Helpful Tips on Working from Home (WFH) in lockdown
Introverts we could learn a lot...I’ve been working from our home office for over 6 years and love it. Although I’m often out meeting candidates in various cafes around Christchurch or onsite at clients - I’m missing the true people interaction…but hey what can you do when you have a Global Pandemic and are in lockdown?
So I’m still getting used to the lack of freedom and not being able to get into the hills biking or go surfing and what about the ski season? It’s tough but we all need to make sacrifices for ourselves, community & country.
Here are some of my tips adding in the recent isolation and having kids at home to contend with to stay sane and productive :-)
Routine
Stick with waking up at the normal time, ensuring you fit in a shower, and then finding comfy but professional work clothes & keeping up appearances, and making sure you have regular breaks built in to the day as it helps to keep some sort of structure.
Exercise & community
Get out for a morning or afternoon walk, away from flatmates or family. I’ve found it lovely to say hello to neighbours and strangers - keeping my 2 metre distance obviously - out & about to have that shared connectedness that we’re in this all together, the camaraderie has been amazing. Don’t forget to pick up the phone and keep in touch with friends & family which is super important in these weird times. We’re discovering new ways of keeping in touch - global zoom catch ups and virtual drinks with friends.
Kids - home schooling
We’ve found home schooling great for our 6 year old who is loving the routine. The 3 year old chimes in but I have had a few visits to the home office…but I have to say it’s super cute. It is a juggling act and I guess in these crazy times it’s about sharing the responsibility and just getting through. If you don’t complete all the things you wanted to it doesn’t really matter - keep focused on the big picture - survival. Have some fun - watch a few movies together get out the popcorn it’s a great time to spend more time with our kids. We’re loving not having to get them ready in the morning school routine.
If you have young kids try yoga on youtube together to popular stories like ‘Frozen’ or ‘Bear Hunt’ check out Cosmic Kids Yoga here
Office Space at Home
With parents in the house or multiple adults (flat mates) space is at a premium. I’ve spoken to some people who have created space in the garage or are using a spare room. It won’t be forever but it’s certainly could be more than the 4 weeks so think semi-permanently.
Diet
Keep your diet healthy and don’t let bad habits slip in - you are what you eat. Especially if you work near the fridge - watch out!
Video
So you’re working on zoom, teams, bluejeans, skype, hangouts or whatever…
Encourage people to keep the screen on, if the connection is not great go to phone. Ask people how they are? How are they coping? Have some fun - create themes, Friday drinks together? NOTE: Screen angle - make sure you have your screen up high angling down so you avoid unnecessary double chins ;-) Hilary Barry has some great pointers :-)
Party online
Get together with your mates has seen the Houseparty App explode. It’s a lot more informal than Zoom or Hangouts and allows up to 8 users to have a catch up just like after work drinks…check out an article about it here :-)
Maximise the weather
I had some early & late meetings last Thursday so during lunch time I basked in the 23 degree sunshine & played hide & seek with the kids in the garden it was amazing and I felt very lucky we are in the digital age to battle with this terrible Covid-19.
Weekends
Make sure you have a digital detox in the weekend - it’s easy for the days to blend together - get away from the media and do some creative, mindful fun things with yourself and the family. This is a great opportunity to work on that home project, pick up that instrument again, work on that coding project or just take a bit more time than we normally do instead of rushing around.
IT Industry
We’re very lucky being in IT, as systems still have to run, software needs to be developed and companies know this is a great time to pick up talent. There’s movement in the market & a bunch of good people out there that have returned from overseas. If you’re looking for help or advice, we’re here for a chat.
Attitude
Keep positive. Set your expectations correctly and market downturns always create opportunities that aren’t always obvious at the start.
May the force be with you and the odds be in your favour.
Sunstone is an IT Recruitment & HR company specialising in recruiting IT roles within software, web, mobile, blockchain, big data, infrastructure, security & networks in Christchurch, South Island of New Zealand.