Working From Home - Tips, tricks and the reality

While COVID-19 is causing a ginormous (not a real word) increase in staff working from home I thought I would share some tips and tricks I have learnt from my experience of working from home for over a decade.

Don't be jealous of your pets Look it's not their fault they get to laze around all day whilst you have to do some work. This is an actual snap of my cat Jasmine snoring in my office....

Switch on and switch off It’s important to work the same hours you would if you were an office based employee, no more and no less. There is a temptation to take a few minutes to throw a load of washing on but that can quickly turn into 10 minutes. You need to make sure you switch on. On the flip side I can’t tell you how many times my kids have come into my office and said “It’s 6:30! When are you going to stop work and cook dinner?” Work is always there and you need to make sure you switch off.

Your friends will think you work in your PJs One of my best friends would regularly send me emails in my early days working from home telling me to get out of my PJs. Funny right? Err no! I still get the jibes from friends about working in my PJs. I have learnt to ignore them. And I do not work in my PJs

Have a uniform I am not saying you should be wearing a three piece suit each day but having pieces of your wardrobe that give you the mental clue helped me switch into work mode.

Let family/friends know they cant just pop in It took some time for friends and family to work out that just because I was working from home did not mean they could just pop in whenever they wanted for a coffee – I do have a job I just happen to work from home!

Having kids at home can be a nightmare My youngest child was a teenager when I started my working from home. I thought he was independent and him being home during school holidays would not be a disruption. I forgot the bottomless pit that is the teenage boys’ stomach and the frequency that one person could say “I’m hungry” Boundaries needed to be set up and instructions given that Muuuuuuum was at work and not there to provide you endless array of food – no matter how long you make the word Mum stretch.

Take every opportunity to interact One of the things I miss the most about not working in the office is the day to day social interaction. You know, the “water cooler conversations” and the birthday morning teas. To help counteract this I have accepted every offer to join teleconferences, connected with colleagues on social media and started a footy tipping competition. It’s not the same and but realising that there are many different ways to be connected is the key.

Make your work area a haven A while ago I was in a bit of a funk and not enjoying working from home. So I changed the space I was calling my office and have made this new area my haven. It’s amazing the difference a room with a view, a pot plant, background music (be careful with the volume) and a candle burning can make. 

The List You are not going to bump into colleagues or your manager as you make a cuppa and you can’t call them every 30 minutes. To maximise the time I have with colleagues on the phone I have several lists on the go at any one time – one for my manager and the key colleagues I liaise with regularly. Now when I get them on the phone I can maximise theirs and my time and my list gets ticked off. My manager has worked this out….

Do you work from home? Any tips to help survive it?

About me: Passionate about travel, aged care, good wine and chocolate. Not necessarily in that order. I get to work with the awesome team at Mirus Australia who excel at keeping their remote staff connected, embrace my lists and beat me in our AFL Footy Tipping competition.