How to work from home without losing your mind!
/And just like that, the world has been turned upside down. Nearly everyone I speak to is either already working from home or expecting to be given the instruction very soon.
Under ‘normal’ conditions, working from home for a day or two can be wonderful. You can work with your laptop at the local café, think about things without endless interruptions and wear your PJs to work. These, however, are not normal conditions.
The key is to both ‘move to a new normal’ and ‘try to stay flexible’ at the same time. Partly because ‘new normal’ seems to look different every day. Plus just because you like the idea of working in your PJs every day, you might find the reality not so enjoyable.
I’ve been working from home two or three days per week for years, and that mix works nicely for me. Now though, it’s going to be every day. So I’ve been considering the pros and cons are of working from home, and how to maximise the former and minimise the latter. Here’s what I suggest:
Maintain a routine. Us humans, we love to know what the plan is, even if we’re the one making the plan. So think about what you’re going to do when, and try to stick to it. For instance, if you are normally in the office between 8am and 5pm , then that’s when you work at home.
GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! I can’t stress this enough. Go for a decent walk or run every day. You’ll go stir crazy very quickly if the only thing you see is the inside of your own place. And because you’re not having endless corridor meetings in the office, you might consider taking a longer lunch break and getting out of the house in the middle of the day. I won’t tell your boss, and anyway, your performance will be better for it.
If you have kids and a partner, think about how to plan each day. This might be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for to think about the routine a bit differently. For instance, I like to get up early and get working, and then go to bed early. Whereas Toby (my husband, also now working from home) would prefer to sleep in, get going later and finish later. So we can organise our days to match (at least partially!) our preferences.
Set up a desk (or even a corner of the kitchen table) that is your workspace, and leave it behind/pack it away at the end of your working day. Letting work and personal time drift into each other is a bad habit, but an easy one to fall into when you’re working from home. Your brain really does need time away from work in order to do a quality job at work. If you only work, eat and sleep, you’ll go nuts.
You are going to be using video conference a lot. So figure out where you are going to be, turn on the camera on your laptop and have a careful look at what is behind you. Keep it professional people.
Speaking of video, make sure you catch up with at least one colleague over video/phone every day. And if you manage people, then you want to have a quick dial in with each person every day. Things are changing fast at the moment, and everyone needs support to keep delivering. Speaking of support…
Keep an eye on your own mental health. It’s OK to feel anxious, I think most of us are right now. Daily meditation, exercise, getting out of the house, eating well, sleeping well – we all know what helps, but when your routine goes out the window, so can your ability to remember the basics. Schedule time in for these activities. And if you need to speak to someone, most businesses have an EAP program. Now might be the time to start using it.
Lastly, enjoy the upsides! Of which there are many. Eat lunch with your partner, put a slow cooked meal on in the early afternoon so that dinner is easy. Use the time to do any deep thinking that you haven’t been able to get to in an office environment. Wear uggboots, make eggs on toast for lunch, enjoy working in a different physical environment.
If you manage most/all of the above, you’ll be well placed to continue to contribute strongly to your business as well as look after yourself.
Because as is starting to become very clear, this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.
Take care
Sarah