WFH
17 March 2020
Header image by NIAID Flickr link.
It’s an uncertain time for everyone, but one thing that has come into broad focus for many of us is the requirement to work from home for an indefinite period. As veteran home-workers, perhaps we can offer up a few pointers:
- Discipline can be difficult: plan your day either at the end of the previous day, or on the morning itself. Sketch out what you want to achieve, and roughly by when.
- Your workplace: make sure you have somewhere quiet-ish, and comfortable, in which to work.
- De-clutter: your working area needs to be usable, and clear!
- Ramp up the broadband. If you, like us, rely on being connected, consider upgrading your broadband connection if your contract and technology permit it.
- Take time out: be sure to give yourself plenty of breaks from screens (if applicable), and also from sitting in one position. Get some fresh air if you can, look at something else, drink plenty of water and wash your hands!
- Make use of online collaboration tools to connect with others. At LDC we use Slack all through the day for work stuff, and general chatter. As we all become a little more isolated, these connections are ever more important.
- Stop work. It’s too easy to just beaver away for hours on end. Ensure you have a hard stop time, and stick to it, putting things away for the next day.
Finally, people are making all kinds of things cheap or free to help us all. One pertinent addition in this regard is the book Take Control of Working From Home Temporarily, a free download.