Doing your part to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus by working from home? We appreciate you!
Here are some tips to help you get through the next few weeks.
- Get dressed and stay professional. Just because your designated home space doesn’t have a dress code doesn’t mean you should change from your night pajamas into your day pajamas. The key to success is to go about your day like you would if you were heading to the office.
- Maintain your regular hours or set a specific schedule. Sure, you can set your alarm to give yourself the extra-time your commute would have taken but, wake up more than 10 minutes before your workday would start if you were in the office. Set firm start/finish times.
- Create a designated workspace and set ground rules with people and animals in your space. Whether you have a home office or a dining room table, make sure work stays there and doesn’t migrate around the house. Even if you may be excited for the opportunity to work from bed - DON’T.
- Listen to music or turn on the TV if you are used to a busy office. Some people find it difficult to work without the level of noise they are accustom to in the office. For those people, it can be hard to focus if it is too quiet.
- Don’t do chores randomly throughout the day. It can be very distracting when your laundry buzzers are going off or you feel the urge to empty the dishwasher.
- Plan your work and don’t feel guilty if you produce more work from home than the office. Remember, you don’t have constant interruptions from co-workers, the phone, or walk-ins when you work from home.
- Reward yourself and remember to take breaks and eat lunch away from your designated workspace. Remember to get up and move around. Take a walk or stretch.
- Video chat with co-workers so that you feel connected to the outside world.