Seven Tips for Working from Home

While I have worked from a home office for several years now, until about a month ago many people did not. The restrictions from the virus pandemic and the mitigation steps which changed the way companies were mandated to do business, put a lot of individuals in a work environment that was very unfamiliar to them.

During the early days of the pandemic restrictions, I was fortunate enough to have had at my disposal a number of educational videos from Business Network International (BNI), about how to cope with the new way of doing things. I have been a BNI member for 8 years. While the group is an in-person networking group and strongly encourages in-person networking face-to-face, internationally it has had to modify its approach to how its members connected. The following 7 tips come from its founder, Dr. Ivan Misner, on things that one should consider and put in place, when they are required to work from home, be it by choice or by mandate as was requested of many of us, these past couple of months. I hope you find them helpful.

Establish a dedicated area as your workspace in your home. I have a home based business. Ever since I started it, the 2nd bedroom in our home has been where my “office” has been set up. It is in one corner of the room. There I have my desk, a table for my laptop and a table for my printer. When I “go to work”, I know that I go to that spot in the house. For those of you without a second bedroom, any particular room or location will do. Just as long as you know, (and everyone else in the house knows), when you are at that location, “YOU ARE WORKING!”

Focus! Don’t get distracted. Your home is now your office. Treat your workspace as if you were in an office that was not in your home. And, structure your day as if you were in a remote office, (have a time period that is blocked out that these are the hours you are working.

Use the technology that is at your fingertips! There are many technologies that allow you to talk to people “face-to-face” while being in your home via your online systems. Zoom and GoToMeeting are 2 popular ones. Perhaps you have others. And, if you don’t feel technology comfortable as of yet, (and do indeed give yourself time to learn, as part of your development of working at home), you can always speak to others by telephone. A great deal of business can be done that way.

Stay off of Social Media if it is Not Work Related! Having technology at your fingertips is indeed a blessing, but can be a curse if you allow it to be. It is tempting to check what is happening on the sites you most frequent. If that means to discipline yourself you keep those sites closed, by all means do so. While you may feel it is absolutely important to answer every request for your time right away, do realize that unless something is urgent, responding at specified times of the day is still being a good and disciplined business person. You need to decide the approach that works best for you.

Plan Your Day. When I began my coaching business, I was fortunate that the school where I received my coach training also provided us business guidance. One suggestion was having an administrative system to help run the business. That administrative system has a calendar. That calendar is the anchor for my business. It is where I schedule my coaching sessions, my networking meetings, and even my personal items that may indicate that I need to rearrange things for a particular day of the week. It is always up-to-date. It helps me stay on track, day by day, hour by hour. Find the planning system that works for you.

Communicate Your Expectations with Everyone In The House. With the exception of toddlers and pets, the fellow adult members in your house, and your children need to know that when you are at your workspace you are NOT TO BE INTERRUPTED. Additionally, if you have a separate room where your “home office is”, close the door when you are working on something that cannot be interrupted, or if you are in a meeting either on the phone or online. My wife knows when she sees the door closed, (unless it is an “absolute emergency”) I am not to be interrupted at that time.

Take Breaks From Your Workplace. Go Back to Your Workplace When Break Time Is Over. Everyone needs some breaks during the day. You needed them when you did not work from home. When you had those breaks you went to the coffee machine, ideally went for lunch away from your desk, even took time to get up and stretch. Now that you are home, do the same thing. However, once taking the break for the time you allotted for it, then get back to work and to your work space.