We've probably all become very familiar with working from home but are we working at our best? Are we being productive and efficient? Are we enjoying our day or are our stress levels going through the roof?
To find out how we can make working from home work better, we were delighted to get some guidance in a fun interactive webinar led by Iain Smith, Women in Transport board member and founder of Network for Skills. Christine Hurley reports on the webinar.
Kicking off this very interactive session, Iain encouraged us to share our thoughts and tips on what is working well and talk about areas where there is room for improvement.
The fact that it was an online session didn't stop Iain 'throwing the virtual mic' at anyone posting interesting comments in the chatbox, ensuring that we all got the chance to contribute to the discussion.
It became clear that we are all facing different challenges for different reasons, whether through our own personality, the setting we now find ourselves working in, social isolation or the people around us.
Iain went on to share some thinking about control, quoting Epictetus, the Greek philosopher - 'Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle – some things are within our control and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can't control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.”
He continued by explaining the principle of the Circle of Control from Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Once we understand this principle it should be very evident where our focus should be. Easily said, but how many of us do it?
Iain suggests that we plan our day thus:
Take control from the start of your day:
Get up at a set time – don't hit the snooze button. Start the day with discipline, structure and routine, just as if you were working at the office. However, you now have the flexibility to include some exercise and take time for breakfast. And here's the thing – do something that you enjoy– maybe read the newspaper or take the dog for a walk
During the day – maintain control by:
Doing the most important (and possibly the most difficult) task first. Focus on what you really need to get done today. Don't multi-task – focus on one task until it is complete.
Iain suggests dividing work into 90-minute blocks and then taking a break between each chunk of work. Make sure these work blocks are uninterrupted. Don't check mails or messages and switch off alerts.
Science tells us that, if you are interrupted it can take at least ten minutes to get back 'into the zone'. In fact, on average, it takes around 25 minutes to get back into a task once interrupted and we can lose around two hours a day this way. Once we are into the zone we need to stay there until our next break (never more than 90 minutes away)
Take a Break
Don't 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. After 90 minutes, take a break and do whatever relaxes you. Get outside, walk around the garden or chat to a friend. This will make you more productive in the next 90 minutes
Touching on neuro-science, Iain explained that our pre-frontal cortex manages all our key thinking functions. However, it is exhaustible and needs to be used wisely. That's why it's a good idea to tackle important tasks at the beginning of the day before the brain gets tired out by negative news, social media and other people's priorities.
Take control at the end of the day by:
Finishing your work 15 minutes before your intended time so that you can decide and plan your schedule, based on what you must/want to achieve the next day. Book in your most important task, review the schedule to make sure that it is manageable and build in extra time for urgent issues that might come up. Prepare so that you are ready to start work on the task immediately the following morning. Then finish at the time you planned, put your working stuff away and wind down.
It is really important to set a time for finishing work and establish boundaries. As we juggle responsibilities when working from home, it is very easy for boundaries to become blurred and for work to overflow into our personal lives. If you have been following the other top tips so far, your productivity will have increased, so there is no reason for you to work any longer than the time you have set.
After such sage advice and much lively discussion, we were raring to put Iain's ideas into practice. However, he wrapped up with a word of caution. Apparently, the percentage of people who actually take action as a result of attending a webinar is just 5 per cent.
Well, I am not in that 5 per cent as I have found Iain's advice invaluable in increasing my productivity and I hope that other members have too.
Thank you Iain for generously giving up your time. Our members really appreciated it. Here are some of their comments.
“Great webinar. Reinforced some good working practices and good to have input from other WIT members to hear what is working for them.”
“I enjoyed listening to Iain he was a captivating speaker and kept the webinar relaxed and upbeat. I like the way he got the people involved in his talk.”
“ Iain was a great speaker - he injected humour and is obviously a font of all knowledge. I enjoyed listening to him.”
” I enjoyed the enthusiastic nature of the speaker and including all attendees if they wanted to participate.”
“Great energy from Iain and interactive engagement from participants from the start.”
“ I really enjoyed this 'smart working' presentation. The energy was really great and I felt very engaged throughout the presentation!”
“Please continue to invite engaging speakers like Iain! I really enjoyed this session.”
“Taking Iain's advice, today I was working early and put my laptop on airplane mode and it meant that I got something done that I've been hassled for weeks for!.”
To see a copy of Iain's presentation, click here…
Women in Transport is a non-profit network with a mission of advancing women working in transport. Annual membership of Women in Transport is £60 per year providing access to professional development and networking opportunities. We very much welcome guest blogs from our members - a great way to share the incredible diversity of opportunity in transport, raise your profile and connect with our community.
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