If you know me, you will know that I am a person who needs people. I have often referred to myself as ‘short attention span’ as I need constant human interaction and distractions to function.
Although I survived day 1 of the WFH (working from home), I can tell you that it was not easy. Starting on day 2, I’ve compiled a list of items that will (hopefully) get me through the next few weeks and may even help others as well.
- keep your routine. I usually wake up between 4:00 and 4:30 am and start the day. Clearly, I don’t work out, but I do drink a lot of coffee, check overnight emails, and watch the news on TV.
- Do not change the start time of your work. I usually leave home at 6am, so now that there’s no commute time, I get to my home office and start my day at 6:30 (and just think of all the extra coffee I can get!) consume during the non-trip!).
- STAY CONNECTED! During the workday, keep in touch with co-workers and management. With this shaping up to be the ‘new normal’, to be effective at your job, you’ll need to collaborate with others…whether it’s a phone call, email, or chat with team members.
- Approach. Being home has its distractions, like a passing garbage truck, barking dogs, or a bird fluttering outside your window. Regardless of the distraction, it’s important to stay focused on your work. What works for me is compiling a daily list of ‘I need to do today’ items. Although work-related distractions will inevitably occur (impromptu meetings or screen sharing), at least you’ll have your short daily checklist of items to get back to the tasks at hand.
- Lunch. I’m not a lunch (or breakfast, for that matter) person, but being home and knowing food is available makes me want eat the lunch! However, not everything is bad. Getting away from your desk for 15 minutes or so is a great way to clear your mind and feed your belly. What if you dump a load of laundry right then? Score!
- Setting your end time. The beauty of working from home is not having to travel, and without the travel I always feel like I can work a little harder and get more done. That’s a benefit, but don’t go crazy. By that, I mean if you’re listening to the 10pm news from another room, you might want to cut back a bit. Set an alarm on your phone for your ‘ideal’ end time…for me, it’s set for 7pm
That is all. I hope these tips will help you, as well as help me, to get through these somewhat difficult times. In the meantime, stay safe, wash your hands and get to work.