So, while you might be working from home, you might not be able to do your normal 9-5 at home.  Here are some tips on working productively and some ideas for how you might look to use this new way of homeworking to deliver better services to clients and increase loyalty within your workforce.

Working Productively while Staying at Home: 10 Tips for Success

1. Schedule less time than you think you’ll need.

When working a normal working week, your work can expand to fill the time available.  You’ll be surprised how busy you can be without actively being productive!. Schedule specific time to complete specific tasks, the important ones first and once that time is up, if you haven’t finished, write a to do reminder list for the next slot that’s available for that activity.  I do emails 7-8 am and  pm and try to limit my access/responses to them throughout the rest of the day.  That way I can properly give my attention to important tasks.  And use your diary, put into your diary what you are doing and when, working on blog post, chasing up event speakers, logging into finance system, chasing late payers etc etc.. all tasks that need doing, so box out your diary, plan like a pro and you’ll be surprised just how productive you can be!

2. Compartmentalise your time.

Following on from my previous point, make your to do list work even harder, by scheduling in time to achieve each item.  And once that time is up, be disciplined and move on to your next task.  Try also to make your adjacent tasks different.  This way your brain will totally switch to the new area and you’ll feel invigorated and will up your productivity again.  So follow finance admin with telephone calls to team members, or social media scheduling with event planning.

3. Use tools.

To make your (work) life a whole lot easier use digital tools to do the heavy lifting for you.  My personal favourites are

• If this then that IFTTT it’s a free way to get all your apps and devices talking to each other. You can use it make sure pictures you post in Instagram are shared to twitter as native pictures rather than a line of code, or event make sure your porch light comes on at home when the pizza is on its way.. the list really is endless. I use it to thank new followers, send monthly and weekly standard messages on twitter and a few other things, but it’s a good one to have fun with.
• Hootsuite This super powerful and trusted tool makes finding, scheduling, managing and reporting on social media content easier. You can save time by scheduling your posts, curate your content enabling you to stay on message with pre-approved content your teams can post, and measure your social media results by tracking performance and sharing meaningful insights with your team about customers and campaign content using customisable, easy to create reports.  There are various plans available at different prices, but it’s about thinking for the future as well and weighing up the benefits of delivering effectively and staying connected.
• ZOOM This is a free to sign up and participate service, but if you wish to host meetings lasting more than 45 minutes or have them recorded for future sharing it’s a paid subscription monthly or annual subscription.  Its way more stable than Skype, easier to use than Microsoft meetings, and less complicated to sign up for than google hangouts so for me it’s the winner for digital meetings and calls.  They have even provided a guide to help users use zoom effectively during the COVID 19 pandemic which even includes tips on how to hide your messy room for a video conference.  Also, Entrepreneur Magazine have a great article on getting the most out of ZOOM so it’s worth reading that to get yourself up top speed.

4. Know yourself and eat your frog.

Your energy levels will fluctuate over the course of the day, depending on your biological make up (I am definitely a morning lark not a night owl, comes from years of crew rowing I think!). So make sure you work on your hardest tasks at the time of the day when you have your peak energy.  And while you’re at it, make sure you eat your frog at that time of the day too.  Wondering what I am talking about?  Mark Twain once said “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” … Eating the frog means to just do it, otherwise the frog will eat you meaning that you’ll end up procrastinating it the whole day. Here’s a cute little video which helps get the message across:

6. Take frequent breaks.

Taking small and frequent breaks to help you recharge enables you to process and retain more information for future use.  Research backs this up, its’s why your apple watch tells you to stand up at least every hour.  A small break to get some fresh air, peg out the washing or make a cuppa will help you up your productivity. Just don’t let the breaks turn into a distraction or start doing something which takes more than 5 minutes.  Refer back to the first blog post on home working and the benefits of adopting the THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE to scheduling your tasks

7. Take up gardening.

If you don’t already, now is a great time to take up gardening.  It not only provides physical exercise, but also has meditative qualities pruning, tieing in, weeding and digging all require mindful concentration and you’ll be surprised what bubbles up to the surface of your thoughts. I’ll bet that work problem you couldn’t see a way round will look a lot simpler after an hour or two in the garden.  If you don’t have any outside space, then work on your indoor plants, clean their leaves, water them re pot them, spruce up the planters they are in, anything that lets your mind wander and brain rest.

