The arrival of the coronavirus will see an unprecedented number of people working from home. While remote working has been around for years, many have never been out of the office for an extended period of time.
To ease the transition and maintain high performance, consider these tips:
Get Comfortable with the Technology
From video conferencing to accessing company files online, there are a lot of little changes when you start working from home.
For leaders, you need to make sure that employees understand the systems they’ll need to use, any passwords they’ve forgotten, and who they should contact if there are problems.
Employees should test things out early, so they’ll know if something is working or not. You don’t want to wait weeks to see if certain software is operational.
In the past I’ve written about Engaging Remote Employees during video conferences. https://www.kenokel.com/engaging-remote-employees/
There will be Distractions
The good thing about going into work is that you’re taken out of your home environment. Now, you’re always in it. With that can come distractions like kids home from school, noise from things like landscaping, and that pile of laundry you’ve been meaning to fold.
Try to reduce the impact of those distractions. Can you work in a room that’s quiet and away from TVs? If there’s no option like that in your home, you may want to get some noise cancelling headphones.
Working from Home & Your Appearance
Working from home allows you the opportunity to have a more casual appearance. Keep in mind there’s a fashion spectrum that goes from perfectly tailored to sweatpants with holes.
While a casual look is a nice perk of remote work, you never know when an unexpected video conference may take place. So either have a casual yet camera ready appearance or have a quick change of clothes nearby.
When I worked in TV news, sometimes I would anchor the newscast wearing shorts, but the shorts were hidden under the news desk.
Social Interaction
You may lose touch with your coworkers and discover that you miss them. If you eat lunch with certain people every day, consider continuing that ritual through video conferencing. There are free services, like zoom.us, you can use.
Have Routines
There’s a rhythm to a normal workday and to maintain performance levels, you need to create one in your home. Try to have schedules, including breaks, for yourself and your family.
Don’t forget to move around some. In homes with multiple bathrooms, when it’s time to relieve yourself, visit the bathroom that’s furthest away from you.
Avoid Certain Areas
Make sure your daily routine doesn’t include endless trips to the kitchen, as that can hurt your productivity and grow your waistline. If you visit the break room at work, twice a day for coffee, then keep to that same ratio.
Also, avoid little household chores that you may feel tempted to perform.
Create Boundaries
When you’re working from home, the work day can start to blur. After hours, you may think of something and just jump on your computer to act on it.
Over the long term this can lead to burnout. While you may be tempted to work from your work computer when it’s just a few feet away, consider if the task is urgent or if it can wait until tomorrow.
And remember the time off from work allows you to perform well when you’re on the clock. Don’t mess up that important balance. Decide the limits of your workday and honor them.
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