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A Beginner’s Guide: How to Work from Home Everyone expects their first day of work to include some sort of fanfare, but that does not mean you cannot enjoy working from home!
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veryone expects their first day of work to include some sort of fanfare. Perhaps you imagined yourself all dressed up to the nines and being introduced left and right by your new boss. Maybe you were looking forward to having your own work cubicle and getting to know your next-door (or partition) neighbour. Or possibly, the idea of just being in an office setting with a dynamic team, brainstorming campaign ideas and coming up with real-life solutions, excites you. Unfortunately, life has now thrown us a curveball and that scenario is more likely a dream than reality. Living in a society barely out of a pandemic (or still struggling with it, depending on the situation) means working from home (WFH) will continue to be the norm. Chances are, on your first day of your first job as a full-fledged working adult, you will just roll out of bed, comb your hair and settle down at your laptop before being introduced to your new colleagues via an online platform. Or you start your first day at work in a virtually empty office while your boss and HR manager go through with you your onboarding process. It might sound like a bummer start to your working life, but that does not mean you cannot enjoy WFH. It can be just as fulfilling, rewarding and fun as working at the office, if you know how to make it work. If you are new to WFH, here are some basics you should grasp.
Act like you are going to the office It is tempting to sleep in, wake up five minutes before work starts and drag your feet to the computer. But you are unlikely to be more awake or motivated to work with that extra hour of sleep. Instead, the first step to a successful WFH experience is to pretend you are going to the office. Make it into a routine and you will soon find it will not be a drag to get out of bed for work at all. So, make an effort to wake up at the same time every day, have breakfast and dress up for work. You can even squeeze in an early morning workout to shake off the last dregs of sleep and prepare for the day ahead!
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Be in the zone Being in a conducive working environment does wonders for your productivity and motivation. Obviously, this means not working from bed and maintaining a dedicated workspace instead, even if you do not have your very own office at home. Decorate it with your favourite toys, photos of your friends and family and printouts of inspirational quotes to perk your day up. Remind your family to give you space and let you concentrate on your work during office hours. If you do not keep a lid on the small distractions, it can quickly spiral out of control.
Quick tips to minimise distractions • Stay away from social media and online shopping sites • Keep your workspace clutter-free • Put on noise-cancelling headphones and listen to classical music (or instrumental songs) • Lock your door if you have your own home office
Stay in the zone If you are in the zone, you will be able to cross off completed tasks from your to-do list. The more you do, the more productive you will be. But there is more to the art of just ticking items off your list; you have to know how to prioritise the important tasks as well. Experts have also agreed that doing the hardest task first in the morning allows you to take it easier the rest of the day, and puts you in a better mood, which increases productivity.
Quick tips to work well • Master time boxing (e.g. take a five-minute break after every 25 minutes of work) • Create a “do-not” list of things you should not do in the middle of your tasks • Schedule your day according to your productive hours
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