It's been a week since the CHEFE Team (Charity/Voluntary, Higher Education and Further Education) started working from home. Some of us have stayed in London whilst others have traveled back to their hometowns. Below we share our reflections and top tips for successfully working as a team whilst scattered across the country and working remotely.
Working from home in Skegness, Lincolnshire
My top tips on a successful work from home experience would be:
Working from home in Palmers Green, London
On average I’d say I WFH about once a month, normally using this time to really knuckle down on some content or email marketing copy. This time around, I’m finding myself on the phone more (battling with my poor signal at home), and having group meetings on Microsoft Teams (still nice to see and hear from the team regularly!)
My top tips would be:
Working from home in Brixton, London
Optimising working from home efficiently for me is focused around two key factors – self-wellbeing and team collaboration.
Working from home in Solihull, West Midlands
I’ve been working from home for one week now, and with my house being empty throughout that time I’ve found these tips were key to stop me from losing it:
Working from home in Teddington, London
This is my first experience of working from home and to be honest, I am still adjusting to this way of working. Mainly because I miss the social interaction of the office, anyone in my team would agree when I say that I am someone who loves to talk. However, what I have realised is working from home is not working from the moon! I am still as connected to my team as ever and through videoconferencing, document sharing and instant messaging we are continuing to work hard and achieve things.
My top two tips for working at home:
Get Started Early: Dive into your to-do list straight away. Make yourself a cup of coffee, log on and start working; only make breakfast when you have hit a wall or need a break. A proactive morning is the key to a successful day.
Don’t work in your PJs: Even though you may not be leaving the house, dress for work as if you were heading into the office. Getting out of your pyjamas will get you mentally and physically prepared for the day.
Working from home in Tooting, London
Working from home in Sudbury, London
Being told you’ll be working from home for the foreseeable future after just two days in a new job might cause some people some problems. Luckily, those two days in the office gave me just enough time to get to grips with my role and get all the necessary software up and running; and I’d be lying if I said three years’ experience freelancing in a remote capacity isn’t coming in very handy. Here are three top tips that have helped me retain some degree of sanity working from home over the years:
Do meal prep. Set some time aside on Sundays for meal prep to give yourself something to look forward to at lunchtime.
Talk to people. Use your breaks to chat to your housemates or give someone a call for a quick catch-up; physical distancing definitely shouldn’t mean social isolation.
Get your exercise in. Do yourself a favour and use that time you’re saving off the commute to get moving. Make no mistake, this one’s crucial for a healthy body and mind.
We hope you enjoyed this blog! Over the coming weeks we'll be producing more content about the Voluntary, Higher Education and Further Education Sectors and the implications of Coronavirus. Follow our twitter pages: @IG_HigherEd @IG_Voluntary or join out LinkedIn Groups IGHigherEducation and IGVoluntary to keep in touch and be the first to read our new content.