How to be Successful Working from Home | Sarina Russo

In the past, working from home used to be the dream for many workers, however, it is becoming more of a norm.

More people are choosing to leave their full-time corporate lives behind and work from home. A PwC survey found that 83% of office workers were eager to work from home at least one day a week. ¹

If you’re already working from home or you hope to soon, then this is the article for you. We have put together 7 tips to help you successfully work from home and create a great work-life balance.

If we have left out any tips which you swear by, please leave a comment for us below.

If you’re new to working from home, you may be thinking, "Why do I need to do a morning routine, when my work desk is in the room next door? Can't I just get out of bed and stroll over to my desk?"

While you can do this, a morning routine will help set the tone for the day, increase your productivity, and make you feel in control.

No one likes rushing around in the morning getting ready and starting the day feeling frazzled and stressed. I’m sure you know the feeling. However, this can be easily avoided by waking up an extra 30  minutes earlier in the morning and taking your time to get prepared for the day ahead.

An example of a great morning routine is:

• Wake up – no snoozing!
• Open your curtains and let some light into your bedroom.
• Make your bed.
• Take a quick shower and finish with 30 seconds of cold water. Coldwater in the morning will wake you up and make it easier to get out of the shower.
• Get ready for the day and look the part.
• Eat some breakfast and get some sun if you can.

Communication is one of the most critical components to master when working from home. 

At home, you’re essentially flying solo and no one is there to look over your shoulder and make sure you’re staying on top of your tasks.

This also means that no one sees the amount of effort and time you’re putting into your tasks. They will only see the final results, which they might miss if you’re not communicating effectively. 

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This is why effective communication while working remotely is so important. If you’re not proactive in telling your team what you’re working on and achieving, chances are some of it may slip by unnoticed.

Tips to communicate more effectively include: 

• Schedule daily short meetings (15 minutes max) and cover how everyone is going with their tasks and if anyone is facing any problems.
• Opt for video calls over messenger. Video calls streamline collaboration and encourage people to interact more.
• Share more content and ideas. Be vocal when you see interesting articles or ideas. Create a group chat and turn lunchroom chat into internet chat.
• Celebrate wins. While you may be working remotely, it’s still important to not let your wins pass you by. When a team member succeeds at work, make sure you celebrate them and show them they’re appreciated.

There’s nothing worse than talking to someone over the internet and it lags or drops out. It disrupts the workflow and slows everyone down.

If you opt to work from home, ensure your internet is at a reasonable speed and your equipment is reliable.

Tip: A good internet speed is at or above 25 Mbps. To check your internet speed, visit: www.speedtest.net/

A clear workspace is a clear mind. If you have papers covering your desk, stand up and either put them away or get rid of them! A cluttered desk can make focusing difficult and add to your stress levels.

In addition  to de-cluttering your desk, we also recommend cleaning it regularly with antibacterial disinfectant surface cleaning wipes. Did you know the average desk carries more germs than a toilet seat? This is gross but true. According to a University of Arizona study, conducted by American microbiologist Dr Charles Gerba, the average desk carried around 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat.²

In today's world, we're constantly surrounded by notifications going off, whether that be from our phones, tablets, computers or televisions. The ability to focus is becoming increasingly difficult.

When working from home, it’s important to create a workspace with minimal distractions. If you’re like us and you always carry a mobile phone on you, we recommend either putting it on silent, face down on your desk or moving it completely to a different room. It will make a world of difference and help you stay more productive.

Another common distraction people face when working from home is noise. Children playing loudly in another room or working next to window facing a busy street are the kind of noises that can’t just be turned off, unfortunately. But with noise- cancelling headphones, you can work in complete silence.

Time blocking is a time management method where you divide your day into smaller blocks for specific tasks. It combines to-do lists with calendars.

Using a time-blocking technique helps you schedule your day, be more productive and focus on one project at a time. If you get easily overwhelmed by the number of tasks you have, then this technique will help ease your mind.

Not only is it beneficial to you, but it’s also beneficial to your manager. If you time block in your work calendar (e.g. Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Microsoft Teams Calendar) your manager will be able to see what you’re working on and understand your weekly workload better.

Attaining a good work-life balance, when your home is your office is tricky and requires careful thought and planning. We have compiled a few tips to help you manage your work-life balance:

• Create a dedicated workspace and only visit it during work hours. This will help you mentally go in and out of work mode.
• Have a set start and end time each workday. Don't let work overlap with your personal time. Your personal time is just as important. By having a dedicated start and end time, you will be able to switch on and off more easily.
• Leave the house! As you won’t be commuting to and from work, you need to include something in your routine to help you switch off. We recommend leaving your house for a quick walk or some exercise at your designated finish time.

[1] It’s time to reimagine where and how work will get done, Retrieved on 13 August, 2021, from https://www.pwc.com/us/en/library/covid-19/us-remote-work-survey.html

[2] Dishing the dirt on office germs, Retrieved on 13 August, 2021, from http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/02/09/globaloffice.germs/