The newest acronym on the block…. WFH!

By
Anne Murray
in Insights
WFH

For some, working from home (or now commonly known as “WFH”) will be the norm but for a huge part of the population, this is a brand new experience and one that will take some adapting too!

So how do we do it? How do we keep sane and motivated? How do we adapt to being confined to our home surroundings…. Well here is just a few ideas to get you started!

1)      Create your “new office”. Some will be fortunate where they have a ready-made, all singing, all dancing study in their home but for most, this isn’t going to be the case! Whether it be a dining table, coffee table or using your ironing board as a desk (I’ve seen the photos!), try to set up an area that you can define as your work space and ensure it is a space you can officially “leave” at the end of the day to strike the work life balance. As much as it would be comfy, it is ill-advised to work from the couch or your bed with the telly on – this isn’t going to instil a productive mindset!

2)      Get up! Get Ready! Try to keep to routine as much as possible. So yes, showering, eating breakfast, brushing your teeth and actually wearing “day” clothes should all remain as part of your normal routine!

3)      Keep moving - Set yourself a lunch break and some small breaks during the day. Just as we would get our steps in by walking to the water cooler or making your team a brew, it’s important to try to keep moving. A few ideas could be run the staircase in your house a few times, look up the MILLIONS of new online personal training and short workout tutorials cropping up on every social media site or even start to walk laps of your dining table whilst on a call! This helps physically but more importantly, mentally too!

4)      Don’t eat all the snacks – Linking nicely to point three, if you aren’t keeping up your activity, you can’t eat the extra snacks that are now at arm’s reach in your kitchen! Try to plan your food, and keep to preparing your lunchbox as you normally would! If you aren’t a planner, and normally buy your lunch out, be prepared that you will need to purchase luncheon items in your next shop! Seems obvious but an easy one to forget! There are some great free food tracking apps if you want to see how much your consuming!

5)      Pets are not a replacement for colleagues – Yes they’re cute and yes, they will be DELIGHTED you’re home to “play” for the day but they need to learn your new routine too! I can talk from personal experience that having your indoor cats in your study results in them knocking everything off the desk, trying to chew through cables and climbing on your desk to repeatedly headbutt you during conference calls. Not productive!

6)      Keep connected - Home working will suit some but the lack of human interaction really won’t for others. There are so many fabulous ways to keep connected these days! A few favourites so far have been Microsoft Teams, Whatsapp, Zoom and FaceTime (but lots of others to choose from!). This has been a great way to still take part in team meetings, share files and catch up with clients. You’ll be amazed at the quality of your conversations when you take away the normal distractions of an office!

So these are just a few tips to get you started…. however I may write another blog in four weeks’ time should we still be in this situation to let you know about any new “lessons learned” and whether I am still practicing what I preach! Stay safe! #stayathome

Image from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/mar/25/extreme-loneliness-or-the-perfect-balance-how-to-work-from-home-and-stay-healthy 

Author: Anne Murray

Recruiter and top manager, Anne is also the owner of the best stocked bar this side of Vegas. Loves her budgies and venturing out in her camper van.

Like what you read?

Join our newsletter to receive news and latest insights from Search and Select