COVID-19 Working from home tips and tricks
In these hard times with COVID-19, some of us requested to stay home. It’s hard to be in the house all day, so I thought, I would share my tips on how to stay home and still be productive and motivated in quarantine.
Part of my job as a UX/UI designer is, from time to time to work from home, Lucky for us, most of the tools are remote-friendly.
Almost two years ago, I was asked to work from home one day a week, at the time, I was working on some projects that I needed to focus on, without any noise that would distract me from delivering quality results. At first, I was excited to work from home and I had high expectations, but at the same time, I had some fears and questions such as, Will I be too distracted, working from home? Will I be able to focus and prioritize my tasks? Will I be able to communicate with my team? and many more…
In the beginning, working remotely from home was beneficial, since I was still new at this and very excited about my result and from what will become next, but after some time I missed my team, to my office habit. So with the days coming by, I adapted to this routine and improved my remote skills. Below is my list of techniques that I’ve successfully utilized on projects while working remotely.
My tips and tricks for working from home
1. Communication is the key
It’s the key to the success of those who work remotely. Schedule a meeting with your colleagues and be extremely clear with explaining the problem and what you want to talk about (like meeting agenda) through Zoom, Slack or other communication tools. Pick up the phone and call a colleague if you have a question. A lot of us are used to talking to people everyday face to face. Either in passing, in meetings or sitting next to people. It can feel isolating sitting at home and not having that same level of interaction. Not everything needs to be in a formal email.
2. Keep your routine as usual
I have found this to be the most challenging to keep, but after a lot of experience with this, I think that impacts the way I work from home. When I am heading to the office I do my hair, makeup and get dressed. Even when I am working from home, I walk through those steps. I’ve learned that going through this routine triggers my mind to get into the state of work.
3. Mobile out of sight, out of mind
Put your phone on silent. Either you are in meetings, or you are completing your tasks. It’s so easy to go down the rabbit hole of Instagram, Facebook or even the news with all that’s going on with the world right now. During a working day at the office, you will not be with your phone all day. I checked my screen time. That will indicate how much time I’m on my phone during the day at home or the office, you will be surprised by the result. Keep with this mindset at home.
4. Setup your workspace
The office is a productive space because of the environment you have setup there. Keep that same scene by bringing it home. Don’t work from a couch, it’s not what you are used to at the office. Your productivity level will go low because it isn’t that same setup. I found out that if I sit on the chair and connect to my screen I get more productive, it’s ok if you have a meeting to change the room, for example, you are sitting on the couch, just like you are changing the room in your meeting at the office.
5. Keep a similar schedule routines
A key benefit of remote working is a flexible work schedule at your own pace. Take a moment and think through your day at the office. What do you do? which time do you take breaks? When do you leave the office? If you take a one hour lunch, get up from your desk and go to the kitchen and eat lunch. Write it down, so you will know your general schedule. After that, notify your colleagues when you will be available, you can do that by adding this information into your calendar or just by notifying your team in your daily meeting. Time management takes incredible self-discipline. It is not just about transparency. It’s also about effectiveness.
6. Document everything
As a designer and I am sure as a developer, document your workflow, it’s a crucial way to keep track of what is happening and the end, this saves the team a lot of time and unnecessary meetings. Documenting can help you work with your team, especially if you are remote. Apart from Abstract, InVision, GitLab, GitHub there is also Trello, JIRA and many more… These tools help document your work and keep your teams in sync.
Today as an experienced remote worker, I learned to adapt day by day and to look on the bright side, remote work opens up possibilities for uninterrupted deep work and innovation. I’m hoping that my experience will be helpful, for those who are looking to improve their work from home experience.
Good health for you all! ✨ If you have any questions and more tips? Say hi ddaalliitt@gmail.com
