We understand that many of you like us are or are likely to be working from home in the next few days and weeks and we don’t know how long the arrangement will last. In this day and age, we are used to working from home but perhaps not for prolonged periods. We asked our Engagement Consultant Linda to share her ten top tips on working from home and they’re great! They cover the entire working day from getting up to end of day.
- Get up at the same time as you normally would to maintain a routine and your energy levels.
- Do not work in your PJ’s, always get dressed even though you can now be more casual and ditch the formal office-wear.
- Set up a video and online chat service (Teams/Skype/Zoom etc) with all of your colleagues so you can have individual and group calls, meetings and messaging throughout the day.
- Find a place to work that suits your personal working style and needs – some people prefer a quiet place and work efficiently alone; others are energised by activity and other people and can be more productive somewhere more public e.g. a coffee shop.
- Set clear boundaries with family, friends and neighbours who might assume you are available socially or can babysit or run their errands just because you are at home in the daytime.
- Have a proper break to eat lunch as you normally would.
- Try to take a break outside too – walk the dog, stretch your legs, get some fresh air.
- Don’t try to multi-task all day: leave the domestics such as dinner prep or laundry etc for later as it will distract you from your work.
- Finish at around your usual time, again, to maintain a routine and enable you to balance working and home-life.
- Close the door on the home-office or put your laptop away at the end of the working day.
We hope that this helps you carve out a working day that works for you and your employer. What are your top tips? Do share!
* The Return Hub is an executive search firm that places professionals who want to relaunch or transfer their careers with employers in the financial services sector. They also advise on and implement practical strategies that companies can use to target, assess, hire and support returning talent.
Find out more about how The Return Hub could help you with options to Relaunch or transition your career at www.thereturnhub.com and join us on LinkedIn, Facebook,Twitter, Instagram
