Working from home? Need some strategies to remain productive & proactive? Virtually Smart Ltd’s Home Working Mentoring programme can help.

As the UK easing of lockdown continues & thousands of workers return to the ‘new normal’, not everyone will be returning to their familiar place of work. Some workers are still furloughed, but some have been given the option to remain working from home as a way for some businesses to be actively Covid-Secure & limit staff numbers in business establishments.

Taking comfort from the fact that before the lockdown some 1.7 million self-employed home workers, Virtual Assistants & freelancers who work from home based offices, workshops & businesses day to day; were already being proactive & continuing to work in their ‘Home Working’ environments & schedules.

Helena Parrott – VA/Director of Virtually Smart Ltd has a wealth of experience in employment mentoring & with her expertise in time management, efficient & effective strategies to remain on target & advise on how to use the very latest & up to date IT applications; Helena can give you the confidence & skills to make your working day fruitful & constructive.

The first part of the Virtually Smart Ltd Home Working Mentoring process would be an informal Zoom chat to gain an insight into your needs, ideas & expectations. Helena’s cheerful yet professional manner can enable you to consider ideas you may never have even fathomed before & in doing so, open your mind to new opportunities & ideas. Helena will explain in more detail how the mentoring process works & this will give you an opportunity to discuss your expectations of the process.

Helena will then take your initial ideas & assess your Home Working needs, questions & challenges & offer professional & practical advice to help you ease in to home working & be productive in your home environment. Helena will present you with your own report identifying where your challenges are & offer bespoke, efficient & effective solutions to support you & enable you to be more proactive when working from home.

A follow up session can then be scheduled to continue the mentoring process & offer you ongoing support as you adapt to your ‘new normal’ employment.

In addition to the Virtually Smart Ltd Home Working Mentoring programme, there are some practical steps you can take yourself to be on target, be productive & remain proactive.

Keep a routine

Procrastination when working from home, can seep in if you do not keep to a routine. Therefore, going to bed at the same time, setting your alarm, getting dressed, brushing your hair & eating breakfast at the same time every day, will enable you to remain on track when working from home.

Where is your workstation/office/workshop?

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 workstation if you can, but to enable you to avoid procrastinating too much, set up a separate workstation, home office, workshop & stick to it. It may sound odd, but maybe make a point of closing the door on the room where your workstation is set up & make a point of ‘going to work’ every morning.

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.

Working hours

What are your regular working hours? Are you 9-5, shift working, part time, job share? Whatever your regular working patterns, try & keep to some semblance of a regular pattern. This will enable you to avoid the inevitable over running & eating into what would & should be your own personal time.

Stay connected

Working from home can be an isolating experience & therefore it is really important to remain connected. This doesn’t mean hours & hours whizzing through social media & getting nothing productive done. What it does mean, is making a call to a family member or a friend at least once per day. Text a friend, create a small messenger or Whatsapp group to keep tabs on family & friends, or start a group chat with people who you would normally be alongside in the workplace.

If you are seeking active strategies to adjust to home working or feel that you could benefit from the excellent advice from experienced employment & home working mentor Helena Parrott – VA/Director Virtually Smart Ltd; then please do get in touch. T: 07954 994769 E: helena@virtuallysmartltd.com

Written by Katy-Jane for & on behalf of Virtually Smart Ltd.