There is a third, often forgotten section of society who neither love nor hate marmite. I am one of those rarely mentioned people who ‘can take it or leave it’, or ‘don’t mind it’. I feel a bit like that with home working. It’s useful on occasions when you need to be at home for a particular reason and certainly has further benefits – the shorter commute; an extra hour in bed; easy access to food and drink and so on, but it also has its negatives – distractions by partners or children; motivational issues; lack of structure and of course easy access to food and drink.
“Just because you’re wearing Superman pyjamas doesn’t mean you’ll have superpowers!”
Working in an office or workplace provides a useful separation between work and home but also social interaction for people who live alone (or time away from the tedium of housemates or other family members for those that don’t).
So, as many of us are now adjusting to a different way of working and some people might be finding it easier than others, here are our top 5 tips to making the most of working from home:
Shower and get dressed
Whilst it might seem trivial, keeping your routine as close to how it would be on a normal workday can help get you into ‘work mode’ and lead to greater productivity. Just because you’re wearing Superman pyjamas doesn’t mean you’ll have superpowers!
Set Boundaries
Try to set your working day timetable as you would your normal working day. If you work 9am to 6pm then try to keep to that timeframe. Not only your start time but also the time you finish. Otherwise, you may find that because you’ve no train to catch it’s easy to lose track and keep working without realising the time.
Take Regular Breaks
In a workplace grabbing a coffee and chatting with co-workers is a regular thing, which is not only good for physical health (time away from the pc screen) but also our mental health too. Why not schedule a virtual coffee break with co-workers using Microsoft Teams or Zoom (another reason not to wear Superman pyjamas)!
Plan Your Day
Decide what you need to do and make a plan – but be realistic. A huge list of ‘to-do items’ you barely get halfway through might have a negative effect on your mood. Don’t forget to allow for unexpected tasks or some that take longer to complete than you anticipated. Prioritise the important jobs and aim to do those in the morning so they are out of the way.
Focus
In the workplace we are interrupted on average 20 times a day – either by phone calls, text messages, emails, people stopping by your desk etc. Working from home provides its own potential interruptions in addition to those – such as the people you live with, the doorbell, or pets. It’s important to avoid these as much as is practical, so tell other people in your house you don’t want to be disturbed for the next hour or so, turn off your mobile (if you can) and just focus on the task at hand – but don’t forget to take your break!
If you are struggling with your mental health then please seek help – NHS – Every Mind Matters
Source: Elevate2 Infohub