Working From Home Effectively

I hope you’re all staying safe from this COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

At present, one of the best ways of protecting yourself from this virus is through social distancing, which, in our professional context, means that we’ve all be working from home quite a bit.

Now, we’ve all probably worked from home for a week, or two, or even a month in the past, but prior to this pandemic, I wasn’t really used to working from home on an ongoing basis for a prolonged period of time, and I found it really challenging to strike a balance between staying hyper productive and not becoming a reclusive hermit!

After a lot of trial and error, I’ve finally figured out what works for me and what doesn’t, and so I thought of writing this article to share with you some of the tips, tricks and techniques that I’ve picked up over the past few months that help me stay in the zone without losing my mind when I’m working from home.

My name is Swapnil Gyani, and here are the nine best practices for working from home effectively. Let’s get started!

Best Practice 1

Set up a schedule and follow it rigorously

The very first thing you’ll want to do when working remotely is set up a schedule for yourself and follow it rigorously.

Define set times to begin and end your workday, and even schedule your breaks. In most cases, these timings should mirror your office timings, but be sure to check with your manager before you put your schedule in motion.

If you are a people leader, help your team define their work schedules, as this step is key to working from home effectively.

Best Practice 2

Define a morning routine

Define a morning routine for things you’ll do before you begin your workday. Have a chai or coffee, listen to your favorite podcast, work out, take a shower or go play with your dog. Do whatever works for you, but please don’t go from your bed directly to your work, as that’s a shortcut to insanity!

Best Practice 3

Dress for work

Next, dress, and groom, for work just as you would do if were to go to the office. This doesn’t mean that you have to put on a business suit. No, that would be a little crazy, but get out of those pajamas you slept in and change into something that you can comfortably wear on a video conference.

Best Practice 4

Have a dedicated workspace

If you have the option to sit at a desk and shut the door behind you, that’s ideal. If not, find a spot in your home with an uncluttered background and a decent amount of natural light, and make that your workspace.

At the very least, be sure to get out of your bed and make it so that you always sit at that one specific spot when you’re working.

Best Practice 5

Use virtual office apps to supercharge your workday

When you’re working from a physical office, your team’s collective memory, intelligence and creativity are all boosted through chatter and a free-flowing exchange of ideas. You will often hear your colleagues discussing the details of a task, which may remind you of something that you needed to complete, or it may end up giving you a fresh angle on something that you’re working on.

We simply don’t have this superpower when working remotely, but luckily for us, there’s a radioactive spider right around the corner in the form of virtual office apps.

These apps allow you to set up channels for literally anything you can think of - whether it’s for your entire team, for a specific project or even a topical conversation. Once you’ve set up these channels, you can communicate and collaborate with your colleagues almost as seamlessly as you would in a physical office.

There’s a wide range of really awesome apps in this category, but the two most popular ones, by far, are Slack and Microsoft Teams. Get yourself and your team on one of these platforms to supercharge your workday.

Best Practice 6

Set up a rhythm of communication with your team

If you either work with or lead a distributed team, schedule a daily check-in meeting with your team members towards the beginning the workday to help define priorities and clear roadblocks.

You can, of course, use this time for general, non-work related chatter as well, but keep in mind that these meetings are at their most effective when they are short and to-the-point. On average, allocate 2 to 3 minutes per team member, and no more than 30 minutes overall.

This will set the tone for the rest of your day, and will help you focus on what’s most important.

Best Practice 7

Use the pomodoro technique

Speaking of focus, I find it particularly difficult to tune in and manage my time effectively when I’m working from home. This is where the pomodoro technique comes in handy.

Pomodoro is a simple time management technique where you break down your working day into 30-minute blocks of time. For each 30-minute block, work for the first 25 minutes and take a break for the last 5 minutes. When you complete four such blocks, take a longer break of 15 to 20 minutes.

Best Practice 8

Get some physical activity

It’s all too easy to stay glued to your desk when you’re working by yourself, even when you’re on a break. Don’t fall into this unhealthy trap; get up from your chair, stretch, take a walk around your house or break into a little dance number.

Remember those 5-minute breaks you’re supposed to take as part of the pomodoro technique? Well, use the first minute or so of that time doing this, and while you’re at it, try and get some fresh air as well.

And the final rule of the fight club is…

Best Practice 9

Communicate with your family, repeatedly

One of the trickier challenges of working from home is to have your family understand that you are indeed at work. When I had just started working from home, my family had a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that I wasn’t taking the day off. But eventually, they did, and it became the new normal. The only solution is repeated, persistent and patient dialog with your family to help them understand that you are actually working.

And this next part probably goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway - it doesn’t help when you tell your family that you’re working but then they hear that cool Netflix show playing in the background. That breaks the illusion, somewhat.

On the other hand, when you tell them that you’re working and they actually see you following through on that, they will get used to this new fact eventually and it will become the new normal. Just be patient and understand that all of this is new for them as well, so give them some.

So, that’s all I’ve got for you today. Hopefully, these tips will help you master the art and science of working from home effectively.

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