Working From Home - Ten Tips In Retrospect
About 8 weeks ago when the UK started ‘lockdown’ I wrote 10 Top Tips on working from home. You can read the original article here.
On reflection they have stood up well but I thought I would shared my 10 observations of this period - especially since it’s likely that working from home will be a regular feature for many of us. I’ll also get the caveat that I live alone with no pets out of the way - clearly that has pluses and minuses but it does mean I can never blame internal distractions !
Here goes.
(1) Timing Is Everything - Beware Drift
Without the time pressure to be somewhere physically it’s incredibly easy to let your start time in the morning drift. We fool ourselves by noodling around with some work early, perhaps even before 0800 but then, because we’ve been doing chores and a bit of ‘mooching’ around the home, it will be 1000 before we really sit down to work. That has to be kept in check. Decide on a start time and stick with it.
(2) Dress For Work
This point helps you deliver on (1). If your morning dressing routine is linked to your start time you’ll be less likely to let things slip. It’s about self-discipline and it is important. It also helps at the other end of the day. This is about demarcation - what’s work time and what’s you time.
(3) Keep Work Out Of Your Relaxation Zones
This is another demarcation point. Try not to let your working environment spread all over the home. Even if space is tight try to keep work contained and be able to turn your back on it when you’ve finished for the day.
(4) If It’s In The House You’ll Eat It
Shop very carefully, plan your working day food intake ahead of time - resist the temptation to snack and graze otherwise you will not stop. If that means you do not stock the things which you know you’ll turn to when you shouldn’t then don’t buy them. In my home that means no cheese.
(5) Plan Your Daily Deliverables
Try to simplify your task list and segment it. I’ve been running a 3x3 method. 3 tasks I must COMPLETE, 3 tasks I must START / progress and 3 tasks I GRAZE on when I want a break. Doing this means every day ends with a sense of accomplishment. And today’s ‘starts’ become tomorrow’s ‘completes’.
(6) Ramp Up And Ramp Down
There are less interruptions at home, welcome and unwelcome so that probably means you’ll work longer. That’s a good thing but you need to pace yourself and also get into the work zone every day in a way which is uplifting and motivational. So start with enjoyable tasks.
(7) Factor In Three Breaks
Schedule in a morning and an afternoon break and a proper lunch. If you can build in a walk outside at lunchtime all the better. Exercise, fresh air and the ability to let work thoughts settle a little. Be conscious of just how much time you actually ‘waste’ when you get up for a drink. It adds up and can be very distracting. Those planned breaks should be a reward for achieving some tasks.
(8) Ration Zooms / Teams / Webex / FaceTime
It’s been brilliant the way we’ve embraced the use of video conferencing. But what started off as an exciting novelty has become a bit of a chore. Just like physical meetings. We now schedule too many of them and they go on for too long. So ration them. Keep them shorter - 40 mins not 60. 20 mins not 30. And what’s the harm of doing a voice only conference call now and then. Zooms are exhausting !
This might not work for everyone but I’ve found it beneficial to block as many conference calls into one day - leaving the other days free with limited interruption. If you are doing a conference call properly with prep, participation and then follow-up an hour’s call can become 2. So do 4 or 5 in one day. Tiring but lots of progress.
(9) Clean Desk Policy
Spend 20 minutes at the end of the day reviewing your progress, making notes for tomorrow and resetting your desk back to the way you want to find it in the morning. And give it a clean.
(10) Work Nights Are Still Work Nights
A quiz night at home with drinks on zoom is really no different from one in your favourite bar. So be mindful of too many late nights and keep Friday evening and the weekend special.
Good luck with your mission !
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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.
You can email Mark here.
STOP PRESS - Mark has recently published a book on working life - it’s available on Amazon as a paperback or eBook and is also included in Kindle Unlimited.
