Many companies, including ours, have asked employees to work remotely during the coronavirus outbreak. If you've never worked from home this can be a challenge, so we’ve asked our employees to share some tips they’ve found helpful in this tricky situation.
TIPS FROM RCN TEAM MEMBERS:
- Try to make the setup as comfortable as possible.
- Have a plan for what you aim to accomplish that day.
- Best recommendation for working from home: noise-canceling headphones!
- Scheduled calls are a great time to take a short walk (not recommended for video calls though).
- Create a routine and stick to it the best you can.
- When you need a break go outside and get some sun and fresh air.
- Do not feel bad about children, pets, family members or roommates in the background of your video calls! (We're all struggling a little bit making the adjustment, it helps sometimes to see that others have the same craziness going on while they are trying to work too.)
- When working from home IT will become your best friend! Have them on speed dial and save them to your email contacts because you will need them.
- Having the office setup in a separate room so it actually feels like my own space and I don’t get distracted easily.
- Create a list of things you want to accomplish for the day, so you have goals to achieve.
- Play music, I’ve been using playlists called “focus”. It helps having some noise in the background.
- Keeping a routine is key – Structuring your day as you would if you were in the office is important to ensure you stay on track. Wake up at your normal time and get ready as if you were going into the office.
- Keep your normal hours and make sure you turn off work at the end of each day so that it doesn’t invade your personal life as it's now much harder to keep that separation.
- As much as you may be tempted, don’t work odd hours because it will lead to burn out.
- Make sure you take regular breaks as you would during a normal workday too.
- A tip for working when you have kids and you’re in a closed-off space. Have 3 pieces of construction paper that you can put on your door with a piece of tape:
- Green = You can interrupt me if you need to;
- Yellow = I’m busy but if you really need me, you can knock;
- Red = Do Not Disturb, on a conference call. No interruptions. Come back in 15 minutes.
- Try and keep your office by a window for best sunlight. It really does make a difference in your perspective and positivity.
WHAT WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR:
“I’m grateful to be spending more quality time with my family and not being so pressed for time.” “What I like about working from home is working in pajamas, getting to sleep longer, making coffee just the way I like it, channeling my inner introvert.” “Best part of being home working is that I have my little puppy co-worker who loves to watch me type (he is only now almost 5 months old)!” “I actually love working from home because its nice and quiet and not commuting an hour every day is actually wonderful.” “Since I travel a lot for work, its really nice to be home with my family and just enjoying being in the moment with them.” “I am grateful for having more time with my family, and I have finally had time to clean out my closet!” “This time has enabled me to start checking projects of my to-do list and organize aspects of my home that kept getting put off due to not having enough time in the day.” “I’m thankful that I have more time to spend with my pets, Charlie & Nala and my fiancé, Matt. And I’m grateful Matt and my work setups can be on different levels of the house so we still have space.”
WHAT WE'RE DOING WHILE HOME:
“During this quarantine season I am de-cluttering my house from top to bottom. I have already de-cluttered and organized my kitchen (and my spices). Off to the laundry room next!” “Using the time to get caught up on my backlog of tasks and projects I couldn’t complete before Covid-19.” “Next project in place is to stain my actual desk top now, never did since I never work from home. May make it a very vibrant color.” “I have also had a chance to clean out my basement and get that organized with all this time, which I do have to say I am very grateful for. It was getting a little scary down there.” “Cleaning and organizing the whole house! Spring cleaning has come early and it started with the Tupperware cabinet!” “I’ve been able to actually dedicate time to planning our wedding taking some of the stress of that off.”