Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people are being asked to work from home. As a freelancer, I have been working from home for the past 14 years. If you are new to working from home here are some quick tips to getting the most from working from home.
Dedicated Space
Ok - so this may be hard to do if you have a small space to begin with or no home office space. Even if it is not a room or area, it could be a designated chair. Even if you live alone the benefit is that when I am sitting in this chair, space, area I am working. When I am not sitting here I am in home mode. I find this extremely important because you are now combining your work world with your home/relaxing world. In my mind, I needed to differentiate the working space from the rest of my home space. When I am sitting in my working space I know I am working and those who live with me know I am working.
I try and avoid working from a kitchen table because in my house that space is dedicated to family time, but that is my personal preference. Of course, I am lucky and have a dedicated studio to work from. If you have a small budget + no dedicated space I would grab a Tablemate II from Walmart ($29.97 CDN):
This is essentially an adjustable tv table that works well as a temporary, compact workspace. It also collapses to make it easier to store. Combine this with a power bar to keep everything charged and you are good to go.
Keep Your Data Safe
If you ware working from home and having to transfer confidential data between your location and work you may want to consider purchasing a VPN. I recommend ExpressVPN https://www.expressvpn.com/. If you want to use it just for a month it is $12.95 CDN per month. A VPN is a virtual private network which means it a secure pipeline between your computer and the internet. It encrypts your communications to protect the data you are sending from home to work; ExpressVPN is easy to install, easy to connect to and doesn't slow your connections down at all.
Take Time For Yourself
Despite a lot of employers thinking you are going to be goofing off and not working while at home the opposite is true. Most people are more productive working from home then they are working at the office - https://www.inc.com/scott-mautz/a-2-year-stanford-study-shows-astonishing-productivity-boost-of-working-from-home.html.
The danger becomes that some people working from home will tend to overdo it. They want to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are being productive and may put in more overtime and set up a standard that starts to strain personal/home relationships. By all means, be productive within your space, but when you are outside of your designated working area then learn to switch back into home mode. Try and strike that work/life balance that makes you feel good in both aspects.
Adjust Your Hours (If Possible)
You may want to look at alternative hours as well. The office maybe 9-5, but if your employer is flexible you may be able to adjust those hours to something that makes more sense for your home environment. For example, I prefer to work earlier (6 am-7 am start) and work for 3 to 5 hours before taking a break. I then might go for a run and get some exercise for an hour or so. After that I go back to my studio and work for 3-5 more hours (sometimes more, sometimes less) before I call it a day. I usually eat lunch at my desk while I am working. Generally, when I am working from home I am by myself and I didn't see a point in not working while I eat my lunch.
Sometimes I like working in the middle of the night and then take the afternoon off. I don't feel guilty about switching up hours - I only care about getting things done and meeting deadlines. What time I did the work is inconsequential to me.
Communicate
Communicate with your team members. Ask questions. Ask for help if you need it. Be mindful that they may be adjusting their hours as well and may not answer immediately. Another thing to keep in mind is that multiple people may be asking a team member for several different things at once. None of them may know they are asking the same person for different things so be patient as you may not completely understand the workload that any "one" teammate may be experiencing. Be kind, be mindful and don't read into things.
It's A Journey
Keep in mind, if this a new experience for you, that this is a journey and not a destination. You may start with a workspace set up a certain way and discover that it doesn't work for you. You will have to allow some time for family members or roommates to get used to the new work from home set-up. You may find you really like the experience and in some cases, you may hate working from home. Be patient, be flexible and take care of yourself.
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Disclaimer: All the opinions are my own and are not the views of any suppliers or manufacturers.