Remote working has become a sudden reality over the last few weeks, with a large majority of companies not prepared for staff to work from home.
For those who are able to continue working from home, we’ve collated a few tips.
- Routine – It’s good to stay in a routine, particularly for when things return back to some normality. Try to start and finish at a set time. Some may prefer to wake up early and start the day for 7am, and other’s may prefer to start later and do work into the evening – you should find what works best for you and your productivity. For those of you who are used to incorporating the gym into your working day, there’s a multitude of fantastic free digital health apps to utilise. Two personal favourites at the moment are ‘Seven’ and ‘Workout Women’. I find doing some form of exercise prior to sitting down and beginning work helps me focus, rather than moving from a bed to a chair in ‘sleep mode’.
- Get Dressed! Whilst there’s nothing wrong in having a pyjama day, getting dressed will help you mentally switch into ‘work mode’ and help you distinguish between your work and home life.
- Set up a designated workspace – it’s important for you to create a space where you can separate yourself and focus on your work with everything you need for the day – computer, stationary, books, phone, etc. It’s always great if you are able to invest in your own desk or office space in your home, but for a good majority of us this tends to be our dining room table.
- Take a break – spending a lot of time sitting down can be bad for your health, even if you exercise regularly. It’s also important for your eyes to have a break if you’re working from a computer as extended periods of looking at a screen can cause changes in how your eyes work. Try and take a short break every hour or so, whether this is making a cup of tea, letting the dog outside or watering the garden.
I mentioned Digital Health apps earlier, but alongside this you’ve probably also seen “PE with Joe”. This is where Joe Wicks hosts live PE sessions over YouTube every morning for children at home during the coronavirus. His sessions have proven extremely popular, gaining millions of viewers every week. For those of us who have kids at home during this period, it can be a great way to break up some of the day with them. In addition, Joe Wicks has pledged to donate all the money earned from his online videos to the NHS so, it’s an all-round winner.
- Write a to-do list: Although everything is very much technology driven, it’s always good to keep a physical diary or list on what you need to do each day with times in mind to try and complete your list in.
- Stay connected – without this sounding too much like an EE Advert, it’s important to stay connected with colleagues in whatever way you can, whether it’s a direct message, Skype or Zoom call for example. A lot of businesses, including ourselves, have a scheduled call every morning to discuss the day ahead. It’s easy for informal communication to get left behind whilst working remotely.
Of course, everything is said easier than done and all of us have different circumstances. Working from home with children, especially at critical stages of their development, can be extremely challenging. However, there is some fantastic technology available to us and now is the best time to start utilising it.
Stay safe!
