How to survive life at home
If you would have told me last year most of the population would be working from home instead of in their office, I would have doubted you and may have thought you were crazy. However, as I write this article, I am working from home sitting across the room from my wife, also working from home.
As thousands of people are adjusting to this way of working, it is important to remember just because you are working from home, does not mean your goals no longer matter. Now, more than ever, it will be important to focus on goals and tasks to ensure your success. With markets closing or slowing down and companies furloughing employees, the challenge to meet your goals is even harder yet for you and your company. To survive, those numbers are going to have to be hit.
I have a few tips to help you succeed the struggles of adjusting to working at home.
Get dressed
As odd as it may seem, the more routine you can keep your day, the more productive you will be. Just like a normal day, get out of bed, shower and get dressed ready for the day. When you take the commute from your bedroom to your home office, the routine of getting dressed will get your mind in the work mindset and will help you to be productive. It is probably a mental thing, but if you get up and get dressed like you were going to work, then you will be more productive.
Have a designated work space
This may seem like a no brainer, but if you have never worked from home, creating a designated work space will be essential to ensuring that you are productive. Set up a space to work. If your house has an office space, use it. If not, set up a space at the bar or diner table. Use some place other than your bed or couch that will allow you to be as productive as possible. Believe me, this will make a huge difference in your productivity. The couch or bed is for relaxing and odds are if you are on one of these, you will not get as much work done as if you were at a table or desk.
Work your normal hours
As much as possible, work the same hours you did when you went into the office. Work your normal 8 to 5 and take breaks and lunch at the same times. Don’t take the mindset of working from home means working from home anytime during the day.
Focus on goals
Your goals are still your goals. Even though your goals may change slightly, at the end of the day, you must get your job done and meet the expectations laid out for you at the beginning of the year. You don't get a pass because your office location has changed, the work must get done.
Make task list
A great way to make sure that goals are met is to create a task list. This may be something that you do anyway, but now more than ever tasks are important. Start your day by creating a checklist of items that need to be finished or repeated daily. Check these items off as you complete them and move towards the end to help you achieve your goals.
Increase communications
As companies are furloughing or laying people off, communication is needed even more now than ever. Your supervisor and coworkers will need to hear more from you. Send emails, use online video conferencing tools.
The good news is this will pass, and life will go back to normal or a new normal. Companies have learned their employees truly can work at home and be productive and the work will get done. As an employee, it is important to hit your goals and prove to the bosses you can do this, and the work will not stop.