A collection of tips and tools to face work from home during this difficult moment of forced isolation. If for many freelancers, smart working is a habitual if not the only viable way of working, the recent events linked to the ministerial provisions for the prevention and containment of the Covid-19 emergency have forced many professionals and entrepreneurs but also many workers. Employees to rearrange themselves to work from home.
Unfortunately, if in the case of companies and start-ups that immediately adopt an agile approach to work, smart working is a weighted, planned and optimized choice based on the needs and objectives of the company, when this option becomes the only alternative possible to ensure the operational continuity (the so-called business continuity) and the change of working mode takes place in a hurried manner and not organized, it may not be so easy to put into practice.
Smart working, in fact, does not “only” involve a balancing initiative between life and work, and corporate welfare for employees, but presupposes close collaboration between the various business sectors involved.
Smart Working vs. Telework: A clarification
In fact, a proper clarification should be made. The Coronavirus emergency has prompted most companies to adopt telework.
Telework binds to work from home or from a fixed location and the company transfers the same responsibilities as the workplace to the employee’s home.
In smart working, the employee carries out his / her activity outside the company but independently decides the times and the place of work, without necessarily a fixed position. The worker is therefore free to choose and change the workplace as and when he prefers.
Unlike teleworking, smart working requires from the company the ability to innovate the way of thinking and acting of employees, managers and managers through cooperation, trust, empowerment, and therefore presupposes flexibility and adaptation of human resources according to the tools that you have available.
Even if the current situation limits mobility and therefore forces you to work from home, the approach must still remain “smart”. Let’s not forget, for example, that all schools are closed, therefore those who work from home and have children must necessarily be put in a position to take care of them.
Working from home: 3 essential practical tips for not losing your compass
If you found yourself having to work from home for the first time, you will have to set some rules to avoid the drift “holiday effect”. It is essential to establish a routine, a series of poles that allow you to organize the day according to your work commitments and your domestic and family needs. In these hours you will find hundreds of online tips, but we think the 3 fundamentals are these:
Set schedules
Setting schedules is essential for both the worker and the company. In this way, the employee will be available and operational, maintaining the spaces necessary for the management of his private life. We must be clear on this point, the cross and delight of many freelancers. You are not always available. If your hours go from 9.30 to 12.30 and from 15.00 to 18.00 you do not have to answer the phone while you are cooking, with your children or while using your free time in another way.
Use a space dedicated to work
Set up your own workplace, where you can have everything at your fingertips, and where distractions are limited. A space possibly closed by a door, especially if you don’t live alone.
Do children at home watch TV at full volume? Does the neighbor make flash mobs on the balcony? Do you feel like you’re at the DIY Fair? If external noise is a problem, put on a nice pair of headphones and put on some music that can help you concentrate and work.
Take care of your appearance
Video calls and video conferencing are now common practice. Take care of your appearance and clothing exactly as if you were going to the office. You can treat yourself to sandals or slippers, but if you are not forget about maxi sweaters, tank tops and pajama trousers. Aside from a purely matter of form and style, the fact of preparing and dressing for the job is a huge psychological aid. It puts you in the mental condition of “being at work” and at least formally separating your work time from your private life.
These are the most useful rules for us, then there are many good rules that you should actually always put into practice, whether working from home or in the office.
- Avoid getting distracted continuously between chats, social media, internet etc. Concentrate on your work and every now and then take a five-minute break to go and check your social networks.
- Don’t nail yourself to the monitor. Every now and then, get up, stretch your legs, change the air in the room.
- Avoid junk food. Have a full breakfast, a healthy and light lunch, use fresh fruit, dried fruit and vegetables as a hunger breaker, keeping your desk in order.
- Try to exercise before or after work.
These tips will help you stay responsible, collaborative and productive while working from home, and set the right mental attitude to allow you to organize, plan and communicate your activities.
And to help you organize, plan and communicate / share, here is our list of best practices and tools.
In order to function, in fact, smart working must be… smart. There are many tools available to businesses today to be able to work better even remotely, with this selection we try to present you the ones we think are most useful.
You may also like http://studywatches.com/
