Best Practices to Work From Home

Millions of people across the globe are now working from home, as the rapid spread of the Corona Virus prompts companies to implement a widespread response in the form of Business Continuity Planning exercises. Technology has proven to be a big help and people are putting to good use all the available tools —Teams, Skype, Zoom and more. Remote working works best if there is a high degree of trust and communication among the team.

But many people are also feeling real stress in this drawn-out situation. Many working people are finding it hard to work, with children and parents discussing what to cook, what is the latest update on Corona Virus etc. at home in a small space.

How to come to terms with ‘working from home’ and a few guidelines to help with the transition.

Keep Your Work Space and Personal Space Separate

Create a suitable working space. Ensure you have an area with plenty of light, minimal distractions and a comfortable desk and chair. Keep it tidy and clean with adequate lighting.

Working from home also potentially involves sharing the space with other family members / housemates. It’s important to set guidelines to indicate when you are at work and not to be disturbed.

Tell your family about your working hours and timing. Let them when these hours begin, break time and when they end. During these hours you cannot be disturbed unless it is an emergency. Having them aware of your schedule helps to minimize interruptions. It is important that you also schedule family time into your schedule.

Put a do not disturb sign on your home office door. This lets your family know that you are in the middle of working, and they should wait for you to open your door, signaling that your work is complete.

Let your kids know that they can’t run around the house making noise when you are working. Plan their schedules and as well so that they are engaged.

Technology and Connections

To maximize productivity, recommend following a checklist to make sure your work space is set up for success. Check for WiFi connectivity, ensure collaboration tools are installed and that you familiarize yourself with the tool, have a headphone etc. It’s also important to keep in mind organization’s data security and cyber security standards while working from home. Use the Cloud to enable easy access and sharing of documents for all.

Get Dressed

Dress as if you are heading to a meeting, or if you are working in an office. It can be tempting to spend your day sitting around in your pajamas. It really does put you in a different mindset for your day. Clothes are symbolic, and hugely affect how you feel about yourself.

Work on Your Schedule

Your calendar is important. Keep your calendar updated and schedule all the meetings in calendar. Set up calendar invites, create an agenda ahead of time. Ensure you are familiar with collaboration. Video conferencing tools like Skype, Microsoft Teams, Zoom Meeting etc.  

Set timers for food breaks, time off, family obligations etc. Working from home means you get to accomplish your tasks on your own timeline. Leveraging on your high energy moments throughout the day allows you to work smarter, and not harder, while you increase your productivity.

Review your completed tasks at the end of each day and plan tomorrow’s to-do list. Finish your most important task in the morning.

Make a List of Home Tasks

When it comes to organizing your own tasks at home, some people are better at it, while others are not. 

Finish preparing meals in advance. Usually if you're working from home, you'll have to take time out of your workday to cook for yourself. So, planning and organizing is critical. Share work and ask other family members to help you.

Communication

Communicate! Communicate! Communicate!

·        Set clear expectations and create Work from Home Rules of engagement in your team. What cadences need to be followed.

·        Set your Skype status to away every time you leave the computer for a break and update it once you’re back.

·        Ensure key contact information and necessary processes / project plans are kept updated and are easily available.

·        If there is a delay or any challenges, please bring it up early to the respective stakeholders. Minimize communication gaps. Keep communication consistent and regular than usual.

·        Be mindful of teams working in different time zones and cultural differences / language barriers. Ensure everyone is clear and comfortable.

·        Clearly request responses to critical communications you send and do the same to confirm you’ve received an update.

·        Set up core work hours when the entire team is expected to be available and clearly define these on a calendar. Be mindful of each other’s calendars and schedule sensitively so all concerned parties can extract the maximum output from their workday.

·        Have daily team meetings and share your plan for the day. Transparency is important aspect of working from home. You could follow virtual scrum meeting. During the daily scrum, answer the following three questions: What did you do yesterday? What will you do today? Are there any impediments in your way?

·        Maintain a record of things you did, what you’re working on, when others can expect work to be delivered, and when you will respond to messages or requests. This reduces anxiety and helps you plan your day.

