Staying Productive While Working From Home
In response to the COVID-19 virus, RAM has implemented Work from Home policies for our office staff. For those of us working at home, here are some tips for staying productive!
Maintain regular hours and make yourself a routine.
In the morning, make yourself a routine that includes getting dressed for work, setting up your work area, grabbing a coffee, and eating a well balanced breakfast. This will help you switch your brain into work mode. Make yourself a start and end time so you can maintain boundaries and still have a work life balance.
Designate an area in your house as a work space.
Try to avoid cooping yourself up in your room or on the couch. Have a set space that you will use just for work. Try to declutter the space at night so that you aren’t distracted by household chores during your work day.
Set ground rules for people in your space.
If you are working home with family members or roommates, set ground rules about when you can converse and what can and can’t be done during your work day.
Make yourself a break area, and take breaks when needed.
When you take a coffee or lunch break, move away from your laptop into a separate space. Take a moment to breath and relax. Maybe Facetime a co-worker, friend or relative and catch up! Try and go for a walk (in a non-populated area), or sit on your balcony or in your backyard to get some fresh air.
Social Media.
If you are easily distracted by Social Media, turn off notifications so you can focus more on the task at hand.
Create a schedule the night before.
Spending time figuring out what you’ll do today can take away from actually doing those things. Additionally, because your task list was planned so recently, you may be tempted to change your schedule on the fly. It’s important to let your agenda change if you need it to, but it’s equally as important to commit to an agenda that outlines every assignment before you begin. Try solidifying your schedule the day before, making it feel more official when you wake up the next day to get started on it.
Create an accountability system with your manager.
Try and communicate with your manager as much as possible about tasks you are working on or have completed. You can even share your agenda with your manager to help hold you accountable at the end of the day.
Management and Health and Safety have updated precautionary steps and RAM policies in response to the Coronavirus (COVID – 19) outbreak. The health and safety and well-being of our Employees and Clients is always our highest priority. RAM will continue to actively monitor COVID-19 and follow the guidelines and recommendations from the Canadian and Provincial governments as this pandemic evolves. We will continue to navigate this situation with agility and transparency as new information is made available.