At the moment, there are millions of house-bound people who are trying to adapt to a new life and work style. The entire routine of top CEOs and junior employees has been turned upside down. However, there are a lot of people for whom remote work is nothing new.
Some of them are CEOs working from home and running 100% remote companies. Their example proves that with determination you can adapt and survive this difficult situation. You may even discover that working from home is more effective and brings more balance to your life.
What Are the Perils of Working From Home?
The number one issue of working from home is a large number of distractions. There is the family, also cooped up inside the house. There is the TV, the fridge full of snacks, and the game console. There is the comfortable sofa where anyone is tempted to lie down for a nap.
Yet, you can overcome the temptation of these distractions and stay focused on your work. In this article, we will share personal advice and tips from CEOs working from home.
1. Tim Jones — CEO of Precision Nutrition: Apply the ROWE Mindset
ROWE means “results-only work environment”. When working from home, and having to cope with the idea that you must not go outside, people are less likely to stay effectively involved in work for a fixed number of hours.
Thus, instead of keeping track of time, managers should keep track of tasks. If they are completed and there are no other tasks in queue, they should allow the employees to take longer breaks and try to keep a positive mindset. “We don’t track hours or care about how you do your work, as long as you’re getting the results,” Jones told Entrepreneur.
2. Leo Friedman — CEO of iPromo: Write Down Your Daily Goals
In the office, you usually have a personal assistant who has your daily agenda and alerts for deadlines. At home, it is your responsibility to keep your own agenda. Start the day by writing down what you need to achieve. Then, as you complete tasks, tick them off.
At the end of the day, look at your list of completed tasks and activities. It will give you a sense of achievement and effectiveness and it will stimulate you to stay organized tomorrow and in the future.
3. Michael Drake — President of PMG Home Loans: Dress for Work
One of the most difficult parts about starting a day of work from home is getting in the right mindset. When people go to the office, they go through a routine to get ready: they get dressed and commute.
Without the commute, you still have the routine action of getting dressed. Do not spend your day in pajamas or casual clothes. At any moment, you may need to jump on a video call meeting with your team or with a client. Being dressed for the office helps you focus on work just like in the office. “Get dressed every day just like you are going into the office. It might sound like it’s a bit much, but things like this help frame your mind to get to work,” said Drake in a Guild Talent article.
4. DJ Haddad — CEO of Haddad & Partners: Have Fun With Your Team
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy — especially during self-isolation. For successful CEOs working from home, the small talk and fun during breaks at the office must go on. They create special online groups on Slack or Skype and use them at designated times to share anecdotes, GIFs, and memes.
During this period, adding a bit of entertainment and fun to the work performed from home means a lot for your entire team, especially for their mental health and wellbeing.
5. Joe Golden — Co-CEO of Collage.com: Set a Dedicated Workspace
One effective way of removing the distraction of conversations with the family is to have a dedicated area just for work. “There are some things you need to do to ensure a smooth transition from a traditional office set up,” Golden explained in an Observer article. Make it clear to your family members that this is strictly the place where you work.
They should not intrude that space, interrupt you, or spend time there reading or watching TV. Choose this area carefully, in a room that other family members do not need to pass through to reach the kitchen or the bathroom.
This article was originally published on pldx.org.
