Everyone is looking for tips on working from home, can it be made easier? Working from home, online, remotely, or however else you would like to call it has become the new normal. Due to the ongoing open and shut of countries this seems to be how things are for now. It is predicted by 2027 that the majority of the US population will be working from home as well as most of the world really. Remote working and learning seems to be the way of the future for most.
Most will remember the old office work lifestyle, get formally dressed (which means no comfy clothes!), find your way to work in busy morning traffic, work in a room with OTHER people with no social distancing (weird right?), and have some sort of a social life. For now all this now seems like a distant memory we will never get back. The morning rush, bumper to bumper traffic jams and car horns blaring is one thing that won’t be missed, for those who do miss it here’s a small reminder…
For those who are now working online, no longer encounter most of these situations. There’s no need to get dressed into any sort of formal clothing or commute to work. It’s now more slide out of bed with messy hair, get a cup of coffee, and sitting in front of a computer working away. It can be difficult for online workers to move from working at the office to working alone at home. This is all relatively new to most and knowing the best practices can be hard. From time to time it can be difficult to know how you should act when working from home.
Personally, I found working from home can be a real challenge for the first few days. Trying to figure out the best place to sit and the easiest ways to do things. I spent time researching online on how to work more efficiently. I found that where you sit and how you work all changes from room to room as well as how you schedule yourself throughout the day. The biggest thing I have discovered is that breaks are important and will keep from slacking.
To make things easier I have come up with a few tips on working from home to make it more enjoyable:
Experiment With How and Where You Work
Working from home, you have a lot of flexibility over how you work. A normal office worker would have to work at a certain desk, wear certain clothes and act a certain way. You now have more freedom over your choices in where you work, how you work, what you wear, and most aspects of the job really.
One of the first things you should do is to try out different work set-ups and see what works best for you. What room suits you most? What distractions do you need to avoid? Office workers have a specific set of standards they must meet and a certain schedule to keep up with.
As for working from home, you have the ability to choose how your schedule is set up and how you do things. It is easy to assume that working remotely means you sit at a desk all day and not move until your work is completed. This is not true at all! You’ll likely get tired or bored of your work, and may even burn out entirely. Make sure to get up and move around as much as possible. Take a few minutes and walk around to increase your step count! Go outside!
The best practices I have found are to keep to a good schedule. Wake up like any working day, shower, get dressed and make your bed! Making your bed has been proven to put your mind at ease and gets you ready for the day. Doing just these simple tasks will get yourself into a productive working mindset.
Decide on Breaks and Clear Working Hours
Even though you’re not working from an office, you should still set up some office hours. Deciding on what times you will be working and when you finish for the day. Plan a break halfway through your day and take that time to relax, eat lunch outside or maybe even wash your car yourself instead of using an awful petrol station car wash! (Scratch n’ Shine as their called). It is important to still take a break even though it may feel like you don’t deserve one. Even if the sofa is your new office chair…
Like anyone, you will eventually burn out if you work nine hours straight, just like you would at the office (or anywhere really!!). When finished, make sure you’re done for the day, try not to complete anymore work tasks, just relax. If you set office hours, it is easier for you to go from working to relaxing after a long day. When you leave the office you don’t bring the office home with you, do you? So why do the same now? Bringing work home can cause unnecessary stress and you don’t want to end up like this guy….
Another tip on working from home would be you should share your work hours with your family. They may feel as if you’re always available to them. Make sure they know that you’re at work during certain times of the day and maybe even give them a timetable of when you will be working if needed. This should hopefully (although probably not) reduce family members calling you up to do something when you’re supposed to be working. You’ll get to avoid having to do the dirty dishes or going to the shop as you’re working!
Check In With Your Co-Workers
Working alone can be hard for everyone. You should always check in with your workmates and see how they are doing, just asking how someone’s day is going can really help! Letting your team and your boss know what you’re working on as much as possible is important. Send daily updates, so the boss knows what tasks you’re working on throughout the day. This will make it easier for them to know who is working on what each day. It also makes it easier for your co-workers to know who to talk to if they need help. Leave out the fact you might have done that full mornings work in bed half asleep! Turns out working from bed is actually a good thing, but the boss doesn’t need to know that part…
You should also try to be as responsive as possible when someone sends you a message or an update. If you expect fast replies you must give them back! If you’re working on something important and need to some time to focus, just let them know you will get back to them! Otherwise, always be there to help because then you can always ask for help yourself. Working as a team has never been more important than now, and we all need help at some point…
Source – The42.ie
Source – The42.ie
Source – Planet Rugby
Source – The 42.ie
Source – The 42.ie
