WFH – You're not on your own!
You’re not on your own, so…what happens next?
I hope you’ve managed to get everything set up and running!?!…always helps!!
Jill Evans gave a tip once to me...and it’s true. Remember you are working from home, not working at home.
If you do start feeling this is a bit lonely like you are a fish out of water to start with, or of course an inconvenience in your normal life....I am sure we all know we are in it together and…you’ll soon be back in work with social company before you know it!
You’ll also find it liberating, very novel, good for you and motivational.
We are all at the end of a phone…or Facetime/Skype/Microsoft/ZOOM meetings if you are desperately needing to see faces!.. and know you are still physically as a team!
Home-working is great, you will feel responsible, self-motivated …you need to be true to yourself about how you are working.
You will find out that you clearly start understanding when you are really at your best at times in a day. You will find when you really focus, you can deeply focus and concentrate on something much easier at home and get things done, you’ll get through certain tasks easier and quicker (including researching). Focus on a task and get it done well.
When I first set up home working it was in a temporary mouldy rented house, freezing cold and dark, so much so, I needed candles! So it can work, even if you can only work on your actual kitchen or dining room table, set this aside that it’s your work area in work hours, and move things away at night.
If you are fortunate to be able to set up an office in a separate room, or a less-used space, you are well away, keep that as your private designated work / office space, that you can shut the door when you are in ‘home mode’.
You will find you keep even closer in touch with ‘work’ than normal if you wish to, as you have access to the system all night and weekend, so you have access to working at any extra times if you wish that suit you. Get a disciplined daily routine going, that works for you and stick to it in the working week, and get into your workspace.
Fight out distractions during your work hours, as you can easily get side-tracked and you will find time flies once you are in a daily work routine, but just work office core hours or make them up in the day. Physically feel you are genuinely working just the same as you would in the office, but with the added convenience and trust, to be working from home.
Especially at first, if you are the type who needs social company or hearing lively team life and office banter around you, .. don’t feel bored, lonely…get stuck into your work. Plan, focus, motivate yourself what needs to be done.
Have a lunch break and short coffee breaks or a breather in the day, (lunchtime no longer needs to be at standard lunchtime), but respect core working hours. In normal times working from home, I find that normal lunchtime and often 4.30pm-6pm is the best times to catch contacts or to talk to candidates or interview/Skype anyway.
You will be just as accessible to clients and candidates from home, I actually think probably more so, as I use my mobile and candidates and clients know they have close access to me, to keep in touch. Close client contacts call me 5.30pm-6pm for catch-ups.
I personally though don’t let candidates or clients intrude on my personal life at weekends, (unless I know it could be something urgent/or at offer stage etc) to try and make them respect me and my time too.
Keep your daily work ‘getting-up’ routine and if you wake early anyway, you will find you have ample time to do extra home stuff/walk etc before work hours, maybe 2-3 hours in a morning extra.
Dogs, children…exercise dogs early and late on! They will settle into the routine too. My dogs are usually sat in here with me, barring the excitement of Skype calls!
Great if you have children, at last, no child-minder needed, let them muddle in around you. Most client contacts understand and are in the same boat and really get to know you naturally!
At home try and ask everyone to respect each other’s workspace. We're busy and must respect each other's roles and working space. You now have different co-workers!
Managers…got to say too, you will need to give your trust not to suddenly onerously micromanage your teams…or you will dampen people’s self-motivation to do their best for you, without you realising. Nothing worse ‘home-working wise’ than feeling shackled to your desk in your own home. …But vice versa everyone needs to be fair and responsible too, our managers will rightly expect us to be keeping them in touch, giving them feedback and reassurance about what’s happening for you, re-activity or updates etc.
Be responsible and give and be your genuine best from home in this different situation and know we are still a team that’s all in it together.
We hope that this helps..and most importantly too, hope you are all well and your families too.
