With the popularity of telecommuting on the rise, it's more important than ever to ensure your employees have home offices that allow them to work efficiently and seamlessly.
Maintain your routine and get started early.
When your work routine is disrupted, it’s easy to stop the rest of your routine, too! Studies show that getting dressed for work, even if that work is from your couch (which it shouldn’t be 😉), can help you to remain productive. Continuing to get up early and get dressed as if you were going to work can be a huge help in keeping you in a focused mindset.
Stay active!
No matter how you normally commute to work, if you’re working from home, your commute is bound to get shorter. Even small ways that you move each day, like walking from your car into the office, have a positive effect on your health. Get creative to keep moving throughout the day as you work remotely. To avoid the #quarentine15, take a short walk around your house during a phone call, take a quick break from your computer to stretch your legs once every hour, consider a height-adjustable desk (we can help with that), and use part of your lunch hour for a more in-depth workout courtesy of YouTube or a fitness site.
Over communicate with your team.
Excited about a new project you’re starting? Let your team know! Finally, made some headway with something that’s been giving you trouble? Let your team know. Have a new idea? Let your team know. Staying in constant communication will keep your team motivated and working together towards a common goal. A renewed focus on communication can even foster new ideas and a new sense of belonging. One great way to keep a strong sense of teamwork is to utilize video conferencing and video messaging systems! Seeing each other can make your work more effective, and certainly makes it easier to communicate with team members and clients. Not able to connect for a live call? Try utilizing tools like Covideo or Screencast-O-Matic to send personalized messages.
If you’re feeling distracted, consider sound masking!
If you get easily distracted (say, if your kids are suddenly your co-workers), consider playing some white noise. Our brains are designed to pick up on the noises that are happening around us – like deciphering the words in a nearby conversation or noticing when the ice maker on our refrigerator is making ice. White noise creates a multitude of frequencies so our brains are not able to decipher; hence helping us remain focused on the task at hand. Obviously, you probably won’t install a white noise system in your house (if you want to, let’s talk), but there are some great white noise apps that can help! We like White Noise Lite, free and available for iOS and Android.
Have a dedicated workspace that works for you.
Just like getting dressed in professional attire, having a dedicated workspace helps your brain understand it’s time to focus on work. And, to maximize your productivity, it’s incredibly important to ensure that your home office set up is optimal. We recommend a desk large enough to accommodate your computer, an additional monitor, keyboard, mouse, and any other materials you need to do your job well. An adjustable, ergonomic task chair designed to support extended work times, and a webcam to connect with your co-workers or clients are critical to round out your home workspace.
Stay positive, find the opportunities, and keep a growth mindset.
Last, and perhaps most important, is keeping a positive outlook. Science shows that when you’re positive, you’re generally happier in your role, more successful, and achieve better work-life integration. When circumstances may be out of your control, you can still control your outlook. Find at least one thing each day that brings you joy, and schedule time to do it! It could be a second cup of coffee, freshly baked cookies, a new home office set up (highly recommended), or finally diving into that new book you’ve been wanting to read.
We're all in this together, and CBI Group is here to help.
If you're working from home, we can help set you up for success by creating your perfect home office.
