SURVIVING THE SHORT-TERM; ARE YOU SET UP TO WORK REMOTELY?

Working from home may become compulsory for many workers in the wake of the Coronavirus and it’s important to make sure you set yourself up properly, look after yourself and plan your day.

Here's a few tips for those being encouraged to work from home recently: you're working from home, not Mars. Interacting with other (non-infected) people during the day is allowed, even if they're not your work colleagues.

The morning catch up

Often known as a 'stand up' in AGILE organisations, it's important to check-in with your team and this can be carried out effectively using three standard questions that many will be familiar with:

• What did you work on yesterday?
• What are you planning to work on today?
• What blockers, if any, exist that need to be addressed in order for you to carry out your work?

This will help you all identify what remote meetings need to be set up, and given the circumstances may even raise some blockers that would not normally be considered - and may require some out-of-the-box thinking to accomodate.

Task Management

Keep track of tasks and collaborate with your colleagues through tools like Microsoft Planner or Trello that allow the whole team to share progress, this is often a create tool to update in the morning catch up.

Take care of yourself and your working environment

Your setup at home is extremely important, if you already work from home occassionally then you may already have desk setup and a routine to keep your sanity in check:

• Consider your working environment, get your laptop of computer setup in a comfortable position and make sure you are sitting in a comfortable position with a strong posture
• If available setup a proper desktop with monitor, keyboard and mouse - avoid working from the couch
• Get out for fresh air, exercise and eat healthy
• Manage your work hours efficiently and diligently but allow time for yourself, family and friends when needed
• Don't get caught up, finish your day at COB. Maintain a boundary between your work life and personal life
• Keep conversations with colleagues going, use the right tools (Teams etc) and schedule calls with them during the day. Please see our recent article outlining some approaches to setting up your teams for remote working

Working remotely can be more productive than an office environment if you are disciplined and not easily distracted. It's crucial to keep focus but it's as important to look after your physical and mental health - interact, talk, move, get out, eat well, be well.