As we face into the 2nd full working week in Ireland, I thought I would hop on here and share some of the tips I’ve found useful in the last week in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance and remain productive.
- Create a dedicated workspace.
If possible, situate yourself somewhere that’s away from the general household activity, make sure it’s well lit and as quiet as possible.
Set ground rules when it comes to this space, let other people in your home know when you’ll be on calls etc and stress the importance that this is in fact a working business environment so you need to be left alone during the day, much like if you were in the office. - Get ready for the day.
When you get up in the morning, take some time for yourself, have a nice shower, a coffee etc and get dressed for the day as normal, you’ll feel all the better for it! - Set yourself up for success with daily to-do lists.
At the beginning of each day make a list of everything that needs to be done and build out a timetable for your day in order to complete these. - Take regular breaks.
Build your breaks into your timetable for the day and take them!
Including a switch-off period at lunchtime, make yourself something delicious and head out from some fresh air. - Maintain regular working hours.
It’s tempting to keep on going and be ‘always-on’ in times like this, but trust me speaking from experience this isn’t the best approach!
Switch off at the appropriate time and plan something nice for your evening. Much like setting boundaries with others in your home, set boundaries with your colleagues, just because we’re all at home doesn’t mean we need to be accessible 24/7. - Socialise with your work colleagues.
All be it in a remote environment, don’t forget that you can still have work banter! Regular calls and check-ins will keep us all sane, video calls are great for this. Don’t forget that we’re all human so open up the conversation outside of to-do lists and deadlines 🙂 - Use this time to upskill.
If you find yourself with downtime, read up on areas that you may not be familiar with. There are tonnes of online learning resources and now is as good a time as ever to advance your skillset and knowledge. - Stay positive and remember that we’re all in this together.
