WFH WTF - Top 10 TIPS
After primarily working at home for 7 years and, despite everyone else offering their own thoughts on home working, I thought I would have something to add. These tips are aimed at people who are finding working from home a new experience.
(1) Have A Routine - if you usually work 9 - 5, Monday to Friday, then keep this as the spine of your routine. Avoid letting business and leisure merge. Be ready to start your work day at that normal time. Don’t blur things.
(2) Dress For Business - if you shaved (men) every day before work normally then keep doing that, be dressed (no sweatpants) and ready for your usual departure time from your home. Instead of leaving the house make a coffee and do whatever you would normally do on your commute. Get into the business zone. As bizarre as it sounds I don’t wear shoes at home but I do have a pair of slippers that I only wear when working. Come the evening they are swapped out for others.
(3) Timetable & Plan The Week & Day - on a Sunday look at your up coming week and register your deadlines and deliverables. Allocate these to days and then each morning (or the previous end of day) ‘firm up’ your day. If you are sharing a home then think about background noise levels and schedule tasks that require more concentration when it’s quieter. Work in 2 hour blocks with 20 - 30 minute breaks.
(4) Plan Your Breaks - breaks are important and must be planned to avoid them becoming a snack feeding frenzy (seriously this is an issue !). Plan your lunch in advance so you know what you are having and look forward to it. Don’t eat it at 11. Household chores can actually be good break activities. They provide instant gratification and a task well done and result in you ending up with more weekend time. Also an opportunity to let business thoughts settles meaning you return to your desk with a problem solved. But be VERY wary of domestic tasks becoming an opportunity for procrastination.
(5) Have 2 Desks Not 3 - hopefully you already have an established working desk and this is where you will do the bulk of your work but assign another spot in the home for lighter work, reading, reviewing, the occasional call. This could be the kitchen or dining room table. The important thing is being able to take a break from the primary space. However don’t let your work spread around the home just because you are in it most of the time. My rule is that work never gets done on the sofa. Sofa is for relaxing. No work zones are just as important as work ones.
(6) Use Video Calls & Chat Tools Judiciously - it’s important to stay engaged with colleagues and clients but don’t simply exchange time consuming face-to-face meetings with their virtual equivalent. Keep them short and productive. If you are engaged on the call they can be twice as tiring as an in-person meeting. If you find them disruptive to the day then try and allocate as many calls as you can to one day. Leaving a couple of days without distraction.
(7) Assess Your Desk - if you only occasionally use your desk and now are using it for the full working week make sure it’s fit for purpose. Especially the chair. Chairs are important - you’ll pay the price in back pain if you don’t. Also get the light right and, it goes without saying, perfect camera height for those video calls nobody wants to see up your nose and always run the camera before the call and check everything which is in shot.
(8) Nourish The Network - you may be seeing less people face-to-face but don’t become a hermit and don’t just engage with your usual contacts and colleagues. Make an effort to reconnect with lapsed friends. In particular reach out to those who are self-employed and are probably experiencing more uncertainly during this period.
(9) Background Noise Is Important - and I don’t just mean your favorite tunes. The wrong noise can be disruptive so find a background noise that works for you. For me it’s speech based so that means BBC Radio 4. Low enough to not distract but high enough that it provides motivational companionship throughout the day.
(10) End The Day On A High - you probably have a little more control over your last hour of work than when you are at your physical place of work so plan your work so that you finish something of substance each day. If you are in the habit of checking emails and messages on your commute home then allow for this too. If you are used to leaving the office at 1800 and home by 1900 then allow that hour for normal business. However you get to do it with a glass in your hand, starting dinner etc.
Working from home for extended periods of time can become an enjoyable experience. Just don’t blur the lines.
Mark Izatt is a brand consultant living in London and founder of Mission Critical, a highly focused and curated weekly briefing for time poor and information hungry decision makers and THE FIRST, a monthly briefing containing 31 inspirational insights. Mission Critical is a digital product delivered via his Estonian Consultancy business.
