According to a recent report by Bloomberg, six out of 10 people in the European Union (including the UK) hadn’t worked from home in 2018; in Italy—land of the nationwide lockdown—67% said they had never worked remotely and less than a quarter of households have access to ultra-fast broadband.
In terms of remote working, the UK numbers are a little better, but not much—an estimated 46% of us didn’t work from home last year, but only 3.8% have access to ultra-fast broadband (the worst in Europe!) The weaker the penetration of high-speed internet, the more difficult it is to keep your workforce going.
But connectivity is really only a small aspect of the problem of working remotely—despite the above stats, most of us in the UK have fairly decent Wi-Fi and the ability to have online meetings through platform such as Zoom. The issues a lot of us might face when working from home is keeping yourself focused and motivated.
Here are a few ways to work productively from home:
Dress for work
You might be tempted to stay in your pajamas or lounge about in those ill-fitting tracksuit pants your partner wishes you’d throw away, but getting dressed as if you’re actually going to work makes it easier to get your mind into ‘work mode’. It doesn’t have to be full-on—a jacket and tie is overkill—but something presentable will help remind you that even though you’re at home, you’re at work.
Establish a routine
Get up at the same time each day (you’re forgiven a little lie-in for the time you might have been commuting) and have a to-do list. Start with a cup of tea and coffee—much like you would at the office—and apportion time to each task. A good idea to keep yourself motivated is to reward yourself for each completed task with a nice pastry or another cup of tea or coffee. It’s also important to take regular breaks. Without all the usual workplace distractions, it’s likely you’ll be more focused and therefore cram more work into a smaller amount of time. Don’t feel guilty about taking a 20-minute break every couple of hours to indulge in something completely unrelated to work—this’ll refresh your mind and keep you going.
Have a lunch break and take advantage of it
As with the above mini-breaks, it’s super important to take an extended break midway through the day to replenish energy levels. Under current guidelines, we’re still allowed to go out as long as we maintain social distance. Use this opportunity to go for a walk or do some exercise. You could also devote to family and loved ones some time which you normally wouldn’t have if you were at the office.
Get outside while you’re still able to (and maybe talk to some swans).
(Photo by Josephine Baran on Unsplash)
Resist temptation by removing it
Things like social media and Netflix are specifically designed to suck you in and keep you wanting more. No sooner have you clicked on a post or watched a quick episode and you find yourself still ‘engaged’ forty minutes later. One way of avoiding this is to remove yourself from the source of potential distraction. Don’t work in your lounge or anywhere else where a TV is in view. When you’re on your laptop, avoid going to a news site while you’re working as you’ll inevitably get lured into reading several articles and watching videos. As for social media—unfortunately you have to keep your mobile at hand so really it’s a matter of having the willpower not to click on LinkedIn or Instagram while you’re working— indulging in social media can form part of those ‘rewards’ we spoke about earlier.
Set up a social group
If part of your motivation and enjoyment of work involves the social aspect of an office environment, set up a WhatsApp group where you can still indulge in a little banter and connectivity. When done correctly, instead of being another distraction, a bit of online socialising can do wonders for motivation and helps lighten everyone’s mood.
Staying connected to colleagues can relieve the sense of isolation.
(Photo by Kev Costello on Unsplash)
- For more great content and access to peer groups, one-to-one coaching and exclusive events, sign up to Evolve for FREE.