Hello, new friend! I imagine if you’ve stumbled upon this post, you’re either already working from home or maybe getting prepared to start. I just recently started to work from home due to Covid-19. I am a corporate trainer for a financial institution within their call center. Though my department is essential, we have the ability to work from home and I realize, not many others have this option. I am grateful to be able to continue to provide support to my team, my company, and to our customers through times like this. I am quite the energetic, “go-getter” type of co-worker, where I will help you with whatever I can and tell you, “we will get through this together!”
If you, or someone in your family, is an essential worker, whether it’s in healthcare and public health workers, law enforcement and first responders, energy, water, and waste employees, food and agriculture, public work and infrastructure services, community and government workers, financial services, hygiene services – and so many more! Thank you! We are in a time where we need to show our gratitude and support essential workers. We need to take care of them while they are taking care of us.
Let’s get started! Here are tips that have helped me to remain productive while working from home.
- Find your space!
Find an area in your home where you can “go to” and “leave from.” Literally! I kid you not. Try not to put your set up in your bedroom. I set up shop in my kids’ room. While it is technically across the hall from my bedroom, I can shut the door and really focus on work. My kiddos now think of the room as “my office” and try their best (I mean their best, ha ha) to not “disturb” me. If you can use another area in your home, you are forced to get up and “go to” work. And also the opposite, when you are finished working, you can “log off” and “leave from” work.
See my next post “Work Essential Items” for ideas on making your space your own!
- Talk with your family (and friends)
Talk with your family (and friends) and tell them you are working from home, especially those that live with you, and tell them your schedule. This way they know and as much as they can, they’ll try not to distract you. And for those of you with kiddos, talk to your kids too! My daughter is 5, and ever since working from home, she has wanted to stay home with me. She understands that I sometimes I may be on a call with someone and she will need to be quiet. She has told her brother (who is 2 and a half) not to scream at his cartoons “because mommy is working”. AND, she even set up an area in “my office” where she can “work” on reading and math while I’m working. I love it!
- Start a morning routine
Start your morning off right! Now that your space is outside of your bedroom, you have to get up and get out… that’s a start! I also cannot not have my morning coffee. (Am I the only one?!) As my water boils, I brush my teeth and wash my face; it will help wake you up! While my coffee is brewing, I am getting “ready.” If you’re like me and some of my coworkers, get dressed and get ready for the day! I personally have been enjoying a comfy, casual shirt and a touch of concealer and mascara. I’ve started to video chat with team members, but they don’t need to know that I am either in gym shorts or sweats! Ha. Once I’m ready, I grab my coffee and a cup of water, and head “into work.”
Note: Don’t be like me my first few days and forget to drink water. It was as if I couldn’t break away from work… It wasn’t until lunch (a late lunch also) that I realized I didn’t drink any water. Not good!
- Create a schedule
Create a work schedule. If your workplace uses a scheduling system, follow it. My workplace does use a scheduling system, and in the office, it was hard for me to follow (as a trainer with different pop ups throughout the day). Now that I am working from home, I like that I have a time to start, a time to take lunch, and a time to finish. I know it might sound a little silly at first, but if you think about it, how many times have you been so focused on a project where you didn’t step away? Me with my water breaks, remember? Or, how many times were you working on a project and you either started super early in the morning or stayed at work late? Try to create a reasonable schedule to break up your workday, and really, take a step away from your desk. Your breaks and lunch are just as important as they were back in the office.
- Get fresh air
Get yourself some nice, crisp, fresh air! Wait, what? Yes, get some fresh air while you are working. Open the window, if you can. Take a walk outside on break or lunch. Maybe even start off your morning routine with a few minutes of fresh air or take a few minutes to relax after you finish working. Mix it up!
- Remain professional
Remain professional while you are working. Think of it as if you were in the office. Avoid distractions, like being on your cell phone, or searching the internet, or even talking with family members that are at home, too. There are so many more working professionals working from home these days. Try to minimize the background noise to give your undivided attention to your coworkers, employees, customers, etc. and continue to provide professional service.
- Do not work on “work” off the clock
This one is “easier said than done”, I get it. I was totally the one checking my emails and responding to messages late at night. Try not to do this! The most common work task for us are our emails. Now that it is “easier” or convenient to check, do not do it. You might think it’s just to clean out your Inbox so that you don’t return to as many emails. This is how it starts and really, it can only lead to a burn out later. Just as I mentioned before, your workspace, if possible, should be an area you can go to and leave from.
- Check in with your coworkers.
This might be one of the most important ones. Working from home can be different, especially if you are coming from an office environment and maybe like me, have never worked from home before. Schedule weekly check ins with your manager or with your team members. Try Lifesize or Zoom to see one another. It may sound silly, but face-to-face interaction will be critical, again especially to those coming from a busier workplace environment. It felt a little different seeing my manager for the first time via Lifesize video, but afterwards it felt good. It felt like a sense of “normalcy”. Then it was my turn – I scheduled three training sessions the following week with team members and it was so much fun. And two of them were team members that live in a different state (our call center has two locations) and I had never had an opportunity to meet them. With Lifesize, I was able to meet them face-to-face and as we were training, I could really see and engage them. It was nice to be “back in action”, give it a try! Start with a peer for a “mental check-in”, we all need it at one point.
If you’ve made it this far, phew! Thank you for joining me today! I hope these tips help you remain productive while working from home. If you have any tips and tricks, feel free to add a comment below to share! And definitely, if you try any of these tips, please let me how it went for you. I would love to hear back from you! Good luck and I wish you all the best during this time! Please stay safe and stay healthy!