As someone who runs their own business, I have been home based for the past 5 years. I can honestly say it was the best thing I ever did. Part of the reason I set up Concise was so I could work more flexibly around the children. Never again will I have to apologise for being 5 minutes late or have to ask permission to leave work early to see my child’s sports day. Plus I don’t have to spend money on travel, waste countless hours commuting or deal with the continual distractions of office life.
However home working can be very challenging and isolating. It does require a healthy dose of self-discipline – it’s so easy to say – just one more episode of Afterlife and then I’ll start. On the flip side, you also need to ensure you still maintain a healthy work life balance and don’t succumb to working all hours just because your computer is sitting right in front of you.
With hundreds of thousands of people across the country having to quickly adapt to remote working, here are a few tips I have picked up along the way.
Creating the right work space environment
- If you don’t have an office, choose a place in your house that feels comfortable and calm. Try and find a space that has good natural light but won’t bake you or blind you come 3pm. Make sure you have plenty of room, a supportive chair and nothing too visually distracting.
- Silence after a busy office environment can be distracting. Personally I like to listen to the Smooth Jazz channel. It’s not that I’m a massive jazz fan. For me, it creates a chilled sound but doesn’t distract me so much that I end up singing along. Some people I know listen to ‘sounds’ like sounds of the ocean, or office sounds or street noises. There are loads on Suri, Alexa and Google, just find one which works for you.
- Whilst I’m not a fan of clutter, personalising your desk with a family photo and a nice plant, just as you would in the office is always a nice touch and good for wellbeing.
- Also, if you don’t have a separate space for you work station and you’ve set up in your kitchen or living room, I would strongly advise you to pack your computer away at the end of the day. 1) It’s hard to unwind and relax with your computer staring at you. 2) You may feel compelled to switch it back on – just to get ahead on tomorrow’s work. This is not good practice and burn out is not something you want to experience. Remember the importance of work life balance. Doing 7 hours work a day is enough!
- Obviously it goes without saying to check the view behind you for video conferencing. No one wants to see piles of laundry, last night’s dishes or the open door to your bathroom.
Getting into a healthy routine
Finding a routine and structure that works for you is vital to maintaining productivity and wellbeing.
- I am a massive fan of lists. I always write a daily list of everything I want to complete. Then I number them in the order I intend to complete them and I asterix the ones which I definitely need to complete. Don’t laugh, but I do feel a sense of satisfaction when I cross an activity off. Plus when I feel myself getting anxious, I do find writing everything down helps me to focus and not feel so worried. Everyone has their preferred method of working, so find one that works for you.
- Create your core hours and try to stick to them. At the moment when I switch off my computer, I go for a 5 mile brisk walk. This is because – 1) I have just got my first fitbit and I’m getting slightly obsessed about my number of steps. 2) It’s a clear demarcation between work and home. The walk totally clears my head and when I get back home I am into ‘home mode’ and I have trained myself not to talk or think about work until the morning.
- Also no matter how tempting, try and avoid working in your pjs all day. You still want to feel like you are starting work and getting dressed will help your work motivation.
- Make sure you give yourself regular breaks throughout the day. Try not to sit at your computer all day. Eat your lunch in a different room and stretch your legs. Even a ten minute walk around the block can make a huge difference to your mood.
Communication
- For a lot of people home working can feel very isolating. As human beings we are used to contact. In the past if you were stuck on a piece of work, you could just turn to your colleague and get some feedback. If you were having a bad day you could chat to a work friend and get some immediate support and sympathy.
- Video conferencing is so important to stay connected. Zoom and Microsoft Teams seem to be the biggest favourites. Make sure you talk regularly to your team mates and don’t just talk about work. Try to spend some time chatting about every day stuff and ask how everyone is doing. Close working relationships are important not just for productivity but because work friendships are important and these can suffer when people aren’t in the same place.
Homeschooling the kids
This is a tricky one and I still don’t have the right balance. I have learnt that working and doing home schooling at the same time is a recipe for disaster. I’m an early bird, so I’ve found starting work at 6am and working through till 9am, really works for me. I then sit with the kids between 9 – 11 doing school work. Then I do more office work in the afternoon and hubby takes over with the kids. Other people I know are doing the majority of their office work in the evenings or at weekends.
In all honesty there is no perfect formula to this and no one I know has got this cracked. It’s almost impossible to work full time and homeschool, you just have to find a routine that works best for you. In fact if there is anyone out there who has cracked this, please email me and let me know what your secret is!
Although remote working can be isolating and it’s never easy to self-motivate, there are some important facts to remember.
- Think about all the time and money you are saving on not commuting.
- A sandwich from your fridge is a lot less expensive than M&S or Costa Coffee.
- You can watch Netflix at lunch.
On a more serious note:
- Remote work makes staff happier – 55% of commuters in the UK reporting increased stress levels due to their commute (Royal Society of Public Health 2016).
- Productivity increases – Research at Cardiff University (2017) found that those who work from home put in more hours than if they were in the office and are more likely to go above and beyond when required.