Imagine
waking up an hour late every morning and logging in to work in your pyjamas
with a steaming mug of coffee. Imagine working without having to leave home. In
fact, to avoid the dreaded commute, many employees prefer a 20% lower salary
for a job next to home. Justifiably so, since nearly 10 hours of commute a
week, equivalent to a full working day, is the norm in metros. Is it possible
to harbour this Work from Home dream without harming your career? Here is how
to make it work for you.
1) Talk to
your boss
Check if
your company has an official policy to work from home and the permissions that
are required. Next, discuss the option with your manager. Most supervisers are
hesitant to approve activities that might impact the output or deadline.
Negotiate clear, achievable targets and timelines to address his concerns. If
you keep delivering on outcomes from home, his confidence will increase. Make
sure you keep him in the loop if you are unavailable for a couple of hours
because you have stepped out for a parent teacher meeting at your child's
school.
2) Designate
work space
Keep aside a
work area free of personal stuff. A desk, chair, computer, adequate lighting
and clear, uncluttered space build the right environment for you to work
efficiently. Organise your immediate visual area so that you are not staring
out of an open window or worrying about the mess on the floor. Ideally, work in
a room with a closed door so that the home environment does not creep in and
diminish your productivity.
3) Hour
blocks of time
Establish a
clear routine for your work day. Most people find it useful to create 4-hour
blocks of time to help achieve targets. It is easy to imagine juggling home
tasks or kids while you work. But multitasking works well only with activities
that require low mental bandwidth. For high bandwidth tasks like writing a
report, multitasking will stall your creative flow and increase the time
required to finish work.
4) Cut out
interruptions
A benefit of
working from home is that you eliminate office interruptions like a gossipy
colleague. However, a home can be more distracting. Establish clear boundaries
for family, kids, friends and maid in terms of time and space, so that you are
not disturbed in the midst of important calls or challenging tasks. To remain
focused, switch off Facebook, WhatsApp, cell phone and television. Use the
office laptop/software to maximise productivity.
5) Master
technology
Invest in
adequate infrastructure before you start. Set up a working Wi-Fi Internet
connection with a back-up Net dongle, a smart phone with e-mail and
communication apps, computer with the required software, even a signal booster
for your cell phone if call connectivity is poor at home. Master the use of
software, which may include Excel, Word, Skype or proprietary project software
from workplace. These investments will reduce your downtime and boost output.
6)
Start with a checklist
An office
environment provides reminders by way of team members or supervisers pushing on
urgent tasks. Without these, it is easy to get waylaid and miss out on primary
goals. Spend 15 minutes at the start of each day to make a checklist of tasks,
goals and deadlines. As you progress, strike out each task. This will keep you
on track and give you morale-boosting feedback on the progress you are making.
7) Put on work
clothes
Unfortunately,
the pyjama-clad dream does not work efficiently for most people. Wear regular
work clothes when you sit down at your work area. When you feel professional,
you act professionally. The results show immediately in work as well as in your
voice when you speak to your team members. A lot more work gets done during the
day with this simple change.
8) Avoid
loneliness
Human
interaction keeps us sane and contributes to our self-esteem. Long stints of
work from home without social interaction is the quickest route to professional
and personal deterioration. Put a plan in place to visit office and meet
colleagues or clients at least once a week. If this is not possible, have an
active social life in non-work hours so that you do not turn into a recluse. On
a long-term basis, it can keep you away from positions of responsibility that
involve dealing with large teams.
Though work from home is mostly challenging from an efficiency perspective, in some cases it leads to guilt at not fulfilling one's responsibilities. This could push you to overwork. To avoid guilt, create a work schedule and shut down your computer at the end of the day. Take a break like stepping out of the house to mentally switch to home mode. In off hours, deal with office crises as you would on a regular day.
10) Review every month
This is the most important step. Ask yourself if your aim has been achieved. Have you reduced unproductive commute time or were you available for a sick family member? Is it impacting your career negatively like not being considered for promotion? Assess the results regularly and act accordingly.
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