How to Successfully Work From Home
As we continue to follow the rules of social distancing and isolation, many employees are now being forced to learn the ropes of working from home. For some who are used to remote work, nothing has really changed, but for those unfamiliar, this can be a daunting task.
We have already given you some advice on how to set up your workspace — which you can read here: How to set up your remote space — but now we have a few new tips and tricks to help you get the most out of this new normal.
Get dressed
You’ve heard the catchy motto “dress for success” thrown out countless times in offices, seminars, or movies, but does it really have an impact on your work? Dressing for success is useful for getting into the mindset of going to work, but is it necessary when working remotely?
A 2014 study completed at Yale argues yes. The study found that people who dressed up for work were more likely to practice “abstract, big-picture thinking” than someone in say, sweatpants.
Another experiment published in Social Psychological and Personality Science also had people dress in formal business clothing before taking a cognitive test and found moments of increased creativity and long-term strategizing. The experiment suggests that wearing professional work attire is related to feelings of power — in other words when you feel powerful, you get work done.
This will vary from person to person and, at the end of the day, if you feel comfortable in sweatpants and know you can still be productive, then go for it. Although wearing something that is at least business casual could be beneficial for all those virtual meetings companies seem to be having more of, and having to change to keep up appearances could interrupt your workflow for the day. Which brings us to our next tip.
Maintain a set schedule
This is the most important tip to follow. In order to make sure you achieve greatness as a remote employee, you need a routine that you can stick with. This will provide a sense of normalcy and will allow you to get more work done. If you’re a person who needs to write lists and notes, then you can actually map this out using pen and paper.
Set specific times that you want to get certain tasks done and make sure you meet those deadlines each day. You won't have a boss or manager nearby telling you when work needs to be completed, so you have to keep yourself on-task and remain diligent.
As far as when to start and end the day, it’s recommended that you keep the same schedule as when you were actually going into the office. Of course, there is a little leeway and flexibility here as you may have distractions like children to contend with, but try to keep it more or less the same.
“The correlate to all this flexibility is keeping detailed and transparent work plans, with short-, medium- and long-term tasks that are coordinated with agreed-upon organizational objectives,” says Efficiency Canada’s Communication and Media Lead and long-time remote worker, Lynsey Grosfield.
Take breaks
Make sure you leave room in your busy set schedule for breaks, as you don’t want to burn out while working from home. Remember, breaks are a normal part of the workday. These should be both mental and physical, ideally away from your place of work.
Try going for a walk, making some coffee, reading a book, saying a brief “hello” to your family. Either way, it’s important to reserve time away from your computer. Make sure you space these breaks out as well. While this will require some trial and error, maybe set a break for early in the day and one during the late afternoon.
Many people think a break is scrolling through various personal social media accounts, and while this is technically correct, it’s easy to get sucked in and go down a rabbit hole that leads to inefficiency. In order to make sure this doesn’t happen and you’re plagued with procrastination, download an app like the Chrome extension StayFocused that will block certain websites for a period of time.
Set boundaries (but don’t stress if they don’t always work)
One aspect of working from home involves the other people in the household, and for many, this includes young children. While you can set up creative boundaries for your kids like leaving a quirky “do not disturb” sign on your door, these will not always work, and that’s OK. You can’t control the inevitable interruptions you will most likely face so there is no point in stressing over them. Do what you can, with what you have, and make sure your team is aware of what you are dealing with at home, so they know how and when to reach you if needed.
As for your partner, during these strange times they are probably working from home as well, so try to reserve full-on communication until a time you both deem appropriate. For example, Grosfield says her and her partner — who also works from home — don't really talk until 4 pm, despite being in the same room.
You could also plan your breaks to sync up. Once again, this all comes down to your schedule.
Keep communicating
Humans are inherently social creatures, and there are countless studies about the need for social interaction — no matter how introverted you are.
Make yourself available for virtual business meetings with your distributed team, and while this is ultimately up to your manager or boss, try to secure a few minutes for non-business communication like checking up on your co-workers. This is to simulate those cherished “water cooler” moments when you could actually walk up to a co-worker's desk or cubicle and talk briefly. Remember, we’re all in this together and knowing that is psychologically healthy.
About the Author
Stephan Boissonneault is a freelance writer, editor, and photographer. His work has been seen in publications such as Avenue, Vue Weekly, Edmonton Journal, Disruption, Now Toronto, etc. He also plays music every now and then.
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