SIX TOP TIPS FOR WORKING FROM HOME
Life is all about change, and how we adjust to it. With the advent of the Coronavirus crisis, a large proportion of the UK's working population has had to get used to drastically altered circumstances.
For those of us who have been running a business from an office at home for a while, there is a temptation to wonder what all the fuss is about. Although I do like to mix things up - I really enjoy the buzz of commuting and working as part of a team as a variation on a domestic lone-furrow theme.
For those whose working lives have been spent entirely in an office, the concept of working from home can be tinged with intrigue, maybe even a bit of glamour. The freedom! The flexibility! The really, really easy commute…
When it becomes the norm, however – as it suddenly has for so many people – that glamour fades remarkably quickly.
This is the new BAU. So. based on my three years running my copywriting business in Kingston and New Malden, I’d like to offer half-a-dozen handy tips to ensure you can be as professional and effective in the domestic environment as you are in the office.
1 Dress for success
Nobody expects you to put on your sharpest suit. At the same time, slopping around in your pants or PJs simply doesn’t put you in the right frame of mind to produce your dynamic, focused best.
Psychologically, going smart-casual definitely kick-starts your brain into professional mode. As Kevin Costner says in the timeless classic movie Bull Durham: Think classy, you’ll be classy.
2 Find your own space
In the same vein, cutting yourself off from domesticity and establishing a particular area as your workspace has the effect of putting you in a more business-like mood. Simply the act of closing a door can sharpen your focus.
If you have a spare room that can be converted into a makeshift office, great. If you have a bedroom where you are likely to be undisturbed, also great. If you are sitting at the kitchen table while family life goes on around you, not so great.
3 Lay down some ground rules
If your partner, children or friends are in the house while you are working, simply make it clear to them that you need space, and a bit of peace, to be able to concentrate and give of your best.
This is not particular easy when the schools are out and you have two teenage daughters vowing mutual destruction at the top of their voices – trust me on this. But tell yourself, and them, that distraction is the enemy of concentration and the mother and father of procrastination.
4 Stay in touch with your team
When you work from home all the time, one thing you miss above all others is the simple human interaction with colleagues. Believe me, the chance to talk with team-mates – either about work matters or to swap stories from family life – is precious.
So don't stop just because you are at home. Pick up the phone, chat on WhatsApp, or best still have a daily video team meeting. As well as keeping tabs on what everyone is working on, you’ll retain a significant and valuable degree of the closeness and camaraderie you enjoy when you’re all in the office.
5 Choose your background wisely
This is for you if you are holding regular video calls with colleagues or external contacts. Be aware of what is visible behind you; a mountain of dirty laundry, for instance, doesn’t quite convey that impression of steely professionalism you’re aiming for.
Position your screen to ensure your backdrop is plain or, if you really want to come across as business-like and intellectual, filled with shelves groaning under the weight of some serious books.
6 Plan your day
There’s no escaping the fact that you need a little bit of self-discipline. Away from the prying eye of your line manager, it is undeniably tempting to spend too much time on Twitter, to while away the morning with a packet of custard creams, to start off your lunch hour at 11.30 and to follow it with a two-hour tea break.
So, set out a timetable and stick to it. Yes, you’re entitled to screen breaks and time off for lunch. But you’ll get so much more done if you remind yourself every so often that, familiar and comforting though your surroundings may be, this is work.
Even in the time of Coronavirus, life is going on. So is business. If you want to get your message across to your audience in the best way possible and need some copywriting assistance to do so, please get in touch.