At the end of May, we’ve mostly shifted from working in a busy office to working from (an also busy) home. The people buzzing around you, the hallway conversations with colleagues and the sound of a phone ringing all seems like a long time ago now! So, how have you found the transition to working from home?
New discoveries like ZOOM meetings with a variety of background settings, setting up technology at home and getting it to run smoothly has been a challenge for some. It seems like there’s more meetings being organised than ever before. Logging into ZOOM for the Vice-Chancellor Town Hall and Executive Dean’s updates, sharing the space with many others. I wonder, will this be the new norm?
Some tips I’ve picked up that has helped me along the way:
- Keep a routine. Maintain start and finish times, logging off at the end of the day is important.
- Define your workspace separate from other areas in the house. I’ve brought a standing desk topper home with me which is how I normally work.
- Get dressed for work (business on top).
- Block some time in the calendar which is meeting free! For our Functional Administration Teams, we’re trialling Wednesday afternoons and I must say, I am enjoying the space!
- Connect with others, organising virtual coffee catch ups and sharing stories and a laugh.
- Touching base regularly with your staff, see how they’re travelling
- Do something that you enjoy outside of work. For me, that’s finishing off a few half started knitting projects.
I am very proud of the team shifting to their individual working from home environments. Yes, there’s been challenges but overall, having the flexibility to meet work/life/home-schooling balance, has shown me that our staff are resilient, adaptable and focused.
Additional tips:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/working-from-home.htm