Thursday Thoughts for July 2, 2020

Today’s topic is working at home vs. the office.  Many people have been thrown into working at home due to the COVID crisis.  Lots of people (and their employers) have found it to be better than working at the office in terms of happiness and productivity.  But there also is another group who suffered from the opposite effect.  These folks are facing challenges due to their home situation, they may miss their interactions with coworkers, etc.  This varying outcome is not surprising given the abrupt manner in which this transition happened.  We need to have training and education along with broader discussions about working at home since this situation is now the new normal.  Here are some tips from my experience:

1. Be organized

I start every day with a to-do list of things to accomplish.  It is prioritized about what needs to get done today and also what I need to make progress on if I am going to hit an upcoming deadline.  I include both project-oriented work and recurring items that need to be kept up to date.  I actually do this for both work and personal items.  If it works for one side of your life, it can help on both.  This is especially true for items that Sue, the CEO of our household, tells me to do.  After creating the list, I schedule the hours until dinnertime and identify the work items for each hour.  If possible, I try not to have an item blocked in for more than an hour at a time.  For big projects, I often will insert shorter items periodically so I have a break and can return to it later with a fresh set of eyes.

2. Stay focused

One of the biggest challenges of being at home is that potential distractions are exponentially greater.  Family, animals, snacks, TV, etc. are all contributors to this problem.  To the extent possible, I try to include some break time on my schedule to help cover this issue.  For example, I try to eat lunch with Sue when I can.  This is a perk of being at home so we try to make the most of it.   Another big problem with staying focused -- whether at home or in an office -- is the addiction to using our electronic devices for other activities, especially social media.  It is important to put these distractions into short, discrete periods until you are done for the day.  After I do my schedule, I will spend ten minutes on social media and checking the news.  Another major problem is stopping concentrated work to answer individual emails and texts.  Unless it is something time-critical, try to bunch all of these items into buckets two or three times per day.  Answering every email or message individually when they arrive will affect your productivity.

3. Aspire to be professional, not bureaucratic

This point requires more enlightened employers who share this philosophy.  Most people are hard workers and will do their best when they understand what, when, and why things need to be done and are given the responsibility to achieve appropriate outcomes.  Our employment culture has too many rules aimed at making sure people do their work. they actually hold back the hard working people while the unprofessional people will find ways to play the rules as much as possible.  For many years, I have encouraged colleagues, if possible, to take time out of their normal schedule to go to their kids’ school conference or play, or help a family member or friend with a doctor’s visit.  My comment to them has been that if you are getting your work done, then go for it.  My preference would be to throw out much of the content in employee manuals except the critical parts regarding discrimination and benefits.

4. Plan social interactions with work colleagues

One of the biggest issues about working at home is people missing their interactions with colleagues.  Part of this is social; but it also is an important part of learning, mentorship, etc.  Consider including a short (ten minutes or less) call or video call with key people where you can ask questions about various work items or just check on them.  We are social beings and a complete cutoff is not healthy; these interactions just need to be managed as part of your schedule.

5. Don’t let video calls turn you into a zombie

Generally, video calls have been a huge positive during this crisis on both a work and a personal basis.  But they have their limits.  Doing too many of them in a row or having them go too long can turn you into a zombie or “Zoombie,” if you use that service.  Shorter sessions  with breaks after a couple of them in a row are worthwhile.  Whether a meeting is on video or in person, too many meetings are unnecessary or an inefficient use of time.  My least favorite is where people read a presentation to you.  This is a common meeting failure.  Everyone should have gotten the presentation far enough ahead of time to review it.  When someone would start reading it to me, I would remind them that I am literate and have already read it, here are my questions and comments, and let’s get to a conclusion.  Also, too often, the important slides are in the last quarter of the presentation and, hopefully, you have not gone into a coma by that point. Also, try not to have meetings for the sake of meeting. I always want to leave meetings with action items reviewed and assigned so we know our time was well-spent. 

6. Celebrate results

When you have finished a good work product, celebrate it.  Congratulate yourself; something worthwhile has been achieved.  Consider a reward for yourself.  There may be a dish of dark chocolate in the kitchen, so have a piece (but try to keep it to one).

As we continue to evolve in this new world, I would encourage organizations not to simply say let’s get back to the office or even an on/off hybrid of alternating work at home and the office.   Take out a clean sheet of paper and revisit how people can be more productive and feel more rewarded.  The work-at-home model has much to offer; but, it requires thoughtful planning, training, continuous improvement, and patience. 

Remember, Relentless Positive Action in your life will help you and others. So, I wish you RPA every day!