WFH has become the new black, or the new cubicle life since March 2020 when the whole world had to change the way we do things, revisit all our assumptions, and send teams of people to work from wherever they live and make the most of it.
For the Prodigi team, the WFH aspect was NBD since we have been remote workers since the company was founded 5 years ago.
So what we have for those who are still trying to work out how to be fully productive in that home environment, are some tips from Dan to help you stay awake and focused during your working day!
###Work From Home Tip 1: Set up a proper workspace###
“Don’t try and work from your bed or the kitchen table,” Dan says. If at all possible, you should have a door you can close between your workspace and the rest of the house, so you have a clear distinction between when and where you are working and the rest of your life shared with your family.
Not only does this help you focus to be away from most of the home-based distractions, it also enables you to switch off when you leave your office area and go into your shared spaces.
If your main work from home computer is a laptop, it is also advisable to have a separate keyboard and mouse, and a larger screen to work from - one of the main causes of RSI is working on a laptop keyboard and using the trackpad.
###Work From Home Tip 2: Resist the call of the fridge!###
Being too close to the kitchen and the fridge is another distraction you (and your waistline) really don’t need! Try to structure your day into breaks so you head to the kitchen for a coffee or your lunch break, but don’t use it as a place you regularly wander off to whenever you feel you need to look away from your screens.
###Work From Home Tip 3: Sort your lighting – bring the outdoors in###
One of the things that can be very different in a home environment, compared to a typical office, is the type of lighting. As Dan points out, most offices have quite bright lighting, usually fluorescent tubes which are bright and help keep staff alert during their working hours.
At home, lighting is often designed to be more specific to relaxing with spot lighting things for reading lamps etc. So if your office area wasn’t designed as an office, invest in a few decent lights and ensure you get as much natural light in your day as you can too.
If you need help with your work from home setup including hardware, networking and linking to the rest of your remote teams and servers, get in touch and see how we can assist.