We know many of you are working from home at the moment. It can be challenging to balance time, stay focused, and get your work done while at home. Some FLEX members shared tips to help:
GET DRESSED
Every day has the potential to become “Casual Friday on steroids,” but the novelty of working in your pajamas wears off more quickly than you might think. Dress as if you are GOING to work, and you are more likely to GET to work. So put on some pants, put on some shoes (real ones), and—if it’s been a while—take a shower. No one wants to sit beside a stinky co-worker.
USE A DESIGNATED WORK SPACE
This helps you get in the right mindset and stay focused. Never work from your bed, no matter how tempting.
HAVE A DEDICATED USER PROFILE
Label this user “work” and only have apps and website bookmarks relevant and necessary to your job. Same goes for your regular user account, no work on that either. The key is to remove temptation and distractions.
USE TO-DO LISTS AND/OR A PLANNER
However you keep yourself on track – apps, post it notes, calendars, a planner, etc. Block off certain times for certain tasks. It is very easy to become “too involved” with a project or task, wasting a lot of time and resources that could have been used to complete several other tasks. Allocate the time and abide by it
CHECK IN WITH CO-WORKERS
Most people would normally be doing that throughout the day. Set up daily/weekly web conferences, even for just 15 minutes to ask/answer questions and see how everyone is doing, or share tips/info.
TAKE BREAKS
Most people don’t focus 100% for 8 solid hours at work. Once you finish a task, stand up, stretch, get the mail, have a snack.
SET A TIMER FOR THE END OF THE DAY
It’s easy to keep working if it’s quiet and you don’t have the normal “clocking out” bustle around you.
Thanks Corey, Kat, Saxon, and Ryan for the tips!
Do you have tips to add? Comment below!
This article was published in the Future Leaders & Entrepreneurs Exchange’s (FLEX) April 2020 edition of the FLEX Your Ideas (FYI) Newsletter.