Working From Home (WFH) has become the norm for many people in a post-covid world – it’s great! It cuts out the commute to the office, the frustration of finding a parking spot (and expense), and reduces interruptions, which gives you time to focus on the task at hand – not to mention, you can hand out the washing on your lunch break! Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? Despite the obvious pros, there are cons to WFH, too (particularly if you have children). They include switching off after work hours, taking proper breaks, interruptions from little (or big) people about non-work-related ‘stuff’ and internet that drops out when it feels like it!
With all that said, let’s dive into 5 ways of making working from home a success.
- Have a good daily routine
You can’t escape the demands of life: washing clothes, doing dishes, food prep. etc., so you need to find a way to incorporate that into your day without interrupting your workflow at home. Having a good daily routine is paramount to achieving this balance, so find the routine that works best for you and stick to it.
- Close your laptop and ignore your work phone
At the end of your workday, it can be really hard to switch off, so be diligent in switching off your work devices once you’ve finished your workday. It can be tempting to respond to a message when you hear that ‘ping’ from Teams/Slack/Outlook, so turn it off and walk away!
- Set break times in your calendar
Often, when you’re in the flow of working, it’s easy to forget to take breaks. When you’re in the office, it’s expected that you take breaks, and you can usually head to lunch with a colleague, so schedule your lunch break in your calendar. That way, you’ll get a reminder (don’t forget to actually take it!).
- Have a door on your home office
Sometimes, we don’t have a choice when it comes to the space we work in, but if it can be helped, avoid working in common spaces such as the lounge or dining area. These places are often noisy, and when you’re in the open, you’re more likely to get interrupted. Instead, choose a room that has a door. There is a lot of power in a closed door, and people generally respect that when the door is closed, you’re not available for a chat.
- Solid internet connection
Working remotely means working online constantly. Whether it’s using SharePoint, Teams, Outlook or some other application, it’s important to have a solid, high-speed connection. It’s never fun being the one caught in the middle of a blink during a meeting when your internet drops out. Also, if there’s any planned maintenance on the network, once you get notified, plan ahead so you won’t get caught out.
Working from home is great, but not without its challenges. To make working from home a success for you, try implementing some of the ways to make your experience a success. Most importantly, make sure you have a reliable internet connection. There is nothing worse than being offline and having to rely on a mobile hotspot.
If you’d like to experience rock-solid, high-speed internet to improve your working from home experience, check out Leaptel. Suppliers of award-winning internet, that is 100% Australian-owned and operated with a call centre based in Melbourne and has short wait times if you ever need assistance.
Get in touch with our friendly Melbourne-based team via web chat, email or phone 1300 205 327 and make the leap to Leaptel today!