What is the “New Normal” when working from home?
As we transition into 2021, the new work normal is just starting to emerge. Will home offices be the norm or will we return to the pre-Covid office structure?
The answer most likely lies somewhere in the middle. A recent poll conducted by the BBC of 5,000 office workers, found that 72% would enjoy a hybrid role that allowed for days at the office as well as days working from home.
With that in mind here are some tips to help your home office team stay sharp.
1. Keep Procrastination in Check
It’s easy to put off a task that you really don’t want to do. To avoid putting off a task you should motivate yourself with positive rewards. That could be a break, time for exercise or a quick snack. In short, be competitive with yourself.
2. Understand your Strengths & Weaknesses
Without daily interaction, managers will rely on employee feedback during one-on-one discussions or Zoom meetings. Understand your strengths and weaknesses and articulate those, so management can assist where needed.
3. Attack large projects in sections
By breaking up large projects the into sections, those projects become more manageable, and employees avoid some of the stress associated.
4. Block Time & Schedule
Blocking time and scheduling activities (i.e. checking email) is key to being productive. Especially when working from home.
5. Daily Planner (and plan the night before)
By 4:30 most people are pretty burned out and ready to pack it in for the day. Use the last 30 minutes to 1 hour to plan activities for the next day. Be specific in the planning.
6. Curb Social Media Time
Per the Harvard Business Review, the average office worker is only productive for about 3 hours a day and on average people spend 3 hours a day on social media. If that ratio seems about right for you, then you may want to re-evaluate the amount of time you spend on social media to see if it is negatively effecting your work.
7. Schedule Breaks
According to experts, the longest employees should work before taking a break is 90 minutes. A popular strategy is to work for 50 minutes and then take a 10-minute break.
8. Exercise and Healthy Eating
Health is something that works hand and hand with being productive at home. So make sure you schedule in time to be active and try to have healthy food available.
9. End of Day
If your work day ends at 5pm, get up and shut down your office space.
Hopefully these quick tips will enhance your staff’s work from home situation, so they can avoid burn out.