Written by Sarah Warburton
The Equilibrium Guide to working from home
When our Founder Colin Lawson first started Equilibrium he worked from his back bedroom. He’d get ready for work, including popping his suit on and leave the house. He’d then come back home and start working in earnest. Kept him motivated and gave him some much needed boundaries and rules to keep focused.
Whilst you may not want to power dress whilst working from home, in order to keep sane and avoid playing fast and loose with personal hygiene, we’ve put together this guide to give you some tips and hints to consider when working from home.
Pretend that you are going to work - set an alarm, have a shower, put on nice clothes. Don’t be the person who’s in their PJ’s with bits of toast in their hair at lunchtime.
Ensure you ‘dial in’ to all team meetings or conversations that are relevant to you - If you have a daily catch up with your team leader, make sure you have your actions ready and are available when they call.
Set a schedule and stick to it - Like you would if in the office, have a start time, lunch time and an end to your day.
Create a morning routine - To get you focused on the work ahead. It might be making a drink, turning on your PC, checking the news. Whatever but it’s a great trigger to get you going.
Set ground rules with people in your space - If working in a shared space set some rules between yourselves and respect them. Don’t hog all the Wi-Fi and the table space.
Schedule breaks - Then take the scheduled breaks - if you were in the office you’d be making a brew, having a quick chat, popping to see someone so wherever possible keep it up.
Leave the house - If you can, go for a walk, get some fresh air, do something to energise yourself.
Keep your workspace clear - Perhaps have a tidy round as part of that morning routine or during one of your breaks. Living in squalor isn’t motivating for most people!
Keep track of time - Working from home can see people losing track of time, don’t be a slave to your pc, perhaps set yourself the odd alarm or reminder so you don’t look up and realise you’ve missed all of Egg Heads, Escape to the Country and the News because you’ve let time run away with you!
Socialise with work colleagues - Teams someone from work for a quick chat, don’t feel isolated or disconnected, set up some Teams channels and use technology for more than just work.
Keep away from time zapping social media – We’ve all been down the odd rabbit hole of watching random videos. It can be hard to refocus so leave it for your breaks.
Stick to your normal healthy eating routines - Just because no one can see you inhaling a packet of hobnobs doesn’t mean you should.
Take time off if you are ill - Take the time you need to recover and don’t see working from home whilst sick as an option. Working when unwell is not OK – regardless of where you are.
Finish your day and turn your PC off – Where possible. We are in weird times currently, but you should try to keep your working week as normal as possible and stick to your working hours!
