Remote Working: First or Forced?
Last week, I touched on the importance of being present and how adding a few daily habits that we enjoy into our work routines, can often help take care of our physical and mental health.
As the Potential team works remotely, many of us turned to breaking up our days with walks and home comforts because we are lucky to have work flexibility.
For some workers it’s been a decision to work remotely, but for others it has been forced upon. Which got me thinking about how much of a transition it has been for many of us and to those who are still struggling to make it work now.
When your living space merges into your work space, it can be challenging to continue to separate the two. It can get repetitive and overwhelming — some days you can be on a roll and others you can find yourself missing the noise and companionship in a workplace.
Turning your attention to what lifts your mood and productivity can make remote working fun and effective, of course this can be tricky and comes with limitations.
Some people work better at night than they do morning, but a lot of us don’t have that sort of flexibility. It has been said the privilege of working from home hasn’t fully been acknowledged yet, but it’s easy to forget some of us don’t have a desk or room for office space.
Instead, try to be clear headed on what is serving you and what isn’t, and what isn’t put to the side — even if it feels quite uncomfortable and forced at first. I’m guilty of secretly spending the odd morning call in my pyjama bottoms but it doesn’t lift my mood nor productivity.
The bottom line is we are all wired differently and have our unique ways of learning. I think it’s a case of trial and error.
With all this in mind, here are a few things we like to remind ourselves at Potential to relieve some of the pressure that can build throughout the week.
Work in sprints. Rest and repeat.
Done is better than perfect.
Work should feel like play.
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking that on the whole you don’t tend to struggle too much, but have noticed signs of low mood and stress in someone else within your team.
It can be hard to identify what is making us feel stuck.
When I have felt like this, my colleagues have supported me by doing little things such as regularly checking in on me and making time for conversation that isn’t around work.
Human interactions matter so much.
Never underestimate the effectiveness of team building and communication. Reconnecting with each other when you can, can be so beneficial to those who feel a little overwhelmed working from home.
M :)
