Working From Home

[Mike Rees]

So I have about 2 hours in the office before I'm sent home for the foreseeable future. This will be my first time working from home for more than a day or two. Does anyone have any tips on how I'll need to alter my workflow to maintain productivity, my mental state, etc.?

 

[tom]

Hi Mike,

my 2 cents (or "How I'm getting things done while enjoying homeoffice")...

Create a routine for your daily workflow eg.

• wake up at 7am
• get out of bed at 7:05am
• bath room until 7:30am
• get dressed in your usual office clothes until 07:40am (important!)
• coffee until 8am
• work until 12am
• lunch until 12:45pm
• work until 5pm

just like you do on your usual workdays and follow it every day from Monday to Friday (or whenever you are working).

Also, if you're living with someone else or your family, try to have your own room where you can do your work.
Simple rule: If the door is closed, I'm working. If it's not, I'm available for chatting/helping/...
Then have a look at the configuration of your internet/router/modem/.... Activate QoS (Quality of Service) and set your machine to highest priority. Everything else should go afterwards (streaming, gaming, ...) to keep you uninterrupted and allow smooth conference calls. If that's not possible, try to create a schedule for your family where they can stream/game as much as they want. Something like a timetable in school.

Prepare drinks and snacks before you start working again, so you don't have to leave the room too often and get distracted.
Also make short breaks every 2-4 hours of 5-10 minutes, open the windows to get fresh air into your room, stretch and move a little bit around the room or go to the toilet.

And don't forget to take short walks on your balcony if you have one. You shouldn't go outside if it's not absolutely necessary at the moment, but that shouldn't hinder you from getting some fresh air and walking a little on the balcony. If you've got a house, you can possibly also walk around a little bit in your garden or just chill on a chair and listen to the wind.
But as usual, keep an eye on the notifications from the government on how to behave securely.

That should get you a smooth start, I think :)

All the best to you and have a great start!

PS: A good pair of headphones is always a nice to have, so you can enjoy music while there's noise around you.

 

[LividJay]

Tom is 100% correct. I work from home 50% and am currently on permanent telework until further notice. Having a routine is essential and keeping pesky family members/roommates away during work hours is important.

 

[fabulousrice]

I use headphones to help me focus in my work [design]. It works both for when I'm at the office, which can get noisy, or when I'm home and my girlfriend is playing Last of Us [Pow!! POW!! POW!!]. But generally speaking the headphones I use (3.5mm jack cable) tether me to the computer and keep me on task/focused. Usually if I work from home for a few days in a row like these days I try to get more sleep before 11PM and usually avoid coffee, but it's different for everyone!

 

[LividJay]

my girlfriend is playing Last of Us

you're girlfriend is awesome. This is one of my all-time favorite games.

 

[Mike Rees]

Thanks for the advice, folks. Today's my first day working from home and I can confirm I'm if anything more focused on work, even if I'm posting this at 10:30 xD I did fail on the waking up normal time thing, but baby steps!

 

[Gummibeer]

@tom has a pretty good example. At the end it's important that you try to keep up your "workday". So get out of the bed, shower, breakfast, in best case a dedicated place for work - if you don't have a workdesk use your eating table or anything.
Fresh air is also important, so even if you shouldn't go outside use your balcony or at least window and stand there for several minutes.
Doing sport is also important, nothing hard but some exercises to keep fit. Right now there are several live streams, or recorded videos with home exercises without equipment (self body weight exercises).
At the end: try to keep your day as normal as possible.

 

[LividJay]

I did fail on the waking up normal time thing

I don't always wake up on time...but it's usually only a half hour late. I give myself SOME wiggle room since I don't have to commute into the office.