Working from home, or anywhere remotely, isn't a new thing for us. We made the decision a couple of years ago to leave our swanky offices behind and adopt for the remote working life. And do you know what, it works. It works really well in fact. As a company we were spending hundreds a month on business rent and for what? Show? Because it's the norm? When in reality with the technology that is available today you really don't need to be spending thousands of pounds a year for some office space. We could literally do our work anywhere in the world if we wanted too as long as we have a laptop! We have phones, Skype, Zoom, email to chat to our clients. And this of course also doesn't mean that we don't see our clients. On the contrary, in fact we probably see them more now. We simply meet up for a coffee or have a meeting over dinner. This actually enhances our relationship with our clients because it becomes a more personal relationship. Then of course the costs we save not spending on business rent means we can reduce our costs to the client. So it really is a win, win!
With the COVID-19 outbreak although we are completely use to this. This is now our norm! We totally understand that it will be hard for some businesses to adapt. This is why we have written some great tips for working from home...
- Find an isolated room / area of the house so you can play music or have conference calls without interruption
- Clear of clutter and clear of any distractions.
- Sit comfortably
- Save work on the Cloud
- Treat your workstation as you would your desk in your office
- Break your day up - Go for a walk around the block or in the garden
- Check in with your team every so often using things like Zoom
- Pop some music on in the background
- Respect your role and don't let yourself become distracted with 'home' stuff
- Keep a clear separation between work and home life
Working from home can sometimes feel more daunting than it needs to be. To make it easier, put your favourite playlist on, keep in touch with the rest of your team, take time to enjoy your lunch breaks and create a new routine which you can stick to. Keeping a dedicated workspace helps a lot but as long as you have self control and can keep a healthy work life balance, everything becomes easier as time goes on.
Every couple of days we have a video call involving the whole team, just because you are isolated doesn't mean to have to spend it silently on your own. A catch up can help make things feel more normal. Everybody works differently, you just need to find a way of creating an environment and a routine that suits you.
By Kerrie Johns at 6 Apr 2020, 16:55 PM