·        Call out good work! Do this more often than usual and with consistency. Start your meetings with kudos or appreciation.

·        When attending calls, make sure there is not too much of background noise.

·        Never attend video meetings in casuals. Follow a professional dress code. Test your microphone before you video call, especially if it's an important meeting. Test it by video conferencing your colleague before the meeting. Mute your microphone whenever you’re not speaking.

Document Everything

Meetings may become increasingly asynchronous, so it is important to document all the items discussed and assigned. Keep everyone up to date, and follow-up on action items, record key decisions in a centralized shared file. This can be done to consolidate important information and resources into a central hub for your team, or to share information with your organization more broadly.

Be Accountable for Your Work

While being given the freedom to work on your own schedule, it’s important to set goals for the day while you work from home. This is to ensure that you’re still being productive, albeit on your own schedule.

If you anticipate that you need additional time for a certain task you’re working on, ensure you communicate this to the relevant stakeholders. Working on a different schedule and not being proactive in communicating is just asking for a miscommunication.

If you fail to do so, it’s easy for your colleagues to operate under the assumption that you’re slacking off – and we definitely don’t want that!

Stay Connected with the Team Members

Staying in touch with other team members while working from home helps you to stay connected with the current affairs and projects, and introduces a human factor to the equation; reminding you that others might rely on your output to finish their job, or it is simply a way to stay connected with other human beings.

Take Short Breaks

Set a timer to alert you if you’ve been continuously at your desk for over two hours. Take short breaks to stretch your legs. Use the time to also spend time with family or recreation activity.

Move around. sitting for too long is bad for your body. Due to Corona Virus you might not be able to leave your home, but at a bare minimum take time to stretch and move a little.

Not having your colleagues there to remind you might leave you sitting at your desk for hours before you get up. Recommend setting an alarm or reminder on your phone.

Since outdoor walk and exercise is restricted, learn new indoor exercises, energizers to keep you fit. Eg: Indoor cardio, Planks, Yoga, Zumba, 7 minutes’ workout, dancing, listening to music etc.

Don’t forget to set a cut-off time from work.

Social Media

You might love social media, but use it sparingly. Otherwise, you may be overwhelmed. The separation of work and home works both ways. Perhaps, check your favorite apps, then put your phone away for a few hours so you can concentrate without distraction or, frankly, negative messages. 

Up-skill yourself

This is a great opportunity to up-skill yourself. You can turn this work-from-home situation into a potential opportunity to develop your skills. As you are not going office, you are saving a lot of time that was usually wasted on commuting and getting ready. This can be a high time for you to experiment with new ways of increasing productivity, learning new skills, and applying new tactics of working efficiently.

As you may have spare time, you can join short-term online courses to up-skill yourself or read those books that you purchased but never had time to read. You can search for courses in Coursera, Khan Academy, Udemy, edX, Stanford Online, Harvard Extension, Open Yale Courses, UC Berkeley Class Central, MIT OpenCourseWare, Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative, Codecademy , University of Oxford Podcasts, BBC Podcasts, TED-Ed, Academic Earth, iTunesU Free Courses, edX etc.

Be Mindful

Be mindful, this is a stressful time for everyone. There’s a lot of anxiety with family and friends. May people feel the strain and fear.

Given ongoing uncertainty, ensure the tone of communications is positive, yet realistic. Lead with facts, not fear.  

Be empathetic when you communicate. When communicating via email, word choice becomes your only conduit for empathy. Choose your words with care.

Communication drives the modern workplace and enhanced listening skills help us to build more positive work relationships. They enable us to share understandings with work colleagues and make for great harmony and efficiency at work.

Take Care of Yourself !

This is a seriously difficult time for many and it is the duty of everyone to fight Corona Virus away from our lives. So, nurture yourself, keep healthy through nutritious diet and exercise, practice good hygiene and sanitation, prevent spreading of germs and seek medical attention immediately if you suspect you or a loved one has fallen ill.

Working from requires discipline, high Accountability, but also Empathy and Trust. 

Let us support each other in these challenging times.

Please share your best practices and experiences of working from home.