Working @ Home Tips
Written by: June Dias Simpson
June is a sales professional, who throughout her 20+ sales career has helped her clients build long term strategic plans. She epitomizes integrity, energy, and hard work in every detail of her interaction with her clients. She is proud to have earned the title as trusted advisor. Credibility and trust have solidified several genuine long lasting business relationships and successful sales transactions over the years. She is driven by her love and passion in helping others, and has a proven track record. Her strong base of repeat, loyal customers is the reason June has been successful as a Sales Professional in today’s competitive landscape. As a sales professional, before Covid-19, when June was not out meeting with her clients , she worked from her home office. In keeping with our commitment and philosophy to create a platform of knowledge sharing in a supportive community, June shares her tips on Working @ Home Effectively with all of you. Learn more about June here
During these unprecedented times, our workforce has been challenged to implement new processes, policies, and schedules. A lot of us have been dealing with the challenge of working from home for the first time. Those of us who are all too familiar with working from home, have learned some great tips and strong habits to adopt early on to ensure work from home success. I thought I would share some ideas with you.
Dedicate a workspace, preferably with a door to minimize distractions. Location is everything! Door or not, your workspace is meant for WORK only. – Think of it as clocking in to work and clocking out. Set up a nice, comfortable space that will allow you to work productively for 8 hours a day. Here are some things that can help your workspace:
A comfortable chair
A sturdy desk or table
A headset (speaker phone has too much distortion)
A laptop or desktop – if you have an additional monitor this can help not only your experience and eye strain, but also help with productivity and multi-tasking throughout your day.
USB adapter will allow you to plug multiple gadgets in at once
An external keyboard will help elevate your wrists when typing all day.
A mouse is always better than the track pad for long workdays to avoid wrist pain.
Multifunctional device – Desktop printer/scanner device
Set work hours. This is important to avoid WFH (work from home) burn out (yes it’s a thing). Hold yourself accountable but recognize when enough is enough. It is better to shut it down and come back with a new perspective for the next day.
Although you do not have a commute, it’s important to continue your morning routine to help you ease into your workday.
Take a break. Recharge.
Make yourself a proper lunch. You deserve it!
Stay connected, but don’t get distracted. A great way to avoid distractions is to turn notifications off during work time.
Communication is key. If you don’t usually work from home, you may be wondering how do I stay in touch with my manager? Or my team? Here are some things you can try:
Engage or schedule team meetings Let your Manager/Team know what you’re working on
Share your wins
Share your challenges and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Remember, we are all going through this together.
Document more than you normally would
Collaborate by using tools such as video conferencing, interactive whiteboards, real-time document updates with your co-workers.
Socialize with your co-workers. If you’re used to having lunch dates with your friends or drinks after work, carve out some time to connect with them through a video chat, check-in, and maybe even a virtual drink or two.
Face to Face. If you work with clients on a daily basis, I cannot stress enough how important it is to stay connected. Video conferencing promotes successful collaboration and allows you to build rapport that might have otherwise gone neglected due to the distancing measures currently in place. Most companies have adopted a unified communication platform, but if your company hasn’t, there are several platforms you can use, I have listed some below.
Teams
Skype
Google Meets
Zoom
AnyMeeting
GoToMeeting
Webex
JoinMe
Last but not least…
Don’t be so hard on yourself --- Give yourself some slack, especially right now during this time. Pat yourself on the back. Take the win! Get through the day by doing the best that you can.