As the weeks turn into months, all non essential workers are now more familiar with their homes than ever before. With the global COVID-19 pandemic, those who can are working from home (for some this may be a first for them) and are expected to be just as productive, if not more so in order to keep businesses afloat during this uncertain time. PageNorth’s team have now been working from home for over a month now and have been busier than ever with new website development projects and more and more digital marketing enquiries coming through the door - we have certainly had to adjust quickly to our new working environments! Here are some of our most effective tips for staying productive whilst working from home during lockdown.
Regardless of what your job title is, we cannot emphasise enough the importance of separating your workspace from your living space. This can be incredibly tricky for those who live in smaller housing or for those who are spending lockdown in a busy house (especially those with children). If possible create a space solely used for work and work only, whether that be a dedicated room, table or makeshift desk. This way you will train your brain to associate this space to work and will be able to remain productive during your working hours. Additionally, when it’s time to log off you can leave this space and enjoy other areas of your house, hopefully without the temptation of logging back on unless it’s urgent!
The idea of working from home sounds luxurious, rolling out of bed at 8:15am to join the Zoom call at 8:30am all the while staying comfy in your unwashed pyjamas - wrong! Just because the 45 minute commute is now a 30 second commute, make sure you still get up as you normally would. Set an alarm, hit snooze a few times before showering, getting ready and dressed and if you have 10 minutes spare why not use it to follow a yoga tutorial on YouTube before starting your day. I know, it sounds really trivial but we promise it will help you get into the mindset of ‘going to work’.
Sitting around all day isn’t healthy for anyone, even if you do work in an office all day. Make sure that you take regular breaks during your working hours whether that is stepping away from your desk for 5 minutes to make your afternoon cuppa or stretching your legs and just walking about the room. Additionally make sure that you let some fresh air into your home office and if possible enjoy your daily walk on your lunch break. If possible try and get out in the garden before work or in the evenings to ensure you are not cooped inside all day (or if the sun is shining take your laptop outside and write a blog on ‘How to Stay Productive Whilst Working From Home’).
If you work within a team, make sure to check in regularly with your colleagues and create discussions that you would usually have around the office. Create to-do lists and share them with others so they are aware of what you are working on (this will also keep you motivated to complete tasks within the time frame) and ask others what tasks they have scheduled and make sure to offer a lending hand if you can. Teamwork is what will get businesses through this pandemic stronger than ever and it is crucial that this is reinforced by management. Besides daily emails, use of Microsoft Teams/Slack and phone calls, it might be beneficial for you to organise daily team calls to encourage discussions, you never know some of your colleagues may be isolating alone so a daily conference may be the only human interaction they have that day!
By working together, we will come out of this stronger and hope our tips have helped you stay productive whilst working from home during lockdown!
During this time there has been a massive increase in website sales as more users spend more time online. If you, or anyone you know are looking to start their digital journey with a new website, web redesign or a new and bespoke digital marketing strategy get in touch with the PageNorth team today.
