Working from Home: The New View Way

With all the chaos happening in the world right now, you might find yourself trying to adjust from working in a typical office space to trying to settle into a temporary workspace at home.  Since employees at New View Strategies operate from home daily, I wanted to share some fun ideas on how I make working from home more manageable.

Maintain your normal morning routine.

I like to set myself up for a successful day each morning by following a routine.  Try to follow something similar to what you would follow if you were going into the office.  This might include setting your alarm and waking up at the same time as normal or getting a good sweat in before starting your workday.  As tempting as it may be to lounge around in sweatpants or pajamas (or in your birthday suit), make an effort to change into jeans and a tee.  There is no need to put on a full suit or wear those painful high heels; change into something comfortable and practical for working.

Find your happy place.

I know from experience that working from home can come with many distractions.  There is always something that needs to be done at home, and it can be hard to pull yourself away.  Find a space away from the craziness of your spouse, kids, and glitter.  I don’t personally have kids, but co-workers have told me that it helps to close the door to your office space can help let your family know that it is your dedicated work time and you can’t have any distractions.   It’s important to have a space set up where you can work with few distractions and successfully get your NAV/BC on.

Keep your sanity (break time).

It’s easy to feel like you should be chained to your workspace and not doing anything personal.  Take the occasional 10 or 15-minute break to do something around the house or just to step away from the computer (i.e. change your laundry, empty the dishwasher, or step outside for some fresh air).  Even at your office at work you would likely have the occasional time away from your computer and your work, so it shouldn’t be any different at home.  Taking short breaks can help you focus better once you return to your workstation.

Stay connected with your work peeps.

Communication is key; don’t be afraid to reach out to co-workers and get your questions answered or just to see how they’re holding up in this bizarre time.  I stay in touch with my colleagues all the time with Microsoft Teams.  Teams comes with lots of fun little GIFs and stickers and you can also create your own memes.  Sometimes I will shoot a quick message to coworkers just to say good morning!  It helps knowing that we are all in this together.  Team meetings can also be moved to remote meetings by using Teams or GoToMeeting, two of the platforms that we use to stay up-to-date with each other.

Enough is enough.

When I first started working from home, I found myself consistently stopping at my computer throughout the night and checking my email.  Make sure to have a cutoff on your workday and don’t feel obligated to work throughout the night.  Send that last email and then unplug for the day. It can help to set an alarm to let you know when it’s time to go back to the craziness of your spouse, kids, and glitter.

These are just a few fun ideas based on my experience working remotely.  Repeat steps one through five to survive the craziness of this new “norm” as we wait for the storm to pass, and feel free to comment with any other suggestions!