With everything that's going on in the world right now, many people are transitioning to working at home. Our team has done that as well, and we know how much of a challenge it can be to completely change your work environment, which is why we wanted to give some tips to help you in your transition. There's three lenses that you want to look through your transition: mindset, environment, and tools.
Mindset
Your mindset around this change is going to be one of the biggest deciding factors on whether or not you find success with working from home.
- Remember: You're still at work- it's very tempting to treat working from home like a mini-vacation and try to multitask and get other things done around the house. It's important to remember that even though your environment looks like home, you are still "at work" and your focus needs to be on your work, not on the laundry or dishes or cooking food
- Create a morning routine before work: Your morning is what is going to set the tone for the rest of the day, so establishing a routine that you can stick to will help you have the energy and focus to be more productive during your work day. Things like reading, stretching, going for a walk, and exercising can set you off on the right side of the bed.
- Dress for success: The way you dress often reflects how you feel. Even though you're at home it's important you still feel like a professional and dress just like you would going to work. This will help you feel better and look presentable if you have to hop on a call with a client, co-worker, or boss.
- Plan your week: You can't get anywhere without a plan, and working from home may add some extra chaos to the week because you won't necessarily have someone looking over your shoulder and directing your hour to hour activities. Having it set in your mind with what will make this week a success and then blocking off the time to do it will organize your week and set you up for a win.
- Set break times and an opening and closing schedule: We know you love what you do, but being at home can produce the desire or expectation to continue working straight for longer periods of time. That's why it's important to set break times throughout your day where you can refresh, but also setting an "opening" and "closing routine" that way you aren't tempted to start work before you should or keep working past the time that you should. Think about what you do every day when you first come in and every evening before you go home, then set a time to indicate it's time to start your ritual. This will keep you on track.
Environment
- Find a spot that's going to be your "work spot": whether this be an at home office or a desk in the corner of the dining room, try to find a place that can be your space for work. When you enter that space you are in "work mode" and when you leave that space you are in "home mode." Make sure the space has all the technology that you need in order to be successful.
- Set boundaries with your family: This is probably the hardest part of working at home, especially if you have other family members at home with you. Setting boundaries is going to be very important. Whether that means when you go in this room you are at work or when you have headphones on you are not to be disturbed. Whatever they may be make sure they are clear. It may be uncomfortable at first, but very necessary if you plan on getting anything done.
- Limit distractions: No TV, hanging out with the fam or taking the dogs out. If you don't do it at work, don't do it at home.
- Manage snacking: The best way to manage snacking when you're at home is two fold: get rid of the snack you're tempted with, and meal prep for your week just like you would if you were going into work. Having food ready made and available will limit the desire for snacking, as well as eliminating the need to prepare food and take time out of your work day.
- Move regularly: Every 90 minutes or so get out of your chair and stretch! You're more sedentary when working from home so you want to be able to manage that.
- Go outside! Change your scenery on your off time or go for a walk on your break. Getting cooped up in your house will make you crazy!
Tools
- Timers: Timers will help you stay focused. Set a time for a specific amount of time and only work on one thing during that time. You'd be surprised at how productive you can be! You can also set timers to remind yourself to eat, drink water, and start to wrap up for the end of your day.
- Asana: manage your tasks with Asana. You can put all of your tasks, set them to repeat, set due dates, anything you can imagine so that you can stay 100% on track.
We hope this helps with your transition to working from home!
