Our homes have never had more demands placed upon them. They’ve become our office, our classrooms, our gym, and so much more. There’s been so much change so quickly that most of us are still trying to adjust to this new way of life.
For those of us now working from home full time we have created an ebook packed with suggestions to help stay focused, connected, productive, collaborative, energised and sane without the usual office environment and facilities.
Here are a few extracts to get you started on creating your ideal workspace away from the office.
Replicate your daily routine
Working from home has some definite advantages. Most notably there’s no commute and you are in charge of your own time. But working from home also has its challenges. The boundaries between work and life disappear making it hard to distinguish between work time and home time, and distractions are everywhere. The temptation to catch up on household chores or get a head start on meal prep for the week might mean you find yourself catching up on your work late into the night when everyone else has gone to bed.
Make sure you stick to a regular routine like you would when you had to leave the house to go to work. Get up at the same time each day and dress the same as you would for work. Just as you would in an office, be clear about what your working hours are and stick to them. Set an alarm for when you’re going to finish up for the day.
If you normally walk to work or take a stroll at lunchtime, factor this into your day too. Getting out during the day has a positive impact on your productivity and a change of scenery can be good for enhancing your mood.
Make sure your well connected
Good connection to Wifi is a must as you need to be sure you can work efficiently – an unreliable Wifi is going to slow you down. Boosters are a great idea if your connection is poor.
The same goes for mobile phone signal. Not all network providers have equal signal so do your research and make sure your supplier has a good signal strength in your area. If signal is a problem you can purchase a mobile phone signal booster which will greatly reduce the number of dropped calls.
WhatsApp calls are also great where signal is an issue. Video chat such as Zoom, Google Hangouts or even FaceTime are ideal solutions to replace in-person meetings.
Make sure you stay connected with your work colleagues. Working from home can be isolating if you allow it, so interacting with others during the day is really important. Set up a team WhatsApp group or try a virtual lunch date over Google Hangouts or FaceTime with your usual lunch buddies. Encourage your teammates to share tips and ideas for how they are making working from homework for them.
Keep organised
There is nothing more stressful than clutter, so having an organised space is essential, especially where the space needs to multitask. For example, we’ve designed desk areas in open-plan spaces that blend in with the kitchen and can be closed off when not in use. By having a designated space means you can store everything you need in one place. Otherwise, you risk wasting time trying to remember where you left something or arguing with family members over essential items not being where you left them. A place for everything and everything in its place is the key to a stress-free and calm working environment.
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