Zoe Howard covid-19, wellbeing, candidate...
In the current circumstances as Prime Minister Boris Johnson instructs all UK citizens to stay at home during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of employees will be experiencing working from home for the first time.
Working from home may be a challenge for many employees, particularly those who are used to working within a team environment and haven’t experienced remote working before.
So, if you’re in isolation or have been told to work from home, what’s the best way to stay efficient, keep motivated, and be successful?
By following self-discipline and routine, the team at TXM Recruit believes working from home can have many advantages. To help you stay focused and motivated during these challenging times, we’ve gathered some great top tips from our team of Recruitment Consultants who are very familiar with working from home.
1. Kick start your day with exercise
Keeping active, keeps the mind active. It can be difficult to maintain a level of exercise with no need to leave the house or under isolation, however it’s a great way to kick start or break up your day. With the Government’s new guideline to allow one form of exercise a day, it’s important to find a time that suits you whether that be early morning, midday fresh air or a wind down at the end of the day. Go for a run, take a brisk walk or do some yoga and take this time to ‘be in the moment’ by drawing attention to your senses. For example, how does it feel, what can you see, what can you smell, are there any sounds around you?
2. Get dressed like any normal working day
You may not be leaving the house, but you are going to work. For some people, the prospect of staying in their pyjamas all day is the most satisfying aspect of working from home. But washing and getting dressed will not only improve your state of mind, it will psychologically prepare yourself to start work - creating a healthy routine.
3. Create a workspace
Being in the right environment will help you focus on the work in hand. It’s good to define the difference between home and office, keeping work and personal time as separate as possible. Set up a separate area for you to work from, somewhere that you can concentrate without distraction, somewhere comfortable instead of slouching on the sofa, and somewhere that you have all the equipment you need to carry out your working day.
4. Be SMART
Set SMART objectives and create a robust weekly plan to manage your workload. Share your objectives with your colleagues. Reflect on what’s gone well and what you could do better – working from home will give you the opportunity to analyse your output, look at what you do well, and what you can adjust to be even better! If you’re managing a team, keep in touch and agree your team’s preferred methods of communication. Focus on results, not just activity and celebrate the wins even if they are small.
5. Stay in touch with your colleagues
Schedule a daily call or video call with your team. It’s great to call, but using video will humanise interactions with clients, candidates and colleagues. Now, more than ever, it’s important to stay in touch and communicate and to hear some friendly voices. This will stop you feeling isolated, keeping you motivated and helping you work your way through your tasks.
6. Take a Break
It’s easy to get lost in your work and lose track of time but the Government guidelines recommend taking a break of at least 20-minute if working more than six hours. Regular breaks like grabbing a coffee, stepping into the garden for fresh air or remembering to eat lunch, are important breaks to provide you with more energy to concentrate on your work.
7. Stay focused by eliminating distraction
Some people who will be working from home won’t have the option to work in an isolated area. To limit distractions, it could be useful to use headphones, switch off personal social media alerts, and turn off the TV in the background.
8. End of the day
We know how easy it can be to lose track of time! To ensure you create a work life balance, set an alarm for the end of the day to give yourself time to reflect and create a task list for the next day, allowing you to unwind properly from your day.
9. Finish your week on a high
Celebrate and share your successes as you would normally. You’re not alone just because you’re working remotely. As you approach the end of the week, a lot has happened and it’s good to share your week and interact with others. Call your colleagues to talk about everything work and non-work related.
10. Remember your own mental health and wellbeing
As many of us could now be working from home for some time due to the coronavirus outbreak, it’s good to focus on the upcoming 3-4 days tasks in hand rather than thinking about the long-term uncertainty. Limit the time you spend on Social Media and watching the news. It can be overwhelming to read or watch the news about the outbreak, and so it’s important to acknowledge these feelings and to talk to people, family, friends and colleagues for some positive encouragement Remember, we’re all in this together!
The team at TXM Recruit are working remotely, so if you’d like to get in touch, our Recruitment Consultants would love to hear from you. Alternatively, please check out of COVID-19 Support Hub for more useful resources.
