I've just returned to my home-office after pretending to walk to work this morning - a recommendation from my big brother who has worked from home his entire career, 15 years to be specific. We're working in very unusual times at the moment which, I guess, calls for very unusual measures in order to combat people's perceptions that remote work will result in a reduction in productivity.
My brother won't find the current situation unusual but he did note that his morning exercise routine was eery today - there wasn't the same morning rush on the streets that he's used to. He compared it to how it must feel during a war. In which case, we must all "keep calm and carry on" for the sake of our employers, our economy and our livelihoods.
Having worked from home all his professional life, my brother imparted some simple tips with me that I thought I would share with RECRUITERS' network. I hope they help us all keep up our productivity (and sanity) whilst working from home in order to control the deadly spread of the coronavirus. My brother is the country manager for a large US pharmaceutical company. If he can manage a nation from home, we all can!
His first tip is to make sure that you get out of bed at the same time you usually would for work. Depending on your normal commute to work, this may not make sense for many. If you're like me, your morning commute would have taken about 40 minutes to get into the office. Therefore, many may decide to wake up 30 minutes later than their usual time. There's nothing necessarily wrong with this, but you will find it difficult to adjust back to reality when you do return to a work-from-the-office situation.
The main point is to not treat it as a holiday or a weekend. Don't wake up at 9 am or 10 am, you'll lose your sharpness. It's important you treat it like any other day at the office.
If you have always woke up, got out of bed and had a shower before breakfast, keep doing that. Don't change your morning rituals. Some may decide to change their process, such as having breakfast before they have a shower, for example. He recommends that everyone sticks to their usual processes in order to trigger the mind's habits for the work-day ahead.
Another top tip that he recommends is that you continue to wear the same clothing you would in the office normally. He warned me about the cons of wearing your pajamas while working from home - I won't get into them all now. I'm wearing slacks and a shirt at the moment, just as I would in the office. I feel ready for work, not for bed!
We all know the benefits of exercise in the morning - even if that means your 10 or 20-minute walk from the bus to your office in the morning. He strongly recommends keeping this up. Now that you've followed your morning rituals and you're dressed for work, be sure to get out and "pretend to walk to work". If you usually listen to the radio on your way to work, keep it up. It will relax the mind and help you think about what needs to be done in the day ahead, just as it does when you're walking to the office.
OK, so it's 8:50 am now and you're on time for work. Grab a tea or coffee just as you usually would when you arrive at the office. Have your to-do list from yesterday at the ready, open up your usual tabs for work and you're all set. My brother recommends creating a dedicated workspace. For many, this may be the hardest part, particularly for those living in a home with many distractions and/or housemates.
The key, he says, is to pick a dedicated space and to work from there consistently. This will train your mind to adapt to it over time - no matter how many distractions. Don't keep changing rooms and/or environments. Your mind needs to recognise that it's work-time, wherever you make that.
It's still winter so make sure you keep warm. You don't want to have the heating running all-day running up a high bill. If there is a room available where the sun shines during the day, choose that ideally. Remember to keep the window open a crack as well in order to keep a nice circulation of air throughout the day.
Another simple but effective tip when working remotely is to take note of everything you did that day. Not only will this help you feel more fulfilled, but it will also help set up your to-do list for the next day. When it comes to remote team meetings and conferences, you will be held accountable for your work and therefore it will be very helpful for you to be able to revert back to your notes as a reminder of everything you have done on a project and/or a task. Don't leave everything to memory!
So that's it. A few simple tips to help you work from home from a man that has done it, and done it successfully, for the past 15 years. The conclusion is to not change your habits or rituals. Keep it as similar to your normal workday routine. Of course, this also means taking your 11 am coffee break (if this is something you normally do), lunch at 1 pm and finish work when you usually do. All simple things that will help us stay productive, on target and sane over the coming days!
Best of luck and stay safe everyone!
Written by Andrew Sheehan
Andrew Sheehan is the marketing manager at RECRUITERS.
