Tempo top tips for working from home - Metronome

April 1, 2020

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Tempo top tips for working from home

It was only in 2018 that the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that around one-quarter of Australian workers (24 per cent) worked at least part of their time from home.

Now, that number has increased astronomically due to the effects of COVID-19. More and more of the workforce now work remotely to avoid contributing to the spread of the virus, presenting a number of new work-life challenges. 

Personal goals still need to be met, performance targets still need to be reached and communication needs to be stringent. These are commonplace in an office but, at home, there are so many distractions and nuances that can affect your workflow.  

We take a look at some top tips that can help you avoid procrastination and improve your mental state as we prepare for a new way of working. 

Keep your daily routine

Now that we’re working from home, the daily commute is non-existent. For some, this is what helps us wake up in the morning and feel ready to work by the time you get to the desk. 

Instead of taking that extra hour’s sleep or watching the morning’s coronavirus update on television, dive straight into your to-do list as soon as possible. Simply getting a project started first thing in the morning can propel you into making progress on it, rather than prolonging breakfast and letting the morning sluggishness get the better of you. 

Another mental stimulus can be to dress as if you’re going into the office. For some, wearing a shirt and tie can be a bit extreme, but wearing something smarter than our track-pants or pyjamas can help our mind become more work-focused. 

Tempo top tips for working from home - Metronome

Finally, stay true to the rest of your normal day as much as possible. When working from home, you’ll quickly realise you’re your own boss. Without things like an in-person meeting schedule, or people going to lunch to break up your day, it can be quick to lose focus or burn out. For this problem, write down a checklist or a schedule for your day at home — and keep to it.

Keep your work space organised

Just because you’re not working in an office, doesn’t mean you can’t, well, have an office. Rather than cooping yourself up in your bedroom or on the couch — spaces that are associated with leisure time — dedicate a specific room or surface in your home to work.

Tempo top tips for working from home - Metronome

You may well have a messy desk at work but, at home, it can only prove detrimental to your focus if you have a cluttered office area at home. Remember, at your place of work you get to leave that mess at 5 or 6pm, whereas at home it surrounds you all day, every day. 

Use technology

Working from home can make you feel cut off from the rest of the world. Technology can actually bring us closer together in this period — and that goes for your work colleagues as well. 

Instant messaging and videoconferencing tools can make it easy to check in with coworkers and remind you how your work is contributing to the big picture.

To keep in contact with your colleagues and keep up-to-date with ongoing projects, get on a group call in the morning. This is something we have scheduled into our calendars at Metronome. It not only set out the day’s agenda for the team, but it’s a piece of normality that many of us long for.

Don’t stay at home 

Ordinarily ‘working from home’ wouldn’t necessarily mean ‘working from home’. We could go to coffee shops, libraries or public lounges to do our jobs — not any more.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t find the time to get out of the house. Even if it’s just a 15-minute walk to the shops or park, it can help clear the mind and give your body some vitamin D. Of course, we recommend you follow the most recent government guidelines on this matter.

Watch your eating habits 

When we snack or eat too much on a regular basis, it can affect our mood, energy and overall work performance. 

There’s no-one around to help keep a regular lunch break or to question your third chocolate bar of the day. To help curb snacking, keep your workstation as far from the kitchen as possible. If this isn’t possible, have some healthy options available to give your body some nutritional food. 

There’s no telling how long this pandemic will last, but until it ends and normality can resume, this IS our normality. To help this get through these ‘isolationary’ times, keep a daily routine, keep in contact with your coworkers and watch your eating habits. This will help you keep goals at work, while keeping you healthy at home.