How to be productive when your new office is a few feet away from the fridge (or the bed)

In these trying times, it’s easy to just want to throw it all in & go back to bed or instead continually eat for comfort. If we’re not careful at the end of COVID-19 we will all go out looking like little elephants with our lazy gene fully in place (I blame my mother for mine)

Working at home brings greater challenges in staying motivated & keeping your performance up.

How you manage this will make all the difference to how you & your team come out of this on the other side.

 Tips to help:

?? Turning off all notifications & having specific times to check emails & the phone helps. So much time is wasted endlessly surfing our phones.

???♀? Use your calendar properly, scheduling in meetings, recording high priority tasks to do & to show when you’re not available. It’s important is to train others to look at your calendar & check.  Make your family aware you are working & interruptions are only in an emergency. Surface occasionally just to reassure yourself all is okay & use this as your break. Explaining why you are following this to your family will help them understand.  But remember it’s okay to be flexible and work different hours from normal to accommodate family needs.

????? To stop yourself eating mindlessly invoke a rule you only eat in the kitchen or at the table. Don’t use food & drink as a crutch for that difficult conversation or client. It’s much better to do five minutes of exercise. For me planning my day’s food & writing it down in a nice notebook helps me. 

????? Have a schedule/ timetable that you stick to & follow office hours. Using the Pomodoro Technique helps balance between high performing tasks & short breaks.  Remember to include moving around & getting some exercise. Great to include in your lunchtime as you will come back to your desk refreshed & studies show this helps productivity. This will stop you wanting to climb back into bed!

????? Designate a space as your office and set it up so you can work ergonomically & with everything you need at hand (other than food). Keep this tidy so you can find things easily & don’t let rubbish accumulate around you. Don’t look at my desk right now!

????? If possible, create a visual management space. Use this to track progress, highlight important notes & an area for creativity whether post-its for brainstorming a problem or a whiteboard to draw mind maps on.  You can get sticky whiteboard sheets that can be temporarily housed on a wall, door or cupboard. 

?? Having reached the end of the working day, create a routine that symbolises the switch from work to home life. If you were working outside of the home, you would have the travelling time to denote the change. What can you implement? Maybe it’s a walk or a yoga session or a cup of tea with your partner. Whatever it is, use this as the adjustment & don’t let yourself get pulled back into answering emails and calls. 

????? Don’t forget to build in people time so you can bounce off them for ideas & advice. Virtual video calls work best as it’s easier to read the non-verbal signs. Make sure you build in listening to the other person in those calls as otherwise, you can go away feeling things were left unsaid.

What other tips would you share to avoid bed or food when working at home?

In previous roles, I’ve managed virtual teams & I’m happy to discuss & support in these times. Needing to offload problems & find solutions, I can support you as the HR Manager as well as your teams. Just DM to arrange a virtual call.