We’re sure we’re not the only ones who had to adapt to working from home in a short matter of time. If you’re like us and you and your team are finding new work stations to reduce social interactions during the coronavirus outbreak, then we have a few hints and tips which may help you accommodate those who are learning to adapt to a new way of working.

In the workplace, every employer’s number one priority is the health and safety of their employees. However, when your workforce is working from home how can you ensure you’re still promoting and enforcing measures to protect their wellbeing and mental health? Whilst still ensuring efficiency and completion of work to a high standard.

Working from home can sometimes be a right treat but also challenging at times. We’ve created a top tier list that will help you thrive during these moments of stress and uncertainty. 

Find your most productive work hours.

Tip 1 – Stick to your routine

It’s not as easy as it sounds, first things first, get up, get dressed and ditch the pyjamas, yes – we’re all guilty of it! Even though staying in comfortable PJs seems to be one of the most tempting things to do, it is known to harm your productivity at work. 

Wearing your pyjamas will psychologically tell your brain it’s time for bedtime, changing into casual workwear will help you achieve the following and master your workday:

• Getting dressed will automatically activate “work mode”
• Chances are, putting on anything other than loungewear will boost productivity
• Okay, we’re not trying to impress others right now, but who else feels more professional when they’re in proper clothes? Give yourself the attention you deserve, exercise self-love with your favourite outfit 

Have an awesome task-management system.

Tip 2 – Sticking with the theme of routine it’s time to think about time management  

Try to wake up at the same hour  as you would on a normal working day and then manage your working day with the help of the following:

• The only bird catches the worm – rise early and seize the day
• Make a schedule of your workload, our favourite time management system is Jira, allowing us to keep in touch on all jobs and be provided with regular updates, ensuring deadlines are met and communication doesn’t lapse
• If you’re managing a team and want to be sure they have enough work to keep them busy, assign set hours to each task and monitor yours and there’s time using Toggle
• It’s easy to work over your designated finishing time especially when there are not many other commitments right now but our advice would be to sign off at your usual hour, giving yourself time to reflect on the day

Get out of the house as much as possible (within our limits of course)

Tip 3 Take breaks –

We would recommend all kinds of breaks, lunch breaks, tea breaks and regular mental breaks. Time away from your temporary work station is vital for mental wellbeing and contributes to a healthy lifestyle. 

• How long have you been sitting down today? Get out of your chair! Using apps like Strava makes getting up and active a lot more fun. Did you know an account can be set up for the entire team? The perfect way to encourage everybody to go on walks, cycle or head out on runs. If you’re self-isolating why not take a stroll in the garden? Every little helps and who doesn’t love a little bit of friendly competitiveness?
• Try to stick to the same food routine and not snack excessively (we’re guilty of this). Healthy food means a healthy brain but forgetting when to eat can also mean a lack of productivity. We’ve got to keep our energy up.

Encourage virtual meet-ups.

Tip 4 Socialise – 

It is important to keep in touch with your managers and team, instead of firing a 100s of emails and filling up your colleague’s inbox you can avoid this by using other means of communication that can be speedy and more efficient. These include: 

• Slack which allows you to stay on the same page as everyone else, bringing communication into one place. Great for what would normally be a quick conversation across the office. Okay, who else is missing their colleagues right now?
• This isn’t a time to say “goodbye” to meetings, if anything, they’re more important than ever so don’t sacrifice the. Using tools such as Google Hangouts is the perfect way to host a virtual meet up. Fully connected to G-suit they’re really easy to conduct which allows you to communicate via video to multiple members of the team and clients. 

Find ways to celebrate.

Tip 5 Stay Positive –

It is hard not to get hooked on the latest updates and news during these anxious times, adding unnecessary stress and negativity to what is already a testing situation. It is vital to be able to disconnect with this by finding ways to improve your mood:

• Take a break (see Tip 3) from reality and view memes online to lighten the mood via Instagram meme pages, which are sure to leave you laughing, share them with friends to let them know you’re thinking of them
• Another silver lining to working from home is that you get to spend quality time with loved ones which are known to boost oxytocin reducing the stress levels within the human body