Moving from an office-based team environment to a semi-permanent remote work schedule over the last year has been a large transition for me. Outside of direct person to person communication, there are a couple things that really stand out as far as changes.
Background noise:
Mostly when the family is home. I have an office so this isn’t too much of a problem with the office shut and some noise cancelling headphones.
I work too much:
This is the big one. The toughest adjustment is probably the fact that I can continuously work without realizing I haven’t taken any meaningful breaks. The person to person communication in an office setting creates mini breaks in your work routine. Without these breaks I can work from 6:30am until 8pm if I do not shut the office down or take scheduled breaks.
For that reason, I can also get home office burnout. Where I simply don’t want to go into the home office. This is bad.
Here are some techniques that I use.
- Create a schedule for yourself at home.
- Set a start and end time.
- Schedule breaks with reminders.
- Take a lunch away from your PC
- Move your office occasionally
Use your calendar for breaks or Alexa. If you work from a laptop move around occasionally. I find this is super helpful for the home office burnout. Just moving around your house can do wonders here.
Take a lunch break when working at home. I like to jog during this time, but whatever it may be activity is the point. I find it helpful to go outside if possible.
These may seem obvious, but I still must remind myself to do these things.
Also remember to go back to work 🙂
Be safe and healthy…
Enjoy!