8. Manage your remote teams like a boss.

As you know at the NHIC we have utilised remote working for a number of years now, our social media and marketing support is based in South Africa and our web hosting and maintenance is actually just up the road from me in the midlands, but we hardly ever connect f2f (once a year at Starbucks to exchange Christmas cards and a bottle of red). But we connect weekly if not daily using email, hangout messenger, and video chats. We are also now firm friends on FB and feel confident enough in each other that we are able to ask for help, admit we have forgotten to do something and need a dig out or simply need some help coming up with an idea.  Having such a great team is a blessing and distance hasn’t affected the way we work one bit.  Here a few things that can help

• Logistics

Make sure your team not only have the right equipment to work from home, but they know how to sue it as well.  There are loads and loads of how to use videos on YouTube or the internet, use those, don’t create your own, but make sure, especially in these first few weeks that your team members feel supported and that they can be honest with you about their abilities.

• Be available and schedule check in time

Back to points 1 and 2, if you don’t want your team checking in with you at all hours, make it clear when you are available and when you are not.  Ask them to do the same and see if this new time slot scheduling allows you to delver a better service to your clients… can you now offer 7-7 call centre or sales support because your team are home working dedicated 3-hour shifts rather than all simply being in the office together 9-5

• Lead by example

When using video conferencing tools, your tone, facial expressions and body language communicate as much as your words do.  So be ready to lead by example, turn your camera on and keep your personal vibe high.

• Transparency

Keeping things clear is crucial when working remotely.  If anyone is confused about strategy, deliverables or priorities its harder for them to simply catch up from round the office conversations.  Build trust and confidence in your team with honest clear communication so team members feel secure and that they can ask anything.

• Add moments of fun

Don’t just use video conferencing and times when you speak to your team for important meetings either, schedule in office coffee breaks times when people come together with a drink for 15 minuets and simply chat.  Helps keep relationships going and helps people gain confidence with the technology.  Also think about planning in virtual lunch Thursdays and see who has the best lunch, or even host pub quizzes… My family has done this, we did it using facetime (you can have up to 32 on one facetime call, but they all need to be apple users).  We did a round of 10 questions each and had it at 8:30 once the kids were in bed and had great fun.. the teenagers were on the phone to their mid 70’s grandparents helping them get their iPad sorted and one branch of the family even went as far as creating their own pub sign!  We’ll be doing it again on Saturday night… at this rate we’ll be seeing more of each other during the lock down than we normally do!!

9.Create a sense of culture and community

During this time of social distancing and working from home we are naturally going to feel isolated and adrift.  Maintaining your company culture will arguably be one of the most important aspects of keeping moral, engagement and productivity high during this time.  A few ideas below to get you going, but tag us in on social media with your own company ways to show you’re #inittogether

• Bring your pet to work day – hold a virtual meeting where everyone brings and shows off their pet… this can even be your horse as all video conferencing facilities have mobile apps, so why not do it from the stables!
• Host drop in sessions – ZOOM has great facilities such as virtual waiting rooms, meeting rooms and white board where teams can come together for informal catch ups rather than scheduled more formal calls.
• Start thinking Virtual First – before you cancel any f2f events, think can it be virtual instead

10. Become outputs driven

Now more than ever we need to trust each other and focus on deliverable and outputs rather than hours at work.   Being outputs driven means being focussed on goals and criteria.  You present the problem to our team, thereby giving the goal and results that must be achieved, together with any preconditions for the solution and allow them to work on developing the solution in their own time and way.  They might do it at night, collaborative using digital tools with team mates, or in splendid isolation from the comfort of their bedroom.  It really doesn’t matter; what matters is the output!

Use this time to explore and be brave about new ways of working, and also to reflect on what works well and what not so well. And once we are out the other side, and this time will end and simply become a memory, consider which parts of “normal” are worth rushing back too.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this dreadful pandemic can become a positive and vibrant disruption to the way we work and connect forever?

