Don’t be an overachiever - working from home takes time
A friend of mine asked his boss this week if he could return to the office. He has been in isolation since returning from an overseas trip for over 2 weeks now. Adjusting to working from home takes time. At first the idea of working from home for most people seems ideal. You get to focus on work without meetings and interruptions. You get to do your washing and attend to small jobs around your home while working. You are free from the commute to work that can often be the worst start to your day.
I closed my office in November last year and my whole team and I became virtual. It was not a decision made lightly but one that has seen us yes, be more productive and 2 given all of the flexibility to live better lives. But there was definitely an adjustment and ‘tweaking’ to my preconceived ideas of what working from home would be like that we’ve all had to make.
This is what I have learnt:
Start Small - When you first start working from home, you think you will achieve more. But this takes practice. Start with one task to achieve for the day. And spend the rest of the time reviewing your emails and planning the next day.
Knowing you have accomplished what you set out to accomplish is the most important tip for staying motivated while you work alone.You need to plan your day - Working from home needs us to plan our day more so than if you were in the office. By planning your day, I mean reviewing what are the 1-3 tasks that you will commit to accomplishing that day. You need to be able to understand pretty accurately how long things take to complete at home. And this is likely to be different to when you were in the office.
Routine - Having a routine that incorporates your responsibilities at home, your self care activities (exercise, eating, getting dressed) and work is incredibly important. Equally so is sharing that routine openly with your team and being very transparent as to when you are available for zoom / skype meetings.
No Judgement - We all have different home setups and different approaches to work. Adjusting to working from home takes time and it is important not to judge others if they don’t respond to your email straight away (avoid the temptation to assume they are not working), are in active wear when you dial into a meeting or message you ten times per day with questions.
Stay Connected - You might be missing your colleagues, the ability to have 5 mins talking about your weekend over a coffee or the ability to quickly stop by someone’s desk to ask for their opinion on something. Find ways to stay connected. Set up weekly calls with the team, agree on a time that works for everyone and use video where possible. Call people for a chat. If you use slack, microsoft teams, monday or any other collaboration tool, use it! It will make the world of difference.
The first few weeks working from home are certainly the toughest. It is like all change, an adjustment we need to make mentally as much as physically. Give it time, be kind to yourself and others. And remember to start small with your expectations!
Written by Evelyn G Jackson, CEO of Find My Meaning.