Top Tips While Working from Home

Community 3 min read

26 Mar 2020

The change from an office environment to working at home is a strange one to get to grips with if you have never experienced it before. With the majority of the island of Ireland working from home during the current pandemic, we’ve come up with some easy tips to keep you sane while keeping the show on the road from your humble abode.
 

1. Stick to your routine

When you’re not commuting to the office, it’s hard to stop yourself from having an extra lie on. A good tip wen working from home a good practice is to continue your routine as normal. It’s also a help to set a schedule for your work day. You may not do this on a daily basis, but being at home brings its own challenges. Marking tasks off your list is a sense of achievement, if anything during this time!
 

2. Create a workstation

Although the temptation to stay in your bed or locate on the couch, the winning formula is set up a station. If you don’t have a desk, use a dining room or kitchen table. Despite making you feel like you’re in an office, this helps maintain good posture, avoid distractions and most importantly, leave your work behind you at the end of the day.
 

3. Don’t just sit there

Sitting all day isn’t healthy even when you’re in the office, but working from home means you skip your commute and have fewer reasons to get up from your chair. Make sure you keep moving, stand up regularly to stretch and make sure to add some breaks to your schedule!
 

4.  Get some fresh air

With the new social distancing world we find ourselves in, getting time outdoors may be limited. Make sure wherever you set up your work station is a haven of natural light with an openable door or window. Sunlight and fresh air will keep you sane during these testing times.
 

5. Stay connected with your colleagues

If you work as part of a team make sure you check in regularly, just like you would in the office. Creating to do lists with your team and manager can keep the team on track and focused on the immediate tasks at hand.
 

6. Fight the urge to multitask

Working from home may seem like the perfect time to catch up on jobs you found yourself putting off for the last few months. Workign from home provides the perfect opportunity to get distracted. Breaks are encouraged, but don’t let jobs around the house distract you from the day job!
 

7. If you have children – get ready for the disruptions!

Whether it be housework or work-work – anything is hard to get done with children around. When working from home these few easy tips may help you to deal with the impending interruptions from the young ones!

• Mix up your hours: this tip is mostly aimed at workers with babies or toddlers. Trying to work when your baby is sleeping, either early morning, at nap time or when they go to bed will help you up your productivity. It is not ideal but may work for some in the short term.

• Explain the situation: This tip is aimed at those with children who are a little bit older. It’s good to talk. When children are a little bit older it may be easier for them to understand that you still have to work during the COVID19 pandemic. This may make it easier for you to slip away to take a phone-call if you need to.

• Try new activities: Toys and games they haven’t played with before will keep them entertained for longer. Time consuming activities like sticker books, puzzles, colouring and Lego are sure to buy you some much needed time! Check out our Monster Colouring sheet – available to download here.  

8. End your day with a routine

Just as you start your day with a routine, it is important to create a habit that ends the day with one too. Setting an alarm to signal the end of a work day to indicate your normal workday is coming to an end will allow you to avoid working late in to the evening. You don’t have to stop working exactly when this alarm sounds, but knowing the work day is technically over can help you to start the process of saving your work and calling it quits for the evening. It is vitally important to ensure there is a divide between work and life, especially at this time.
 
In light of the ongoing national situation with the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we would like to remind members about how they can transact with their credit union without physically visiting one of their offices. Click here to view the various options, or find your local credit union online to submit an enquiry. 
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