You never know, my family might even keep doing our virtual pub quiz every Saturday night!

Even though you are working from home and movement is restricted, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your garden or the local park.  Get outside and move, and if you don’t want to leave the house then use at home fitness apps like FIIT, Apptiv or YouTube to get moving daily and keep your vibe high.

The post Working Productively while Staying at Home: 10 Tips for Success appeared first on The NHIC.

When working in an office, your morning commute can help you wake up and feel ready to work by the time you get to your desk. At home, however, the transition from your pillow to your computer can be much more jarring.

Believe it or not, one way to work from home productively is to dive into your to-do list as soon as you wake up. Simply getting a project started first thing in the morning can be the key to making progress on it gradually throughout the day. Otherwise, you’ll prolong breakfast and let the morning sluggishness wear away your motivation.

2. Pretend like you are going into the office.

The mental association you make between work and an office can make you more productive, and there’s no reason that feeling should be lost when working remotely.  When working from home, do all the things you’d do to prepare for an office role: Set your alarm, make coffee, and wear nice clothes (I don’t always do this one, but it helps some people I know). Internet browsers like Google Chrome even allow you to set up multiple accounts with different toolbars on the top — for example, a toolbar for home and a separate toolbar for work.

3. Structure your day like you would in the office.

When working from home, you’re your own personal manager. Without things like an in-person meeting schedule to break up your day, you can be quick to lose focus or burn out.  To stay on schedule, segment what you’ll do and when over the course of the day. If you have an online calendar, create personal events and reminders that tell you when to shift gears and start on new tasks. Google Calendar makes this easy.

4. Choose a dedicated work space.

Just because you’re not working at an office doesn’t mean you can’t, well, have an office. Rather than cooping yourself up in your room or on the couch — spaces that are associated with leisure time — dedicate a specific room or surface in your home to work.  It doesn’t need to be big, just there.

5. Keep Hydrated.

Make sure you keep up your fluid intake and keep hydrated.  Chances are when you were working in an office you were in a tea round.. someone was always popping up offering to make a cup which gave a natural break and kept you topped up.. at home you have to do it yourself, so make it a priority and keep hydrated.

6. Make it harder for yourself to mess around on social media.

Social media is designed to make it easy for you to open and browse quickly. At work, though, this convenience can be the detriment of your productivity. To counteract your social networks’ ease of use during work hours, remove them from your browser shortcuts and, according to Fast Company, log out of every account. You might even consider working primarily in a private or, if you’re using Chrome, an “Incognito” browser window. This ensures you stay signed out of all your accounts and each web search you conduct doesn’t autocomplete the word you’re typing. It’s a guarantee that you won’t be tempted into taking too many social breaks during the day.

7. Commit to doing more.

Projects always take longer than you initially think they will. For that reason, you’ll frequently get done less than you set out to do. So, just as you’re encouraged to overestimate how much time you’ll spent doing one thing, you should also overestimate how many things you’ll do during the day. Even if you come up short of your goal, you’ll still come out of that day with a solid list of tasks filed under ‘complete.’

8. Work when you’re at your most productive.

Nobody sprints through their work from morning to evening — your motivation will naturally ebb and flow throughout the day. When you’re working from home, however, it’s all the more important to know when those ebbs and flows will take place and plan your schedule around it.  To capitalise on your most productive periods, save your harder tasks for when you know you’ll be in the right headspace for them. Use slower points of the day to knock out the easier, logistical tasks that are also on your plate. Verily Magazine calls these tasks “small acts of success,” and they can help build your momentum for the heavier projects that are waiting for you later on.

9.Plan your calls for the morning.

Sometimes, I’m so tired in the afternoon, I don’t even want to hear my own voice — let alone talk to others with it.  If you’re struggling to come up with a reasonable work schedule for yourself when working at home, start with the ‘social’ tasks in the morning like phone calls, skype meetings, and other collaborative work, save the solitary tasks like emails, report writing and research for when your vibe is lower.

10. Focus on one distraction at a time

There’s an expression out there that says, “if you want something done, ask a busy person.”

