May 14, 2020

WFH (Work from Home): The Top Tips

by Matana Wiboonyasake matana.w@aware.co.th

WFH (Work from Home): The Top Tips

 

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on our lives, dynamically shifting the way we work, most notably where and how. Many people still have to work at the office, but many others have made the transition to work from home.

This shift to WFH style working may seem a little unfamiliar – but we believe everyone can adapt to the situation and not only meet their in-office efficiency but increase it.

In the beginning, your WFH experience will feel a little unfamiliar. But by aligning yourself with the right office set-up, technology, and mindset we believe that everyone can adapt to the situation – but to help you on the journey we have created a Work from Home Survival Guide.

 

  1. Don’t Work in Your Pajamas.

A productive WFH employee needs to get in the work-mode mentality. For some people, this is really easy, but you should try to create a clear break between your home-world (Pajamas, Netflix and Eating Cookies) and your work world. There are simple processes for doing this. Prepare yourself like you usually would in any workday get up early like you usually would, do some light exercise, have your breakfast and make your bed (or whatever your usual process is). Get dressed into casual work clothes and get ready for your day. Being at home is not an excuse to get sloppy, this is not a weekend or a holiday, so you need to create a work-focused environment. Mental and physical preparation is as important as technology in assisting with WFH.

 

WFH (Work from Home): The Top Tips

 

  1. Prepare a Space for Work

Prepare a space for work, this means allocating a physical space that is away from distractions (although not necessarily a separate room). Of course, you will need a table and a chair, and somewhere that is comfortable with Aircon or a fan – light is also important, so you don’t strain your eyes and get headaches. You may need to shuffle your house or room about a little bit to make a space in your life that is suitable for work. One thing we strongly recommend is to have an office chair, standard chairs or dining table chairs are not suitable for WFH and can result in sore backs and other injuries. Preparing a space is both a mental (having a place to focus) and physical (having the right tools to work effectively) endeavor.

Introducing: Effective Work From Home Workspace Ideas

Highly recommended: How to choose a work chair

 

WFH (Work from Home): The Top Tips

 

 

  1. Plan Your Day – Make a List

A characteristic of successful people is that they make lists and plan effectively – this is not exclusive to WFH employees but actually a good protocol to follow all the time. We understand when working from home there appears to be a lack of structure, so you need to design your own by scheduling your daily and weekly plans. By sharing your plans with your colleagues, you can help ensure you stay on course with your plan and it helps you align your work together as a team. Good planning usually results in focused concise goals, and greater productivity – it’s really as simple as making a note.

 

WFH (Work from Home): The Top Tips

 

 

  1. Make Time for Yourself.

Working from home can be a lonely and stressful existence, it’s important that you take time to stretch, get a coffee, and set aside time to eat and keep yourself energized. While at work we have some “water cooler talk” time, and maybe take a little walk to destress or get a coffee. By working from home you may feel all of these daily occurrences are not accessible but it’s important you still do all these for your physical and mental wellbeing: go talk to your neighbor or family and keep yourself hydrated.

Recommended: 10 Healthy Food to Kickstart your WFH Routine

Strongly recommended: WFH MOT: Drink water – Stretch – Walk

 

WFH (Work from Home): The Top Tips

 

  1. Reduce anxiety when working at home.

 

When there are no colleagues to help you, it can often make you feel disconnected and isolated from not just your work, but the people you rely on to help you get through your working day. It’s essential that as a manager or colleague that you reach out to your teammates every day and enquire to relieve concerns and update on job progress. Communication is essential during this time not just for getting work completed but help your colleagues cope. Everyone is different so we need to make sure that if someone needs help the avenues to communication are open.

Highly recommended: Download applications for productive and happy employees and colleagues.

 

WFH (Work from Home): The Top Tips

 

 

We sincerely hope that this article will help you work at home more smoothly.

 

WFH (Work from Home): The Top Tips

About Matana Wiboonyasake

Digital Marketing Executive | Aware Group

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