Working from Home Tips & Best Practices

3/26/2020 (Permalink)

For many people working from home may be brand new, posing a major adjustment to be made to stay efficient and productive while not in the office

With the coronavirus affecting so much, the way we go about our day-to-day lives has been changed drastically. Companies have unfortunately had to lay workers off, limit their operations greatly, completely let go of workers, and even shut down completely. This is certainly ‘unfamiliar territory’ for almost everyone and people are forced to make several adjustments. One major thing most people are having to go through and may be struggling to acclimate to, is working from home during this quarantine.

For many people working from home may be brand new, posing a major adjustment to be made to stay efficient and productive while not in the office. On the other hand, even if you have done it before it likely was not for this long of a duration…making it still an unfamiliar experience. Below are some tips and best practices to make this transition as easy as possible:

1. Get Dressed

You may not need to dress as formally as you usually do for work, but this simple process can serve as a point of change where it is now time to wake up and be productive. Waking up and taking care of your appearance helps a lot in production and overall feeling of yourself.

2. Designate a Workspace/Office

This is especially important for people that are used to waking up each morning and going into their office. You want to create that same physical separation from work and home life. Your workspace doesn’t even have to be its own separate room, it can be a corner of a room, a certain desk, or even a certain chair within your home.

3. Maintain Defined Work Hours

Similarly, to keeping a defined workspace each day, you should maintain a set of hours that will work for you as close as possible to your normal 'at work' hours. If you live with other people, this is even more crucial, establishing boundaries on when you will be ‘free’ like you normally are while home.

4. Communication

While working from home and away from your normal department, it is very common to have questions that your normally wouldn’t have or can usually get an answer quickly in person. During this time at home it is key to make sure to over-communicate and reach out whenever necessary.