Work/Life Integration while working virtually- Set your priorities according to impact!

One of the concerns that employers have always voiced about having virtual teams was that they would be distracted by personal life issues throughout the day, making them less productive. Work would go undone as people ran around doing personal tasks during the day, digging into work time. Well, they are right about part of this.

Those who have worked at home for two decades or more started doing it when companies were very apprehensive about the idea. They were convinced that at-home workers would rather just waste time all day, play Nintendo or watch the soaps. I used to have to submit weekly audio cassettes of my phone calls, and they wanted to hear hours of cold calls and conversations with potential candidates. This was quickly put to bed by federal wire-tapping laws. But the message was clear- they wanted definitive proof that we were putting in our 40 hours.

Many managers resorted to frequent team meetings to "check-in", going around the room to listen to progress to nurture a team environment.  It can be a good idea when done maybe once a week, or twice during critical projects. But these meetings were conducted daily. I have even had hiring managers that would set them up at 7:30 in the morning when everyone is trying to get kids out the door to school, still tired, and trying to get that second cup of coffee down and not necessarily fully thinking work yet. Meanwhile, the manager is putting everyone on the spot to talk about what they have planned for the day in excruciating hour-by-hour detail. The result was frustration on everyone's part and lowered morale, motivation, and, therefore, productivity. My father used to have a little sign on his desk at work. He was the Program Manager for the Federal Title 1 Reading program for a wealthy suburban school system. It read: "The flogging will continue until morality improves." I used to think of that little sign every day- and now have it in my office today to remind me always to keep a positive attitude and remember that people have lives and situations unique to them.

When I landed at TalentRise as a Senior Sourcing Consultant and Project Leader, it was refreshing that the management style was mostly hands-off. So long as productivity was there, the client was happy, and the quality was good, we could manage our day. I quickly found that I was not only stressing out by avoiding personal issues during the day, but consuming more productive time in the long run by not just handling it as soon as possible. 

So now managing both personal and work tasks became a bit overwhelming and messy. And then I remembered the classic Steven Covy 7 Habits and remembered one of them was "Put first things First." Suddenly it all sank in, and from that day forward, I did just that. But what is first? I decided to assign a somewhat subject number, 1 - 10, as to how much impact I would have doing this task. I considered factors like how my attendance or immediate attention would have an effect that could change the project outcome or if it was something that would have no direct effect, good or bad. In other words, tasks that were absolutely essential to get done immediately. Skip and upset a client - a 9 or a 10, Researching for a job that we had not even had the intake meeting for yet would get a 2.

I also assigned the same number to personal tasks and kept them on the same calendar, color-coded. Red for work, blue for home, green for a non-profit I volunteered. And I then assigned the same number- 1 - 10, 10 for those personal items that demanded immediate attention and where my attendance would be relevant and could change the outcome of the meeting or task.

I found this worked very well. If I had to be at the bank today to move some money else, the account would bounce, that would get a 10, and I would be on the road at 8 am to get there at opening. Sometimes I would have to multi-task and be on the phone for that team meeting, but I found that transparency about these conflicts was most effective. Managers and executives have life drama too. If you have a lot, get it in check! But chances are you are assigning too high a number to many things that are not 9s, but really 3s.

This can be hard to do because most of us want to do the right thing and don't want to disappoint or let anyone down. But the reality is that we are human and we can only handle so many things on our plate at one time. Too much results in not getting anything done on time and doing well, which upsets everyone, and augments stress and makes you feel buried.

Finally, don't be afraid not to be a hero. Great employees are eager to please and want to show everyone they are competent, agile, and efficient. That is true, so long as your workload is reasonable. One of my early lessons, which I still need reminding of from time to time, is not to take on everything and then volunteer for more! Part of it is that I like what I do, and the other part is that I like diversity in tasks, so I like to poke my nose into many kinds of projects. That is great, but I have to watch to overextend and end up struggling to keep up.

Now keep a running spreadsheet of everything I am working on, personal and work-related so that things don't get forgotten in the shuffle. All of us go through times where we have a spike in unforeseen personal issues. Tell your team about this. You do not have to divulge personal details, but letting your team know that you are going to be distracted while you work through a problem at home helps foster understanding instead of frustration. Often, other team members volunteer to help. Be sure to return the favor when you have capacity and notice another team member overwhelmed or struggling.

Research has shown that at-home workers actually tend to overwork, feeling obligated to work long hours because they did take that time during the workday. As admirable as that is, remember that today's performance evaluations are moving toward looking at completed work and its quality, team performance, innovation, and customer satisfaction above hours at your desk. If everyone is happy- you are doing your job. If you are getting mixed signals or feel frustration from any member of your team, address it right then. And if you are indeed falling behind, ask for help before the impact on your team and customer is felt.

Keeping first things first has been my secret to focusing on the more relevant tasks instead of defaulting to the least task to get something "checked off, which is a common tendency of people new to working at home. Make sure always that your customers are taken care of, your project team is getting your feedback and work product, and your leader knows what is on your plate- work and personal- and you will be productive.  Hiring managers and executives will see the effects on the bottom line and leave you to do your work.