Having completed 4 weeks of working from home, (not that I’m an expert now) I wanted to share my thoughts and tips that have helped me and my team keep productivity and motivation high.
Before we go through the 5 sections below, it is important to note & we must reiterate the no.1 ground rule, that working from home is working and that we expect activity to be high as normal.
1. Social Interaction
We pride ourselves at Arthur as a great place to work with a social culture.
As we know WFH can be lonely, especially if you are living by yourself so we need to try and keep the social interaction as high as possible.
-Ensure that you have regular check in’s. Maybe be useful to do these more often to begin with.
-Have a ‘coffee’ Teams meeting in the morning or afternoon to talk about non work stuff. Eg Coffee at 10am to discuss what marvel character you would be and why? Just a bit of fun Or ‘20 questions’
-Have evening virtual get togethers with some drinks such as, a virtual pub quiz.
-We have technology so LETS STAY CONNECTED
2. Getting started early
-When working in an office, your morning commute can help you wake up and feel ready to work by the time you get to your desk. At home, however, the transition from your pillow to your computer can be much more jarring.
-Believe it or not, one way to work from home productively is to dive into your to-do list as soon as your at your desk/table/office/conservatory… So make sure you and your team is creating an action list the night before, ready for the morning. Overestimate your list of tasks, as even though you may come up short your still have a solid lists of tasks completed. Set team tasks to complete throughout the week, the first task could be a phone call.
-Simply getting a project started first thing in the morning can be the key to making progress on it gradually throughout the day. Otherwise, you’ll prolong breakfast and let the morning sluggishness wear away your motivation.
3. My favourite, Structure your day like you would in the office
-This is key!
-When working from home, you’re your own personal manager and may find that you get through your work quicker. You can be quick to lose focus. Key here is to segment your day and set tasks for every 2 hours throughout the day.
-It is important to know when your ebs and flows are throughout the day and plan your schedule around it, so you can capitalise on your most productive/energy driven periods.
4. Choose a dedicated work space
-Just because you’re not working at an office doesn’t mean you can’t, well, have an office. Rather than cooping yourself up in your room or on the couch (spaces that are associated with leisure time) dedicate a specific room or surface in your home to work.
-This has a big impact psychologically
5. Don’t just stay at home
-When you work at your office, you have the option to take a walk and get some fresh air, go out for a coffees or grab lunch.
-This should not change (although be adapted with lockdown) just because you are working at home. Use your 1hr of exercise a day and get some fresh air
-Take clear breaks! Once you have done 1hr of work, take a 10min break.
I hope the above is all useful as WFH is a big adjustment especially in this climate.
By Simon Caplan – COO at Arthur
To discuss this article with Simon please get in touch with him on 0203 5877 553 or sc@arthur.co.uk
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