WFH (Working From Home) is here to stay for some time, with the Covid-19 pandemic not slowing down yet.
WFH need not be a nightmare. With the right skills, you can make it an opportunity for saving time and money on commuting.
Working digitally online can give you new skills, in addition to keeping you alive by avoiding the virus.
What You Need for Working From Home Successfully
There are four areas of your life you need to manage a bit differently now, with mandatory WFH:
- Leverage workspace, equipment and internet connection use
- Manage relationship with colleagues, supervisors, and stakeholders
- Negotiate with family members about sharing space, home office resources, internet connection and undisturbed working time
- Manage your feelings, attitude and motivation more skilfully
Here are some tips that would help you make working from home (WFH) less nerve-racking, more efficient and enjoyable.
1. Leverage workspace, equipment and internet connection usage
The most crucial thing in WFH is keeping your energy levels high. If you can keep your energy levels higher for longer periods, you will be more productive. As you get more things done in less time, you can then devote time and energy to taking care of family issues, recharging yourself and relaxing.
- Have a place in your house where you work, and a separate place where you relax. If you work on the sofa, and then try to relax by watching Netflix on the same laptop, it doesn’t give you much relaxation. Move your work to a separate table e.g., the kitchen table, sit on cushions on the floor for working. So, when you finish working and move to a different corner of the room or to the sofa to watch a movie, there is a clear break from your work position.
- Slouching on the sofa reduces your energy level, and you become less efficient in your work. Remember to sit erect with a straight back while working as this will keep you more energetic. Do these exercises regularly: e.g., Neck-roll, backward/forward shoulder roll, chest opener and spine twist to stay more energetic. Here's a nice video of these easy exercises (no need to buy any expensive equipment).
- Work from a place in your home that boosts your mood and has good natural light.
- Angle your laptop/computer screen so that the glare from outside light doesn’t make you squint. It is also annoying for others if they can’t see your face properly in online meetings.
- Take care of the tools you need. This means taking care of your computer software and ensuring that it works well.
- Clean your computer screen and keyboard with a microfibre cloth gently.
- Free up space on your computer. Check if you have many unwanted programmes, then delete or uninstall them properly. Keep running only those programmes you need before going online for video conference, which requires a lot of memory and capacity from your computer.
- Place the internet router or modem in a place that serves all your family users equally. If you have a choice of 5 GHZ and 2.4 GHZ, 5 GHZ is faster but 2.4 GHZ goes through walls better, so try which one works better for you. Here’s some more information about locating your modem to get the best speeds.
More tips in the next post: How to manage relationships with colleagues, supervisors and stakeholders
