... To Work From Home
Most of the world is currently working from home and this is putting incredible strain on individuals and families. Bloomberg say that since COVID-19, 45% of employees say they’re burnt out (not burning out), & that the average working day has increased by 3 hours. What we need is to have a repeatable, workable framework for working from home. Juliet Funt, CEO of Whitespace at Work, is one of the world’s foremost experts in this area and the following ideas (which I shared with my staff this week) are from a talk I heard her give. Hopefully they will help you too.
The set-up of your day
1. See the route – a novice rock climber just walks up to the rock face & starts climbing without giving it any thought, unlike an expert rock climber who will stand and look at the rock face, planning their moves. Take 30 seconds to play the movie that will be your work day, in your head. Picture what you will be like – calm, caring, professional, good humoured.
2. The paper anchor – have a note pad next to you on your desk. This must be physical paper, not something digital. Write the 3/5/7 (the brain remembers odd numbers better) most important things you need to do that day. This paper anchor then gently leads you forward through your day. It’s like the nicest boss ever, gently reminding you what to do!
3. Create a visual groove – design & then visualise a semi-circle around you when you sit down to work. For me, coffee/water on right, then pens & post its, then laptop, then my glasses, then phone, then notepad. Dismantle this at the end of the day, don’t leave it intact, set up again at start of day. This queues your brain to start work & to shut off work. This visual groove can be replicated wherever you’re working – home, office, hotel room, coffee shop.
The rhythm of your day
4. The wedge – this is a small strategic pause that can be inserted anywhere in your working day. It’s a white space wedge. You might do it to a routine that you put into your diary or you may follow your internal feelings of when you feel yourself flagging. Get up, walk around, step outside for some fresh air.
5. Checking emails – this can be addictive so we need to check them at set intervals only. We choose when to touch any keyboard-based communications (tech touches), not whenever a notification pings. This allows deeper, richer time for the tasks on your paper anchor.
The closure of your day
6. Trap yourself in a promise – Say out loud to someone else in tour house “right, that’s me done for the day” or “No more work until after dinner”. They can then hold you to it. It also sends an important statement to your brain.
7. Shut up shop - Then physically pack up at the end of the day. Close the laptop, put pens & books in a drawer or box. Don’t leave it all out overnight to save time in the morning. It helps your brain to switch out of work mode by doing this.
If you want to find out more about how to de-crapify your workflow (love this phrase Juliet!) then get in contact directly with Juliet here.
