Find your Work from Home Comfort Zone

The Coronavirus has plunged us into the 21st century, ready or not. It’s funny when you talk to people, some are perplexed, wondering how they are going to get anything done while others are singing hallelujah, excited to try working in their PJs.

The good news is we have the technology! High-speed internet, cell phone, WebEx with the security of the VPN, all allow us to work from nearly anywhere while remaining connected to our teams. Also, working from home gives us some valuable time back. Co-workers aren’t popping in unannounced to chat, office distractions, in general, are gone, and no commute time!

If you need a little help getting into the “work from home comfort zone” try these tips:

Designate a defined workspace. If you are lucky enough to have a home office perfect, if not designate a work area that is comfortable for you. This could be a kitchen counter, dining room table or even a tv tray! 

Create a morning routine that gets you in the work zone. Your commute to and from work, while a waste of time, did provide a buffer between work and home. You may still need a little ramp up in the morning. Maybe a cup of coffee before you get going. Whatever it is, once done, start your workday. Using the same routine each day helps to get you in the work from home zone. At the end of your workday, ramp down your day, perhaps by checking your calendar and planning tomorrow's workflow.

Maintain regular work hours. Some of you will say, what is that? We aren’t in a 9 to 5 industry. Just try to maintain what is normal and comfortable for you. Try to create some normalcy in this unorthodox time of life.

Schedule breaks and set a timer to ensure you take the full break. Research tells us we get more done with fewer errors if we take mental breaks throughout the day. If you have kids at home, structure your breaks to coincide with theirs. With luck, most of the homework will be done by the end of the workday and some of the multitudes of questions that are always coming a parent’s way can be addresses during breaks.

There may be a little learning curve involved with figuring out what works best for you. What’s right for one may not work for another, so if you get up and put on a suit to walk to your work zone in the living room or if your sit all day in your fuzzy bunny slippers, if it works for you, you’ve nailed it!