With so many americans under lock down orders by different names across the country right now, more and more of us are working from home maybe for the fist time, and it's challenging to navigate.
Chief Transparency Officer at Transparent Business Moe Vela shared tips with 3News' Stephanie Haney over FaceTime on Wednesday.
Vela, an eight-year veteran of managing remote workers, explained that even though working from home has been a dream for many for a long time, the transition can still be difficult.
"It’s different and it’s a change," Vela said. "It's one of those 'be careful what you ask for' kind of things in life. We’ve been wanting to do it for a while and now we’re gonna have to do it."
With that in mind, Vela shared several ways to make your life easier now that your home and your office are one in the same.
Tip #1: Stick to your regular routine however you can
First, Vela stressed the importance of keeping some semblance of a schedule each day.
"It’s really important to set that routine" he said. "Get up in the morning and act like you’re actually gonna go to your old office setting, or wherever you work. So that means get up, shower, get ready, put your make up on, do your hair, put on some type of an outfit that’s presentable."
Tip #2: Set boundaries with a designated work space
After going through those motions, Vela then noted that we need to establish boundaries by designating a specific work space in your home.
Since not everyone has the luxury of lots of extra room to clearly define those areas, Vela offered tips for making it work no matter the size of your home.
"It’s important when you're at your desk, for example, to try to stay away from there when you’re doing personal stuff, so that in your mind and in your heart you have a break. " he said.
Tip #3: Take self care breaks away from your work space
And speaking of breaks, those are just as crucial as the time you spend doing your work.
"It's very important for us to engage in self care," Vela said.
"[That could mean] taking a walk and engaging in social distancing, or reading a book, but don’t read the book at that desk," Vela told Stephanie, who has been working from home for just over two weeks now in a one-bedroom apartment. "[When] you have that distinction in your mind, that’ll help rest your soul just a little bit," he said.
Tip #4: Over-communicate with your employer
Vela also noted that this is a nervous time for employers, many of whom aren't used to having their staff off-site, so the best thing we can do is over-communicate throughout our work days.
Those of us who can work from home are lucky to be doing it, so the idea here is to make it as successful as possible so we can keep working while things are shut down, Vela said.
Tip #5: Look for the positive in the situation
And of course, the most important tip for successfully working from home is to focus on the positives, Vela said.
That might mean being able to eat our meals during working hours at home, rather than packing something up for buying something packaged from the cafeteria, or having more free time now that there's no commute.
This can free up hours to spend more time on hobbies or other interests, or possibly spend more time with family members with whom you share your home.
