Harmonics

Keep in Touch

Communication is, of course, essential in any working relationship, when you work from home, communicating—and over-communicating—becomes essential. Everyone needs social interaction. Zoom/Skype, email and mobile. Meetings on ZOOM should be recorded – this is particularly important when team members/workshop participants cannot make meeting/workshop but can view recording post event.

When you work from home, you may need to be more conscious about documenting your work and talking about how your plan is progressing

Workspace, Working Strategy, Dress Code & Wellbeing

Your workspace if possible, would include walls and a door you can close to help maintain a quiet and productive atmosphere. A space that’s quiet and out of the way. When it’s just you at home, almost anywhere will likely work. However, in these ever-changing times, there’s a good chance you won’t be home alone, so always have a back-up workspace. Wherever it is, make sure it’s not in a high-traffic area. Your work-from-home plan should always include strategies for getting work done as best as possible. That means making sure you’re taking breaks and putting structure to your working day. When interacting with your team or clients, ensure that you dress appropriately i.e. smart casual.

We are all in this together. Use this time to create your own wellbeing plan. Chat regularly with your colleagues and friends, eat well, exercise and take on another project, it is so important to challenge your brain daily. Keep safe, keep well, keep healthy.

Treat It Like Any Other Day in the Office

Make sure you treat a work-from-home day like any other day at the office. Wake up at your usual time and use your commute time to do the things you don’t have time for usually e.g. breakfast, household chores, exercise, or even walk the dog. Then, at your normal “start time,” sit down and get to work.

Make a Plan

If you don’t have a workplan, collaborate and agree with peers/company what your plan is each week. It will give you structure, and purpose is this every changing environment.

End Your Day

Don’t overwork yourself. Have a mid-morning coffee break, eat lunch and get some fresh air. Make sure that when you’re done working for the day, you’re done. Don’t go back for “just one more thing.” Maintaining the boundaries between work and home when you work remotely goes a long way toward helping you stay a happy and productive.

How are you feeling?

This week was all about Zoom calls as we changed how we communicated across our local office, our national coaching team and our global business partners.

I decided to ask everyone “how are you feeling?” so everyone got a chance to respond before we started each virtual meeting. A typical business meeting is working through the agenda as efficiently as possible. These are different times and I got many different responses as everyone opened up about how this new reality is impacting them.

It struck me how inhumane and robotic we have become toward each other at work. This challenge might just be a time when we start to re-find our sense of humanity and community.

The most common emotion, I am finding in my many conversations is Fear. We need to remember Fear is a contagion and spreading like this virus. Fear signals the brain to release cortisol and when we are stressed reduces our immune system to fight off this virus.

Sky News is feeding us fear 24/7 presently. My advice, TURN IT OFF, instead track your emotions daily by downloading this free Moodmeter app developed by Yale. Boost your immune system by self regulating your emotions. Self- Awareness is a start and it is within OUR control. How are you feeling?