How to Work From Home Successfully
I have some big news - I’ve started a YouTube channel!
I’ll be posting FREE monthly videos, sharing tips and advice specific to the recruitment and sales industry on my channel - so if you don’t want to miss a video, subscribe here.
Why have I made a channel? I thought it would be nice to have a place online where you can access free tips and advice. Somewhere that allows you to see that others are experiencing the same challenges as you and helps you to overcome them.
What’s my first video about? If you're a recruitment consultant or sales professional who is struggling to adapt to the new normal of working from home, this first video is for you!
I’ve been working from home for nearly 7 years, but from speaking to my client’s and industry contacts, I recognize for many it’s been challenging to pivot and work from home. Before the pandemic, we were working out in the field, on the road every day with the freedom to travel, or often in an office. To go from that environment to your kitchen table within 24 hours has been tough for most people.
So, watch the video below or read ahead - as I’m sharing with you my top tips that will help you be just as successful from the comfort of your own home, as you are in the office or out in the field.
My WFH Journey
Before switching to working from home, I had been office based in recruitment and sales roles, so like many, I was very familiar with an office-based environment; lots of people moving around me, my manager an arm’s reach away - basically what most people are used to.
Then I made a move into a new recruitment job where I would be purely working from home with some added field-based work. Initially, I thought it would be amazing, I can work at home in my pyjamas, manage my diary and hit snooze on my alarm as I waved goodbye to my commute.
But I was looking at it through rose-tinted glasses. At 25 I was quite young at the time and was living in an apartment, so without the space to work from my property, I had to work from my parents’ home.
It was a shock to the system, and I didn’t take to it like a duck to water. Without training on how to work from home, they left me to my own devices, and I had to figure it out myself.
So, what have I learned?
Evaluate Yourself
I wish I took the time to evaluate myself when I started working from home. What are my strengths in this situation? What are my weaknesses?
I’m sure you are familiar with a SWOT analysis. Where you look at; Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats regarding a certain topic.
If you’re not familiar with the SWOT analysis, if you Google it, and go to images, there are loads of templates you can use. In hindsight, I wish I did, so I could have known my weaknesses and the threats, so I could work on them and grow out of them, opening up the opportunities and the strengths to make me more successful.
Looking back, my strengths were my drive, motivation and my work ethic. I had a lot of focus and determination to succeed.
My weaknesses? I wasn’t great at work-life balance. When I was working in an office, I wasn’t good at taking breaks and I didn’t want to leave work. I should have evaluated at the time that working from home might have been a threat as well - I might work too much.
Have a Routine
If you enjoyed the daily commute to work and the routine of waking up, getting ready and heading into work, you had your routine going.
But there’s no reason you can’t implement that while working from home.
You can do this by structuring your day. You don’t have to take your lunch break at the same time every day, but make sure you stop for lunch, so you have time in the middle of the day to refuel and give your mind a break. Or give yourself a time where you’re going to finish each day and create a routine where you have slots in your diary of what you’re going to do at certain times, this will help you get some momentum so you won’t just feel you’re coasting through the day.
I always find on the days where I’m in my joggers or just haven’t made much of an effort to get ready, there’s something about how I feel that day, that’s different from the days where I’ve put on a pair of normal trousers - which is hard to do when you're at home, I know. So get your brain in work mode by getting up at the same time, getting dressed and sticking to a routine, it can make a world of difference.
If you feel like sometimes you’re finding it hard to focus on work and get motivated, take the time that you would normally have used to commute or travel to your first meeting, and do something with it that’s going to help you. Go for a walk, exercise or read a book, use that time to get focused for work.
I’ve exchanged my daily commute for a short walk. As I find a short walk before and after work breaks up the day and helps me get into the right mindset going into the day ahead, then afterwards it helps me switch off and disconnect from work.
Get That Work-Life Balance Right
Work-life balance is so important. When people say, the more hours you work, the more money you’ll make and the more successful you’ll be - that’s not true.
I learnt this one the hard way. Around four years ago, I was clocking in from 7 AM ‘til 9 PM with very few breaks some days. I burned out and my productivity dropped, I wasn’t well and made myself ill because of it. I realized I couldn’t work like that and I had to work smarter.
Having a balance: you’ll have a better quality of work, be more productive and your team will look on you as being a role model, which can land you opportunities like promotions and more responsibility at work.
I found for work-life balance, what’s important for me is getting out of the house. I enjoy exercise, it’s a massive release for me. So, doing a workout in the middle of the day or going for a walk on my lunch break, helps me to keep that balance in my mind and creates positive mental health behaviours.
Teamwork
Teamwork is just as important as it would be if you were in the office!
Some people massively under-rate this in sales and recruitment, as everyone can feel like they’re just out for themselves, they’ve got their targets and that can sometimes damage the culture of where you work.
When working from home, it’s really important to keep in touch with the people surrounding your role, because you’re there to support each other and still a team. Working from home doesn’t mean you are alone.
If you’re having a bad day, pick up the phone and call a colleague, and do the same if you’re having a good day, share your experiences and best practices. Your manager is somebody you should keep in touch with as well. If you’re struggling with something, you’ll only get help with it if people know about it, so use MS Teams, Zoom or your phone and call them. Speaking to people will make you feel a lot better.
The Right Environment
Not everybody has the luxury of having a home office. For me, my office has been really helpful because I can close the door at the end of the day or for a break and nothing is in my eyesight that reminds me of work, so it allows me to switch off a lot easier. Even though it’s just a room in my house, there’s something about closing that door that makes me switch off.
If you don’t have an office, there are other ways that you can switch off from work, such as leaving your laptop out of sight or hiding it away when you’re done working.
Making sure you work where you’re comfortable can also make a massive difference, so don’t perch at the end of your bed, and make sure you’re at your kitchen table or somewhere you’re able to sit properly. With your laptop placed on a flat surface, you’re able to have a drink next to you and can have papers nearby, so you can make notes. Having everything you need around you will make you a lot more comfortable.
At the end of the day, put everything away. I know it can be a bit of a fuss, but the more it’s in view, the higher the chance you’re going to be thinking about work and tempted to dip back into it.
Value Customer Relationships
Last but not least, we have customer relationships.
Working from home, you still need to be speaking to your customers. I keep hearing people say they’re emailing a lot or they’re messaging customers on LinkedIn, and while that can play a part sometimes, we all know that people buy from people.
Our personality can come across better, and we can be more likeable when we’re speaking to somebody. If you’re in an account management role, you need to keep up those relationships. If you’re working in a role where business development is a big focus, it’s much easier to build relationships with people when you’re speaking to them, either over Zoom or on the phone. You need to still value that contact.
Ultimately, it will make you feel better because you’re speaking to more people. And just because they’re our customers or our potential clients, it doesn’t mean that they’re not having the same struggles as us, with working from home and going through the pandemic. So, you taking the time to invest in that relationship and pick up the phone may benefit your client base because you’re showing appreciation, you’re adding value to them.
These are just a few tips for working from home. But keep an eye on my YouTube and socials, as I’ll be posting more on this subject soon, if there are any other subjects you’d like me to cover in upcoming videos or content, let me know and I’ll consider them as well.
If you or your team are struggling with working remotely, book in a chat.
I can tell you more about how I can help!