Tips and Tricks

Working from home can be a big adjustment for some people. This can be especially true for those who are accustomed to routine workdays that include getting up, driving to the office, and sitting behind a desk. Change can be severe, but with the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of “social-distancing,” many businesses are transitioning to continue serving their customers.

These days, hustling to beat the traffic to get to the office is on a temporary pause. With social distancing in effect for some cities across the US and abroad. What once was the norm of visiting an office filled with service staff at every corner, is now reduced to one or maybe no employees in the building

With the new structure of working from home widely being adopted. We thought it would be nice to give a few tips and tricks on how to make the change go as smoothly as possible.

Create the Workspace

Create a quality working environment built to help you focus:

Being able to transition from working in a traditional office to working at home can be a lot easier once you give yourself the setting to succeed. Creating a dedicated space to continue business-related activities can be the first step in adjusting to your new work setting. An ideal home office can help you mentally treat your workday like any other day at the office.

Remember you have to go to work

Work for that paycheck:

It’s easy to slip into idleness or procrastination when you have so much independence. However, freedom isn’t to be confused with free-time. If you are fortunate enough that you are allowed to work at home during this crisis, please remember its called WORK -at home, and not get-paid-at-home. Don’t try to run errands or have a get-together while you are supposed to be working. While it is suggested that you take short burst breaks to help keep focused and alert, just remember you are still at work.

Get dressed for work!

Help yourself separate work and home life:

Wearing pajamas round the clock every day until this pandemic is over sounds incredible. You should get dressed for work still. This is another way that can help you separate work and home life.

Stay in touch

It can get and may perhaps already be lonely:

Working from home doesn’t mean you have to turn into a hermit. Taking the opportunities to reach out to your team members can make working from home more comfortable. One great tool brought to us by the modern age is video calling! Some people even go so far as to video call someone they are working with, even if it means they are working on separate tasks in silence. Odd but sociable.

Take breaks

Plan in breaks during your day:

Though too many breaks can appear that you are not productive, it is also necessary to have them. Plan in breaks like walking your dog around the neighborhood or a short workout. Nobody is productive while they are tired.   Sometimes, a quick burst of exercise while your mind relaxes is what you need to stay on track.

Remember to eat

No more relying on those nearby shops or cafeteria credits:

It is hard to plan meals and prep food when your schedule changes so dramatically and suddenly. However, you should still pay attention to your schedule and how you are eating throughout your workweek. Plan times to meal prep as well as making sure you are still having nutritious meals throughout the week.

Clock in and Clock out!

It is essential to differentiate your work hours and your off-hours:

If your particular job is continuously accessible, we know it can be very tempting to check in on everything when it’s your time to be off. Stop right there! Constantly reopening your laptop to check in on emails or check up on other things that can wait may blur the lines between your home hours and work hours. Create hard stops and stick to them.