Working from home

With Coronavirus Covid-19 having taken over our daily lives in the UK, so many of us are now working from home. And that means that all of a sudden, our kitchen has gone from the place that we cook and eat to the place that we cook, eat and work in. And before you get too down beat about that, at least you don’t have to sleep there as well.

So, going on the basis that you will be working in your kitchen, we thought we would put together some info and top tips on working from home and what you can do to keep a balance between personal and work life in the busiest room of your home.  After all, we do sell kitchen worktops.  This is kind of related.

1 – Maintain Regular Working Hours

It can be easy to loose yourself in the hours of the day and not be able to properly shut off from work in the evening hours. At the end of the 9-5 day, put your working material, laptop/paperwork etc away and out of sight.

2 – Create a routine that matches your existing work routine

You don’t stop working at 9:45 to hang up laundry at work do you? Well if you don’t do that in the office then why should you do it while working from home? Try to keep a regimented timeline.

3 – Create a specific working space

If you keep moving around the home doing wrk then you never truly create a work environment and others in the house will not respect your work space. If you have a designated working space then the kids will know to leave that area alone (famous last words) and others will be quiet when passing that area on their way to the bathroom etc.

4 – Just because you are working from home doesn’t mean you have to compromise on equipment

If you are going to be spending the day typing etc, should you not have a proper keyboard and mouse to use? Having to survive with the keyboard and cursor built into a laptop may send you crazy faster than you realise.

5 – All of a sudden your personal mobile number is going to get a lot of use.

People won’t be dialing the office number to get hold of you anymore and while you might be okay with that for a day or two, you should consider getting a work specific sim card/phone number. It is a lot cheaper than you think and a lot of modern mobile phones have dual sim capability.

6 – Socialise with your co-workers

Loneliness and isolation can have a profound effect on someone not used to working from home. If you no longer have the ‘water cooler gossip’ to feed on, what new things can you talk about with your family that evening. Try to keep communication going with your co-workers as best you can.

7 -Lost in (email) communication

When you start working from home and begin to rely on email messages where previously it was verbal communication in the meeting room, you run the risk of loosing important information in translation. Make sure your emails make sense and remember how hard it is to convey tone in a message.

8 – Take advantage of working from home

Now you work from home, your commute to work has been cut down dramatically. So that ‘slow roasted’ meal that you never have time for….now you do. As long as it doesn’t conflict with tip number 2.

9 – Finish your 9-5 day with a routine

While self isolation may get in the way of some things, you could go for a short stroll, take the dog for a walk etc. Something that acts as a marker that your working day is complete.

10 – Don’t be afraid to change things

If working in the kitchen is not doing it for you then move. While there is no guarantee for how long things will go on for, if the ticking of the clock in the kitchen is getting on your nerves, take the battery out. If the sunlight os blocking your view on the computer screen for two hours of the day then don’t just endure it. Do something about it.

11 – Wear clothes

It might sound strange but the general assumption is that people who work from home stay in their pyjamas all day. Dressing up for work (even if you are working from home) can help you get into the mental thinking of being at work.

Working from home can have many upsides but if you have spent your whole working life in an office then it may be a difficult adjustment to make. Get dressed, start the day well in a dedicated space that you feel comfortable in. Keep the communication going with the outside world and remember to turn off at the end of the working day.

Do these things and you will be fine.