By Iain Smith, Women in Transport Board Member and Principal Consultant and Founder at Network for Skills
With the move to homeworking now being a reality for many of us, we have put together some guidance that we hope will help you get the most from working in this way.
We recognise we have a mix of experiences when it comes to home working - for some this is the first time of working this way, while others have been working this way for a long time and for some people this is not a way of working that they enjoy. Whatever your situation, we hope these tips will help you to stay focused, productive and positive.
1 - Get the most important stuff done first
The aim of this one is: “set yourself up to succeed”:
As you complete today’s work, ask yourself: if there were only one or two things that I managed to get done tomorrow, what should they be?
Once you have chosen what they are, prepare whatever you need so you can be ready to get started the next day, and then end your day.
When you start work in the morning, go straight to doing the first of these tasks. Do not check your emails first – this will just distract you. Switch off instant alerts if necessary and allocate a time when you will check your inbox later. Totally focus your efforts on these tasks until they are complete.
Avoid trying to multi-task. Starting a number of jobs at the same time means most of them won’t get your undivided attention. Think of multi-tasking as dealing with more than one task during a day, not at the same time. This way you will concentrate on the project in hand – and see it through to completion.
2 - Take regular breaks
When working from home there can be a tendency to sit in front of your screen all day. This is not a productive way to work and actually goes against the natural biological rhythm of our minds and bodies (the “ultradian rhythm”). It's important to take regular breaks and move around just as you would in an office.
The best way to work is in 90 minutes chunks and then stop for an energising break.
An energising break is anything that makes you feel good. Get outside and enjoy the fresh air, do a bit of gardening ... that kind of thing. Then go back to work.
If you do this, you will find that you are really focused and highly productive for your next 90 minutes.
Another tip – before stopping for a break, write a quick note of the next couple of things that you need to do so that you are focused and can quickly get back into it when you return
3 - Stay connected with friends and colleagues
It can feel isolating at times when working from home and you can easily go a whole day without speaking to anyone. Just because you are not in the office, doesn’t mean you should miss out on engaging and interacting with your colleagues in the same way that you may be used to. In fact, it's very important that you don’t.
Use your calendar to plan a few “coffee catch-ups’’ each day and go out of your way to reach out to a few people.
Some teams find it useful to schedule a daily team catch up, just to share news and check-in. Lots of teams who work remotely already do this in the form of team huddles at the start, or at the end, of the day where you can discuss what everyone’s been doing and priorities for the following day.
Where you can, try and pick up the phone or use Teams to have a proper conversation rather than relying on email and instant messaging. Calling people and having a conversation can be much better for you than a chain of emails.
4 - Manage disruptions
We recognise that in the current situation, you may be working in a home environment where other people are around and this can be tricky to manage – especially children! Where possible, try and find a workspace in your home that is free from interruptions so you can focus fully.
Science tells us that it takes around 10 minutes to “get into the zone”. This is true if we are exercising or working on something important. Once we have achieved this state, it's important that we are able to stay there and perform until our next break (always no more than 90 minutes away).
To do this we need to manage interruptions. The following tips can help:
Put an entry in your calendar so that everyone can see that you do not want to be disturbed
Turn off Outlook so that no emails will pop up on screen
Turn your phone to silent
Tell people at home that you are about to go into a 'do not disturb mode' for 90 minutes – possibly easier said than done!!
5 - Have a set time to end your working day
It's really important when working from home that you are able to set some boundaries. The working day may look a little different at the moment as we all try to juggle outside responsibilities with getting the work done. However, you need to structure your day and you should ensure that there is a defined endpoint.
If you have been following the other top tips so far, your productivity will have increased, so there is no reason why you need to work any longer than this.
Once you have reached that point, spend a few minutes planning the next day and then stop...and wind down.
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