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Working From Home – Four Ways To Stay Productive
Working from home is a very personal thing; there is no one-size-fits all approach. There are many benefits (and frustrations) for those of us now working remotely. You can, however, take some cues from great workplaces and mirror them in your private space. It’s possible to get more done and feel better when your tech, amenities, comforts, and resources all come together just as they do in the office.
The latest Steelcase 360 Magazine touches on working from home. With the help of this research, we’ve come up with some practical tips about how to improve the work-from-home experience.
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Think About What You (and Your Teammates) Need First
ESTABLISH AND STICK TO BOUNDARIES
It’s tempting to constantly be “on” when you work from home. Others find being home distracting and challenging for staying focused and productive. Identifying boundaries can help you maintain a healthy and productive balance. Keep in mind each person may have different boundaries depending on their life or the day. Decide on your schedule each day and try to stick to it.
BE TRANSPARENT
If you are not at your computer, be sure to communicate that with your colleagues. Make your calendar visible to your team, update your status in any team/collaboration software you use or even leverage your out-of-office auto reply. Let your team know when you’re going to be away and when you’ll be back, especially when you work in different time zones.
BUILD BELONGING
Think about ways to keep relationships intact while working from home. Consider creating a group chat for social interactions – during stressful times, everybody loves a good meme. Set aside time for more informal conversations to foster team unity. Schedule coffee with a colleague over video to catch up. Remote workers need more of these checkpoints than those who are in the office.
Agree How You’ll Work Together
CREATE CONSISTENT CONNECTIONS
It can be easy to slip into a siloed work experience when everyone is working on their own. Institute a quick daily virtual team meetup keep work moving forward.
PROVIDE A VARIETY OF TOOLS
The tools available to distributed teams aren’t perfect. No one technology does it all. Pick some consistent tools for instant messaging, video conferencing, sharing documents, file transfers, etc. But, don’t stop searching for the next best thing. You may find a process that sticks around long after this uncertainty has ended.
MAKE WORK VISIBLE, VIRTUALLY
Take a lesson from agile teams and start a virtual project board. List your tasks, progress and deadlines to keep everyone on the same page. Plus, you get the added benefit of people knowing where to jump in and help when needed.
Look Beyond Your Laptop
TURN YOUR CAMERA ON
Conference calls invite participants to multi-task, or worse “zone out” — because you’re hidden from view. Video should be the default setting for any remote collaboration. Seeing facial reactions and body language lets you “read the room,” plus people are less likely to interrupt or speak over one another. To do it well, keep the computer at eye level — put it on a stand or further back so it isn’t looking up your nose. Look into the camera and use natural light, but avoid putting your back to a window or you’ll look like a silhouette.
PREVENT DATA DISRUPTIONS
If possible use a cable/Ethernet connection, because Wi-Fi can be unreliable. If you’re on a video call, close any open applications to preserve computing resources for the video. Video requires more bandwidth, so if you need to share a big file consider using a second device.
HEAR AND BE HEARD
Avoid rooms with lots of hard surfaces that echo (like a kitchen). Choose rooms with rugs or other softer materials (like a living room). Headphones provide a better experience than computer audio. And, if you switch from one video platform to another, close one before opening another because the software may grab hold of your microphone. Finally, if you’re late to an online meeting or not speaking, mute your audio to avoid disrupting the conversation.
Pick Places that Work for You
FIND FOCUS
Not everyone has a home office, so think about establishing a territory that clearly signals “I’m at work.” Discuss protocol with other members of your household to signal when you’re “on at work,” even if you’re reading on the sofa. If you tend to be distracted by other household demands, find a way to create visual boundaries so you don’t see the dirty dishes. And, if acoustics are an issue and you can’t shut a door, headphones may be your new best friend.
VARY YOUR POSTURE
A risk of working from home is becoming more sedentary. Look for ways to vary your posture and the spots where you work throughout the day. Sit, stand, perch, go for a walk — activating the body, activates the brain and can keep you from going stir-crazy.
CONSIDER PROXIMITY
Look at the physical distance between you, your furniture and your technology to make sure it’s comfortable and effective. Residential furniture isn’t always designed to be optimal for work. Is your laptop easy to reach? Can you avoid “text neck” and slouching over a coffee table? If you spend the day typing at your dining room table, for example, you may feel like your shoulders are in your ears.
SHOW PERSONALITY
Joy is one of our six primary emotions and research shows experiencing joy actually makes you more productive. Surround yourself with things that make you smile like a bright colored coffee cup, inspiring pictures or silly tchotchkes. It may seem trivial, but it’s proven to make a difference.
If you or someone on your team suddenly needs to work from home, it will take time to establish new rhythms and practices. Working from home sounds simple enough, and even desirable. But when you’ve been working alone for days or weeks at a time, it can feel isolating and be difficult to stay connected with your teammates and engaged in your work. When you create a healthy routine, an effective place to work, and use technology to get work done and also maintain relationships, you’ll be more productive and feel good while doing it.
We can help. Check out our latest work-from-home resources here.