With the spread of the coronavirus, many companies are recommending their employees to work remotely.
Business owner Hayley Ckarke who operates a satellite workforce with her entire team working from their homes offers practical advice on how you can stay focused and productive when working from home.
Set a designated area
Ms Clarke says the most helpful tip is about being organised and setting a designated area in your home dedicated just for work.
"It’s really important to set a designated area in your home that is dedicated just for work. When you’re in that space, that’s your working space and you need to exclude everything else. Ideally, if you can shut yourself away in the room, do that. Try and create a clear zone and say this where I’m working from and this is where I need to be holding my focus."
"When you’re in that zone, that’s you work zone. You’re not looking at the washing that needs hanging. You gotta be quite strong," she adds.
She recommends separating your work zone from other household areas.
"Don’t set up in the kitchen counter because there’s a lot of stuff that’s going in there. So try and make your work zone in a more isolated area of your house if you can."
Set a designated area at home Source: inkflo from Pixabay
Don’t work in your PJ's
Don’t try working in your pyjamas, it doesn’t work says Ms Clarke.
"Get up, have a shower, brush your teeth, brush your hair, put on some clothes that are not your pyjamas so you can actually sit down and be ready for work. So essentially, in your mind, you’re mentally opening the shop. You’re there and present for work."
"If you need to conduct video interviews and meetings make some conscious effort in your appearance," she adds.
Don't work in your pyjamas Source: Getty Images
Set clear boundaries with people in your home
If others are at home, whether partner or children, Ms Clarke says it's very important to set clear boundaries for them on when they can and can’t talk to you.
"For younger children in particular, you can even have things like a traffic light system. You can have red, amber and green lights. So for example when I have the green lights up, you can approach me."
Set boundaries with your family in terms of working from home. Source: Getty Images
Set a daily task list
While some people list and some do not, Ms Clarke recommends people to start writing a daily task list because it refrains you from flicking through one task to the other.
"Some people list and some aren’t listing but I highly recommend if you aren’t this person, become one. It's about starting that day, writing that task list out and then working through it and marking them off. There is great satisfaction in doing that, it keeps you on point and stop you from flicking through one thing to the other."
(Getty Images) Source: Moment RF
Make sure social media is not easily accessible if you don't need it
Ms Clarke says if you don’t need social media for work, make sure it's not easily accessible so you don't get distracted.
Avoid work-from-home distraction Source: AAP
Be strong and firm
"Don’t pretend that you are just at home that you can relax. Its really is about you being self-motivated and you have to be strong. If this is the hours I’m setting for work, then this is what I'm going to adhere to. So be strong with that as if you’re going to an office," she says.
She adds it's about setting a structured day.
"If you’re going to make the day free flowing, you’re just going to get into trouble and you're never going to get anything done and there will be many distractions."
While she acknowledges that shifting to work-from-home is hard at the start, it will eventually be easier as you continue to do it.
"Once you become used to that, it becomes a new norm for you. As you get used to it, it becomes easy to separate work from home."
