The news that coronavirus cases are on the rise has been met with mixed feelings across the UK.
However, in a week which has seen Israel go in to a complete lockdown, parts of Europe heading in the same direction & an extended list of restrictions now being rolled out across the UK; we are all painfully aware of the challenges ahead of us.
When the UK economy was re-booted in July, hundreds of thousands of workers across the UK were encouraged to return to the workplace. However, the UK Government has now taken a u-turn this week & in an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus, they have now instructed UK workers to work from home if they can.
We are aware of many companies having adopted the working from home ethos from lockdown & have seem greater productivity from their employees. Some business owners have been so inspired by the home working success, they have moved large elements of their work force home permanently, saving them considerable amounts on rental of office space.
For many who have already had a taste of working from home, the idea of continuing this way of working may not be ideal, but it is tolerable. If this is new to you, then the Virtually Smart Ltd Guide to Working from Home might help steer you in the right direction.
1/ Keep a routine
It will be extremely difficult to revert to a working routine, if you completely stop the elements of your regular daily life. Therefore, going to bed at the same time, setting your alarm, getting dressed, brushing your hair & eating breakfast; need to be kept as part of your daily routine.
2/ Monday to Friday workers
If your regular working patterns are Monday to Friday, keeping tabs on what day of the week it is, is imperative. Find a calendar (make one if you don’t have one) or use a diary to mark off each day as it goes past. This really does help you to recognise what day of the week it is & help your mental state to remain focused on a regular pattern to your life.
3/ Working from home
If you are working from home, try & avoid doing this in bed or on the sofa. Yes, if it is sunny, get outside & set up a work station if you can, but to enable you to avoid procrastination too much, set up a separate work station in your home & stick to it. It may sound odd, but maybe make a point of closing the door on the room where your work station is set up & make a point of ‘going to work’ every morning.
4/ Security
If you are working from home & your work entails using a laptop, it is most likely that your employer will provide one for you. However, this might not always be the case, as some employers simply do not have the relevant funding.
Therefore, if you are using your own laptop for work purposes it is really important that:
A/ Your login is protected, if it is a shared laptop/PC, to ensure no one else in your household inadvertently compromises the work you are doing.
B/ Check your Firewall & laptop/PC security is up to date & functioning.
C/ Clear your cache regularly to avoid unnecessary cookies remaining on your laptop/PC searches.
5/ Procrastination
Working from home is a challenge. No matter how devoted you might be to your work, you are at home & there are distractions all around you.
Keeping focused on your work is key when working from home, to avoid backlogs building up, targets being missed & above all, you not completing your contracted hours, which your employers is paying you for.
Check our blog next week which will look at how to avoid procrastination when working from home.
6/ Lunch
Would you normally take lunch to work? Maybe now is the time to start. Making a packed lunch the night before & eating this at a lunchtime really can help to give you some sense of routine. It would also stop you from making lunch time linger while you make choices about what to eat.
7/ Working hours
What are your regular working hours? Are you 9-5, shift working, part time, job share? Whatever your regular working pattern, try & keep to some semblance of the same working pattern. This will help keep you focused & remain motivated in a home setting.
8/ Stay connected
When you are working from home, it is really important to remain connected. This doesn’t mean hours & hours whizzing through social media & getting nothing productive done (remember you are being paid to work from home). What it does mean, is making a call to a family member, work colleague or a friend at least once per day. These phone calls can for some be an absolute lifeline right now & keep you connected to the outside world.
Another idea would be to create a small messenger or Whatsapp group with work colleagues who are also working from home & create a support network for each other.
If we create routines, remain focused & remain connected to the outside world; for most of us, we can become stronger & we can face this together.
Written by Katy-Jane for & on behalf of Virtually Smart Ltd.
