7 tips for working from home effectively

Most workplaces that can adopt working from home have now done so and it is important as business owners that we ensure our team are well supported throughout this time.  Many people haven’t worked from home on an ongoing basis and giving some guidance other than ‘get your work done’ is useful, especially when everything else is so uncertain!

Here are some simple tips to provide your employees who are working from home:

1. Keep your normal routine – get up at the same time, shower, get dressed (casual is great, staying in pj’s is not), make your lunch if you normally take it with you, be at your computer by the same time you normally would if you were in the office;
2. Tidy the kitchen and area you are working in before you start work so the pile of washing in the corner is not bugging you throughout the day.  Keep household chores to times you would normally do them (after work, weekends);
3. Get out of the house – in a normal working day you are likely to head outside of the office to get fresh air or attend a meeting, even to leave at the end of the day.  Take a walk around the block to refresh (you can still do this very safely);
4. Check in with teammates – arrange a zoom call or facetime so you can connect with your team mates a couple of times throughout the day.  Remember many people live on their own or have mental health challenges and coming into a workplace is very essential to their health.  Keeping connected and seeing another persons face is important plus it helps to keep work on track;
5. Set your outcomes for the day – as we keep an eye on the news and our twitter feeds we are all feeling distracted and unproductive at the moment.  Don’t stress that you may not get as much done as usual but set clear intention of what you will get done so you can feel accomplished at the end of the day (plus the more we can keep normal in this uncertain time the better);
6. Have a set finish time – if you are productive during the day there is no reason why you shouldn’t finish at the same time as you normally would.  Make sure you clean up your work area and turn off your laptop so it is not shining at you whilst you are having dinner with your family; and
7. Make most of extra time – now you don’t have to commute you have some extra time which you can use for self-care (something we all wish we had time for), read that book, meditate, rest, take a bath or get started on some of those work projects you never have time for.

In New York City and Australia, the schools are still open however I am expecting this to change any minute. I am already thinking about the adaption to my daily work routine if the kids are home.  How do I keep my work up to date whilst also taking on the role of home teacher (which I am very much not qualified for)?!  I will share this with you all as we progress through this.

Keep healthy, keep connected (safely) and keep as much of a routine as you can.

The wattsnext team and I here to support you.  Please reach out anytime.

Sel (Sue-Ellen) Watts

Founder wattsnext Group

Contact:  www.wattnext.com |