Most of our studio crew work from home and we understand it can take some getting used to!
Sunshine, endless snacks and cute pets are constant temptations and are much cause for distraction. There is a knack to working from home and here are some of the tips and tricks we’ve learned over the years.
Ditch the 9-5 grind
Working from home is far more intense than going to a workplace every day. Having no office shenanigans to distract you can be great for focus but maintaining that for 7 – 8 hours each day is not sustainable. Eventually, you’ll fizzle out, become frustrated you can maintain your focus and that ruins what can be a great experience.
Of course structure is important, but you now have the advantage of setting hours that work for you. Not a morning person? Sleep a little longer. Prefer to work at night? Go for it! Go out, enjoy the sunshine – it’s good for you! If you’re worried about missing something important, you can always take your phone with you.
Change your environment
There’s a lot to be said for consistency, but in our experience, there’s more to be said for keeping yourself alert and focused. Changing your work environment is the ultimate hack to keep your mind from short-circuiting once the clock hits 3pm. It doesn’t need to be complete chaos; you can structure your room changes each day. You might do some social networking at the kitchen table, leave the mind grind to your home office and hold conference calls out in a shady spot outside – whatever works for you.
Pants are optional, pets are essential
The COVID-19 lockdown isn’t going away anytime soon so we may as well get cosy and work in the comfort of our favourite house pants and novelty socks. By all means, if you have a conference call, throw on a nice top – just don’t make the mistake of standing up and show off your fleecy PJ bottoms to the entire meeting – we’ve all done it!
Whilst, in our experience jeans are not essential to productivity, pet on the other hand are 100% if the key to productivity was necessary. Those little floofs of chaos are the exact right amount of disarray you need in your life. Think of them as replacing that annoying co-worker, but cuter.
Parkinson’s law states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
They will distract you, demand your time, frustrate you – but in the best way possible! It may seem counter intuitive, but trust us, there’s a principle behind why you need that mayhem in your life:
When everything is peachy, we’re on top of our work, our inbox is clear, we slow down. Interruptions like letting the dog outside and the cat inside, put us ever so slightly behind, generating drive, boosting intensity, and ensuring we keep pushing throughout the day.
Take care of yourself!
There’s a lot going on in the world right now and it’s fair to say this is no ordinary working from home situation.
It’s perfectly ok to have a day where you’re not travelling well and you need to step back and do what returns you to your best self. It might be baking, colouring, walking, meditating or gaming – whatever it is, do it often and without apology. Because we could be here for some time yet and we need to put ourselves first to ensure we come out the other side in a good place physically and mentally – otherwise we’re no use to anyone!
That’s it from us. Welcome to the fold of home office workers. We’re open for business as usual and ready to take on new projects. Why not practice your Zooming and book a free 30 minute consult with our head creative to help you get the ball rolling on your next project? So go ahead, get in touch.