A lot of offices all over the globe have closed their doors and requested their employee’s start working from home. This for some people is the norm if they work from home already but for the majority, people aren’t used to the working from home situation that is arising, and it can come with its difficulties. Especially when your neighbour appears to be building a spaceship and the bin men seem to be coming every five minutes. Here are some tips to help get you through your working from home situation.
Set Boundaries for your family and the people you live with
It can be easy to let the people you live with distract you from your working time whilst you are at home but these distractions can enable you to lose your train of thought and in turn become inefficient in the tasks you had set for the day. So, when you are working from home be sure to set boundaries and let the people in your home know that you are working and that you should be left to get on with your work. This also will help to stop yourself from getting frustrated with the people you live with.
Continue your normal weekday routine
Although this might sound strange it does work! Getting up, showered, dressed and having your set tea and lunch breaks keep your routine in check. An extra hour in bed sounds great, eating lunch at 3 pm sometimes works when you’ve had a late breakfast and working through your lunch break sounds like a great idea but these all aren’t what you would usually do in your working week, use your lunch breaks to stretch your legs or even enjoy some outdoor space. Although being at home has its advantages (having a fry up midweek) it is best to try and stick to your usual schedule so when returning to office work you don’t feel much of a difference.
Create your workspace and keep it the same every day
Create an area on the dining room table or even better if you have a home office, that is your dedicated workspace. It's best to keep this away from the sofa and in an area of your home that you find inspiring, calming or that you just like. This will help to keep you focused and reinstate the first point of making sure you are at work during your working hours.
Check in with your line manager
Although most people will be doing this whilst working from home, being out of the office means you can’t just ask a question over the desk or stick your head around their door and this means ideas, reminders and general help feels a little bit further away. Schedule a call once or twice a day and be sure to keep some notes throughout the day and address this in your catch-ups. Use applications such as teams, whatsapp or even skype to stay in contact.
Stay Focused. Avoid distracting house chores
You wouldn’t normally put a clothes wash on at 10 am or mop the kitchen floor at 3 pm. Distracting house chores seem very desirable whilst working from home but can disrupt your workflow and cause you to feel more than distracted and lose precious working time. Save these activities for your lunch breaks.
This is the first part of a series of blogs that Quanta will be releasing to keep your working from home situations moving. It is easy for tasks to become delayed or even forgotten about and work can sometimes take longer when your not in your usual work settings. Keep your eyes peeled for the next blog. In the meantime take a look at the ins and outs of virtual interviewing, in light of everything that is happening at present we see this becoming much more popular with job seekers and employers.
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