The bizarre but true rule of productivity is that the busier you are, the more you’ll actually do. It’s like Newton’s law of inertia: If you’re in motion, you’ll stay in motion. If you’re at rest, you’ll stay at rest. And busy people are in fast-enough motion that they have the momentum to complete anything that comes across their desk.  Unfortunately, it’s hard to find things to help you reach that level of busyness when you’re at home — your motivation can just swing so easily. That said, try not to get distracted by lots of things, just focus on one distraction at a s time, maybe work out, do the laundry or wash the pots.  Anything which takes you from your screen for 10-30 minutes should give you enough time to swing back into work fully focussed.

11. Plan out what you’ll be working on ahead of time.

Spending time figuring out what you’ll do today can take away from actually doing those things. And, you’ll have planned your task list so recently that you can be tempted to change your schedule on the fly.  It’s important to let your agenda change if you need it to, but it’s equally as important to commit to an agenda that outlines every ‘To Do” before you begin. Try solidifying your schedule the day before, makes it feel more official when you wake up the next day to get started on it.

12. Write a To Do list

A top productivity hack is that you can only stay focussed for 25 minutes at a time, so write yourself a to do list with activities that take 25 minutes to complete, or at most 3 sets of 25 minutes. then you need to take a break!  It’s called THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE And don’t just think one list a day is going to work, write one in the morning, one in the evening for things you need to do tomorrow and that will keep you on the straight and narrow I promise!

13. Write a To Done list

It’s a great way to take control and feel as though you have accomplished something during the day.  Write a list of all the things you have done, even the small things are wins and will keep your vibe high into the coming days and weeks.

14. Write a Gratitude list

When working solitarily it’s important you take responsibility for your own health and well-being.  Take breaks, exercise and invest in your mental well-being. A great way to do this is by writing a daily gratitude journal.  Three things you are grateful for each day.  You can get advanced with this and do three things you want to go well today in the morning, including what you can do to affect the outcome (great before digital meetings) followed by three things in the evening that went well, what you are grateful for and how you can do better tomorrow.

15. Use technology to stay connected.

Working from home might help you focus on your work in the short term, but it can also make you feel cut off the larger operation happening in the office. Instant messaging and videoconferencing tools can make it easy to check in with co-worker’s and remind you how your work is contributing to the big picture.  Make sure you use the early days of working from home to install all the various digital technology tools on your computer.  Key tools are Microsoft teams, skype, and google hangouts.  Making sure you have the apps pre-installed, properly registered, are logged in and up to date ensures you won’t be left stressed by the technology slowing you down when you should be focussing on connecting.

16. Communicate expectations with anyone who will be home with you.

Of course, you might be working from home but still have “company.” Make sure any roommates, siblings, parents, spouses, and dogs (well, maybe not dogs) respect your space during work hours. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you’re home.

17. Take clear breaks.

It can be so easy to get distracted when working from home that you try to avoid breaks altogether. Don’t let the guilt of working in the building you sleep in prevent you from taking five to relax. Rather than just opening YouTube and watching some comfort clips, however, use your breaks to get away from your desk. Go for a walk outside or spend time with others who might also be in the house.

18. Prepare your meals the night before.

When you’re in your own home, it can be tempting to spend time preparing a really nice breakfast and lunch for yourself, chopping and cooking included. Don’t use precious minutes making your food the day of work — cook it the night before.

Preparing food ahead of time ensures you can actually use your meal times to eat, and that you aren’t performing non-work tasks that spend energy better used at your desk.

19. Pick a definitive finishing time each day.

You might be under the impression that working from home establishes more work-life balance, but be careful with that assumption. Working from home can also feel like being at a casino — you can get so caught up in your activity, in a relaxing environment, that you lose complete track of time.  In lieu of co-worker’s, whose packing up and leaving the office reminds you to do the same, set an alarm at the end of the day to indicate your normal work day is coming to an end. You don’t have to stop at exactly that time, but knowing the work day is technically over can help you start the process of saving your work and calling it quits for the evening.

20. Get outside and move!

Even though you are working from home and movement is restricted, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your garden or the local park.  Get outside and move, and if you don’t want to leave the house then use at home fitness apps like FIIT, Apptiv or YouTube to get moving daily and keep your vibe high.

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