#LifeInLockdown
Jessica’s Guide To Working From Home Pt.2 by Jessica Redland
- You may not be physically in the workplace but you are at work so dress for it
This doesn’t have to mean put on a suit or smart clothes – although that may work best for some people to get into the mindset of work – but I’d advise against lounging around in PJs. Even if they’re fresh on that morning, there’s something about being in your jammies that says relaxing, not working. And if you wear your PJs for work, what will you wear when you’re not working? Actually, don’t answer that!!!!
I personally wear casual clothes – jogging pants or leggings and a T-shirt – so not what I’d wear to the office but not what I’d wear to bed or to lounge in front of the TV either.
- Create yourself a workspace
Having your own space to work, free from interruptions, can be so important for a productive working day, especially if you have young children at home.
My husband and I both work from home and we only have one child. We live in a small four-bed house so there are two spare bedrooms. We each have one of these, set up purely as an office (no bedroom furniture). The separate rooms work brilliantly for us because he likes to watch films while he works but I prefer music or silence.
Not everyone has a spare bedroom, dining room, summer house or any space they can completely commandeer but, if you can, do try to create some sort of workspace at a desk or table, even if it’s something temporary that you have to clear away each evening.
Sitting on the bed or sofa with a laptop is not ideal for the working mindset and it could also do you some physical damage. I know. I went through a phase of slumping on the bed with the dog curled up next to me and I’ve damaged my shoulders as a result. Not recommended!
- Set goals for each day
Studies show that a phenomenal number of hours of productivity are lost each week in open plan offices. Think about it (pre-lockdown, that is). You arrive on a Monday morning and you chat to your colleagues about what you did at the weekend. The same conversations happen on a Friday about plans for the coming weekend. During the week, there’s chatter about programmes watched on TV or nights out. There are coffee-runs, phones ringing, people asking you questions and a million interruptions, many of them not work-related.
Working from home, this all disappears, although you might have other distractions if you have a house-full. More on that later. If you are distraction-free now, do bear in mind that you are likely to achieve a much greater output in fewer hours if you get your head down and just get on with it. Set yourself goals for what you can realistically do that day and don’t feel guilty if you’ve achieved your goals for the day sooner than the end of your ‘normal’ working day. Celebrate on those goals achieved and relax.
It may be that you need to be ‘available’ between your normal working hours but, if you’ve never taken a lunch hour before, maybe you can now. Give yourself the occasional break. You’d have it at work naturally with a bit of office chit-chat so make sure you have it at home.
- Set yourself a routine
This is linked to the above point but it’s more about how you structure your day. This is where you may need to think more creatively if you have young children at home or caring responsibilities.
If there’s flexibility in your role, take advantage of it. Can you get up before the household and answer your emails or perhaps at the end of the day when it’s bath time/bedtime? Or perhaps those quieter times are when you work on task or projects that require concentration and emails can be intermittently addressed across the day.
Build in a lunch break and tea breaks. See your day as something fluid that may stretch beyond your ‘normal’ working hours. You may have virtual meetings to attend so plan those in your diary and plan your other activities around them so that you use gaps between meetings constructively.
- Step away from social media
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or whatever it is that you favour is a massive distraction in the working day. And, when nobody can see what you’re doing, it can be super-tempting to have a sneaky peak. Resist! Keep the sites closed on your laptop, switch off notifications on your phone, and maybe only scroll through your feeds them when you’re on a lunch break.
Remember that your manager could potentially see your social media posts and therefore will know when you’ve been active. If you’re not delivering the output and it looks like you’re spending time on social media instead, that’s not going to look good. Is it worth the risk?
- Enjoy it
It’s new, it’s different, it may not be ideal and it’s not something you planned but do try to enjoy it. If you do have the flexibility in your working day, find a routine that works for you and the others in your household.
Stay in touch with colleagues. There’s no need to cut out the social side completely. I don’t think there’s a day goes by when my colleague, Carol, and I don’t message each other to see how it’s going, have a moan and to make each other laugh. I really value that contact. It’s almost like being in the office with her.
Play music, particularly if you’re used to background noise from an open-plan office. It makes the day go quicker and the right choices can lift your mood.
You never know, you might grow to love working from home so much that you’d like to do it permanently! As with everything, we grow used to change over time. After my experience in my twenties, I’d never have predicted that I’d be someone who loves working from home and who wouldn’t want to return to an office environment but I am. Doesn’t mean it was an instant, easy adjustment but I got there and I’m sure you will too.
Sending best wishes to all those unexpectedly working from home and hope a couple of these tips resonate.
Jessica xx
Jessica’s latest novel Coming Home To Seashell Cottage is available now as an ebook, audiobook and paperback. Her next novel, Finding Love At Hedgehog Hollow is to be published on 2nd July 2020.
Buy and pre-order your copies by clicking on the covers below.
