Our top tips for working from home

These are extraordinary times. As we adjust to this new reality here are our top tips for staying productive working from home.

1. Create a routine

Many people who work from will tell you about the importance of just getting dressed. Just because we can lounge around in our pyjamas, it doesn’t mean we should. A good idea could be to take a shower, get dressed and maybe even take a short walk before you set up in front of your computer for the day.

2. Designate a specific working space

While there is an obvious benefit to having a dedicated office space at home, that’s not available to most people. But picking one space to work and sticking with it has a clear benefit mentally. By working in the same space each day, your brain starts to associate that spot with working. On the opposite side, try to find some places in your house where you never work, because that creates mental safety and distance.

Avoid ‘tech neck’. If you can’t use an external screen, at least try to put your laptop on a pile of books to give your neck some rest. Maybe even stand up while on calls.

3. Plan your day and take breaks

Working from home is a good time to brush up on your time management skills. Begin each day by identifying what you need to do and how you intend to do it. Block time in your calendar for breaks, if not solely to ensure that you plan your time more realistically, but also to ensure you get time to recharge.

4. Over-communicate!

We normally spend most of our time in close proximity to our colleagues, which makes it easier to stay in sync more easily. Now with the proximity gone, we need to be mindful to keep those communication lines open. Luckily today there are a lot of tools available to help us with video calls, digital chats and even digital whiteboards or collaboration programs. We even have the tools to set up virtual break areas, for those who want to grab a coffee and socialise in between work. And don’t forget, with so much of the communication happening digitally, empathy is more important than ever.

5. Stay focused, with a family around you. 

You might not be home alone. With many families homeschooling, your children can add to the complexity. A big challenge we all face is how to stay focused in this new environment. Find focus by scheduling homeschooling tasks. Set-up online learning so they can work independently for some of the time. The key to your productivity is to get uninterrupted time for your work task. If you can achieve it now, it will be a critical asset for your productivity in the future.

6. Don’t forget self-care

In times of self-isolation, it’s easy to question the meaning of being productive and happy. For instance, the importance of self-care. Maybe you need time each day for exercise. Maybe you need scheduled quiet time. Or maybe it’s enough for you to make sure that you take the breaks you planned. Whether you’re at the office or at home, you should prioritise your own health and safety. For some, this may be quite obvious. But, this can actually be a challenge for many people. For example, research from the World Economic Forum shows evidence of health and wellbeing taking a hit while working from home. Especially when it leads to the blurring of work and non-work boundaries. So even if this work from home setup may not be a long-term its important for us all to be better at taking care of ourselves as well as others through the means we have today.