self-Development While Working from Home” and “How to Support Your Remote Team”.
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