During the pandemic of COVID-19, we expect that a lot of people are now working from home due to the CDC social distancing recommendations. Because of that, we developed this guide to help you stay productive, motivated and organized during these extraordinary circumstances.
Working from home might sound like it’s all about holidays, games and Netflix… until you are actually making the home office in practice. The kids or pets need some attention, the pile of laundry beckons and you are still wearing yesterday’s sweatpants because why not?
That’s just one example, no matter what remote situation you find yourself in, these tips can help! We divided the tips into 3 categories.
Tips for working
- A good office setup can help you to stay focused and be more productive.
- If it’s possible, have a separate room to work in. This helps you to avoid silly distraction and allows a quiet, focused work. If it’s not possible, try to find some isolated space that allows you to get into the working zone.
- Create a morning routine. This allows consistency and reliability in your workday
- Use video calling instead of phone calls to keep things more professional. This helps if you are used to having a face to face communication.
- Over-communicate. Working from home there is minimal visibility with other people. Strict communication keeps other people also on the time of your workload and project schedule.
Tips for managing your work from home schedule
- Get dressed and ready for the day as you were going to the office. So often there is something urgent coming up and you need to be ready to receive a video call. This also brings a fresh and solid start for the day.
- Try to schedule all the calls and online meetings in the afternoon. For most people, mornings are the most productive time of the day. If you have the schedule as the opposite, it can often be challenging to stay focused on the tasks at hand of following a morning packed with calls.
- Schedule breaks. This allows you to utilize time being at home, and step away from work. Replace the normal walking to the coffee machine with a walk to say hi to your family.
- Work your regular hours. Don’t be flexible, it will cause inefficiency.
- Don’t lay down! It will be too easy to fall asleep, get lazy and or avoid work altogether.
- Get some exercise to get involved. It’s too easy to wake up from the bed and start working in the same house, eat, go to the sofa and work more. Not getting out of the house limits mobility and motivation, so be sure to try and dedicate at least 20-30 minutes of exercise! (There’s been a surge in platforms offering free at-home workout classes, they’re just a Google or YouTube search away.)
Tips for managing housemates while working from home
Scheduling time for family while working from home can help to manage their expectations.
- During the Covid-19 social distancing is limited but try to get some fresh air occasionally, A short 10 min walk outside during a break can work like a miracle.
- If you have kids, greet them before going to your office room. It will make them understand more the situation.
- Set clear boundaries for those you are in a house with. Also, let them know your schedule. I will help to avoid too much noise and distractions during important calls and online meetings.
- Also, be prepared for interruptions. With other individuals in your household, you will be most likely be asked favors, questions, yelled at, etc. Communicate with your team or colleagues that this may occur so that it doesn’t come as a surprise on the call or meeting.
In conclusion
We are all on the same boat, what comes to the home office. With our sales commission software, Blitz, it's easy to follow the sales process even when the whole team is in remote working –mode. For sales managers, it gives more freedom to focus on the actual tasks and leave everything related to commissions for the tool.
We collected the tips from our own Blitz team, based on what’s been working well for us. We were able to maintain our productivity by following these advices. We hope you find the following helpful too.