The Four Biggest Work From Home Challenges (and How to Overcome Them)
August 13, 2018
How to effectively manage your workload, stay focused, and stop sticking your head in the fridge!
New to working from home? People often say, ‘it must be a dream working from home.’ While I do have some sense of freedom and flexibility, working from home is also hard work.
Workload
Managing your workload is tough when you are on your own, especially if you are managing several different projects, or you’re going through a busy period. My best advice for this is to write a “To Do” list for the week, and at the end of each day, write yourself 3 to 4 items on your “To Do” list that is realistic for you to achieve the next day. This way, if other items come through that are urgent, you will be able to action them without getting too flustered about all the existing to-do items on your plate.
I like to use Google Sheets for my weekly to-do list, but I also have a notepad to write my daily “To Do” because I like to physically tick things off.
Communication
Working from home, but as part of a team, it’s easy to find your tasks starting to pile up, or needing to ask a colleague a question when they’re on an entirely different time zone. Most of my colleagues are eight to nine hours or so behind me; this has its pros and cons. The pros are that I can work undisturbed for nearly the whole day, I can also have people send me through tasks they need help with and I can do it by the time they wake up. The cons are that I have emails come in through the night and it can be hard to shut off, and if I need to communicate with a colleague I have to wait a few hours.
When you work remotely communication is vitally important. If you have a question, concern or issue, it’s wise and much more efficient to pick up the phone rather than waiting for a response over email. Sharing your list of daily “to do’s” with your team so they’re aware of what you have already on your plate and can support you if needs are – and equally, so you can also provide support is key. Don’t be afraid to ask for support from your teammates!
Focus
Distractions! Ever just checked your phone and ended up mindlessly scrolling through your social media feed? Delete the apps. Reading every message that comes through on a group chat? Highly unlikely it is anything urgent – mute it. Sticking your head in the fridge every ten minutes looking for something new? It’s still the same as it was ten minutes ago, I’m afraid to say.
In all seriousness, it’s important to find an environment that works for you. Personally, I like people around me. Working cafes are everywhere. They’re nice and quiet and I find with others working around me, I am a lot more focused. It also helps when it comes to signing off for the day. When you leave that environment, you can treat it as the end of your working day.
It has also been said that working in 45-minute stints followed by a 10-15 minute break can increase your productivity and positive attitude towards your work. Don’t forget to take breaks. Stand up, stretch, step outside for some fresh air and you’ll find the quality of work and your productivity is much more likely to stay at a high level.
Signing off
Finally, one of the trickiest parts of my day is signing off. Because of the difference in time zones, and with no one telling me to go home, I find it hard to close my laptop and when I do, everything comes through my phone anyway.
Make your to-do list the last thing you do in your day, then send a message to your team, tell them that you are signing off, and send through your to-do list for the next day so they’re aware of what you have on and you can help and support each other where needed. I’ve found find this makes you a much closer team and boosts your company culture, which is another tricky element that comes with working from home.
Routine is very important, try to make sure you wind down, and you’ll be up and raring to go the next day!
Carla Richardson
Senior Account Executive
The Four Biggest Work From Home Challenges (and How to Overcome Them)
August 13, 2018
How to effectively manage your workload, stay focused, and stop sticking your head in the fridge!
New to working from home? People often say, ‘it must be a dream working from home.’ While I do have some sense of freedom and flexibility, working from home is also hard work.
Workload
Managing your workload is tough when you are on your own, especially if you are managing several different projects, or you’re going through a busy period. My best advice for this is to write a “To Do” list for the week, and at the end of each day, write yourself 3 to 4 items on your “To Do” list that is realistic for you to achieve the next day. This way, if other items come through that are urgent, you will be able to action them without getting too flustered about all the existing to-do items on your plate.
I like to use Google Sheets for my weekly to-do list, but I also have a notepad to write my daily “To Do” because I like to physically tick things off.
Communication
Working from home, but as part of a team, it’s easy to find your tasks starting to pile up, or needing to ask a colleague a question when they’re on an entirely different time zone. Most of my colleagues are eight to nine hours or so behind me; this has its pros and cons. The pros are that I can work undisturbed for nearly the whole day, I can also have people send me through tasks they need help with and I can do it by the time they wake up. The cons are that I have emails come in through the night and it can be hard to shut off, and if I need to communicate with a colleague I have to wait a few hours.
When you work remotely communication is vitally important. If you have a question, concern or issue, it’s wise and much more efficient to pick up the phone rather than waiting for a response over email. Sharing your list of daily “to do’s” with your team so they’re aware of what you have already on your plate and can support you if needs are – and equally, so you can also provide support is key. Don’t be afraid to ask for support from your teammates!
Focus
Distractions! Ever just checked your phone and ended up mindlessly scrolling through your social media feed? Delete the apps. Reading every message that comes through on a group chat? Highly unlikely it is anything urgent – mute it. Sticking your head in the fridge every ten minutes looking for something new? It’s still the same as it was ten minutes ago, I’m afraid to say.
In all seriousness, it’s important to find an environment that works for you. Personally, I like people around me. Working cafes are everywhere. They’re nice and quiet and I find with others working around me, I am a lot more focused. It also helps when it comes to signing off for the day. When you leave that environment, you can treat it as the end of your working day.
It has also been said that working in 45-minute stints followed by a 10-15 minute break can increase your productivity and positive attitude towards your work. Don’t forget to take breaks. Stand up, stretch, step outside for some fresh air and you’ll find the quality of work and your productivity is much more likely to stay at a high level.
Signing off
Finally, one of the trickiest parts of my day is signing off. Because of the difference in time zones, and with no one telling me to go home, I find it hard to close my laptop and when I do, everything comes through my phone anyway.
Make your to-do list the last thing you do in your day, then send a message to your team, tell them that you are signing off, and send through your to-do list for the next day so they’re aware of what you have on and you can help and support each other where needed. I’ve found find this makes you a much closer team and boosts your company culture, which is another tricky element that comes with working from home.
Routine is very important, try to make sure you wind down, and you’ll be up and raring to go the next day!
