Since the coronavirus outbreak, there are a many of us (including Realtors) who are now working from home to try to slow the spread of the virus. But turning your home into your “office” can be difficult even under normal circumstances. As a Listing Assistant with the Sibbach Team, I’ve been primarily working from home the past several years, so I put toghether a list of “8 Working from Home Tips for Success” to help keep everyone motivated during these challenging times.
1-First, change out of your pajamas every morning. It’ll help you feel like you’re ready for work, plus wearing real clothes (at least a real shirt) allows you to take impromptu video calls.
2-Find a dedicated and comfortable spot to work that you can associate with your job and walk away from when you are done. In other words, get out of bed!
3-Establish a schedule. Not only establish a work schedule for yourself, but a school schedule if you have kids who are now doing school from home.
4-Tell everyone you live with when you’re working, especially if you have a video call and need everyone to be quiet. If you have young kids at home, it can be difficult to keep them quiet and out of the camera view, but I bet your co-workers won’t mind saying “Hi” to your cute toddler.
5-Turn music or the TV on quietly, since working from home can sometimes be a little too quiet (unless of course you have loud kids at home), which makes it difficult to focus.
6-Take a lunch break where you don’t look at anything work-related for at least a half hour.
7-Go outside! Enjoy a quick walk around your block or just step out your front door (another reason why you need to get out of your pajamas), the fresh air really will do you wonders.
8-Remember to keep in regular contact with your co-workers. Check in to make sure everyone is working and not laying on their sofa binge-watching Tiger King on Netflix!
Truth be told…despite all of these tips, this short blog seriously took me ALL day to write because I followed very little of my own advice! Instead of being focused on work, I walked back and forth to the kitchen for snacks, yelled at my kids to stop playing video games and get their schoolwork done while I watched Netflix wearing my pajamas. Better luck to all of you working from home! ~Lisa
