Treat being at home… as though you were at work!
How to get the best out of yourself when looking for a job or working from home!
One of the phenomenon’s linked to Coronavirus – whether you have sadly been made redundant or like myself, fortunate in keeping your job (albeit on a reduced number of hours per week) ….is the requirement to work more from home.
For those who have been made redundant, I know from personal experience of being made redundant twice in my work career; that ‘getting a job’ is ‘a job’ in itself & that only if you treat it in this manner will you be successful. The following may therefore be of real help to you.
Working from home is not something that all people take easily too; & I would like to share with you a few things that have helped me to remain focussed & motivated when working from my spare bedroom. I hope they help you too …
Treat being at home …as though you were at work!
Whether you are in work or not – you will get the best out of yourself & the available time if you treat every day ‘as though you were at work’.
For me this starts with waking up early following a great night’s sleep. Studies have shown that getting up early in the morning makes you a more proactive person with your peak ‘output’ being far higher than people who have a ‘lay-in’.
After that it is about acting – & doing the things you would do if you were actually in your workplace.
Organise your day
Make sure that by organising your day you complete all your objectives. Methods I use include
- Write tomorrow’s worklist today! This ensures that you can relax at the end of the day knowing everything that needs to be done is already recorded.
- Whether it’s on a piece of paper …or a list on the computer – detail all tasks & score through when completed. This helps give you a great sense of achievement.
- Do not mix work & personal tasks – but make specific time slots to complete those non-work tasks that will not wait until you have finished your day’s work. I find that completing personal tasks around scheduled mealtimes helps with this segregation & ensures optimum efficiency.
- Really important at the moment is the need to keep up to date with changes in the status of key requirements / legislation etc. Allow for some study / research time within every day
- Plan a finish time & stick to it
Create a work environment
Obviously, this will depend on your personal circumstances; but to optimise your output it is vital that you have the right mind-set. Getting the right mind-set often comes down to environment & how you personally feel. As a minimum –
- Have a specific area to work in (and if possible you can close the door on) which signifies ‘work’ to you & means that when you enter that threshold you are in work mode. As important – at the end of the day when you leave that area …you close that door & relaxation begins.
- Make sure that like you would at work; you have whatever equipment you need; & it is set up correctly & comfortably – this particularly relates to laptops / chairs / storage.
- Background noise is an interesting one – I personally like no background noise but I do have some colleagues that like a bit of background radio / tv – I will let you have your call on that one!!
- I remember well when I first started working from home I really could not concentrate or motivate myself until I was dressed appropriately …and that meant working from home wearing a suit (sad I know but it worked). As I am a more experienced ‘home-worker’ those days may now be gone – but it is still important to ensure that I attend work shaved & appropriately dressed for on-line meetings.
Communicating with friends in the industry
You & your colleagues may be working from home but that is no need to feel distant. Make the best of the fantastic tools that are available for ‘free’ including Teams & Zoom & Whatsapp.
I have found that having a daily call (early morning!) within my work group has really helped keep me up to date & focussed. For those not on the daily call maybe have a weekly call, but make sure you stay in touch.
Breaks & treats
“All work & no play etc” is such a true adage! Make sure that in your daily schedule you allow for breaks rewards for yourself.
My favourite reward (which I get come what may) is my mid-afternoon cup of tea followed by a walk with my dog. Sustenance & recreation in one go! If you don’t have a dog ..then maybe a lunchtime walk would suit you better?
And at the end of the day …
When tomorrow’s list is written & you have completed another successful day & hit your objectives …then make sure you relax & reward yourself one more time.
A beer works sooooo well for me…Cheers!!