CRL's 'Work from Home' Bible
Along with the majority of New Zealanders, City Rail Link staff are quickly getting used to the realities of working from home during the country-wide lockdown. But between the uncertainty of working in a different environment, the unfettered access to one’s fridge and the looming threat of potential distraction from fellow house mates and pets– there is a lot that can impede business as usual! To help we’ve pooled our collective knowledge to bring you our tried and tested do’s and don’ts for a productive day in the home office.
Get dressed - It might be tempting to stay in your pyjamas. Yet, by changing into your favourite work-from-home clothes, you signal to your brain that you’re getting ready for a day at the ‘office’.
Routine - Establish a start-of-day work routine - this might include a walk around the block, followed by a shower and coffee before the morning meeting. This is another way to trick your brain into thinking its business as usual.
Work space - If possible, have your work area as a separate area to the rest of your home so you get into the mindset of “going to work”. Before you start every morning, make sure it’s clean and orderly and you have everything you need for the day such as stationery, chargers, headsets etc. This will ensure you’re not distracted later.
Remain optimistic - Be mindful of negative or fear-mongering media or social media stories. Choose to follow movements that promote positivity and being kind to others.
Media detox – If you’re finding the general news media or social media distracting or you simply would like to get some distance from it, set a screen time limit for it on your phone. Most smart phones have the capability to set screen time limits or limits for particular apps – and doing this can be a nice reminder to take a break from the internet every now and then. Find out how to do this here.
Restart - Remember to shut down your computer every evening. There can be a tendency to leave your computer running but shutting it off properly or restarting it gives your computer a chance to defragment its ram and run other essential tasks that keep it running correctly. If you don't restart every now and then you'll have a lot higher chance of loss of performance and possible failures later.
Schedule – Schedule your day, hour by hour if you need to, so you spend enough time on everything and get good breaks in. Short breaks are important to give your brain a change of scene. Ignore them and you might find the quality of your work slipping.
Online meetings – When starting a virtual meeting make sure to go into it with a good, clear agenda. Make sure to mute when you’re not talking to cut down on excess background noise. Using headphones or smartphone earpieces will also reduce feedback and improve sound quality.
Close tabs - Having many tabs or windows running in the background slows down your computer and uses a lot of data, even when you're not looking at it. If you don't need to have it open, close the page.
Get outside – Make sure to get outside at least once a day, even if its just having coffee in your back yard/deck. Being outdoors does wonders for your health and mental wellbeing and is great for breaking up long periods of sitting at a desk.
Support each other – Reach out to colleagues and people from outside your immediate team to see how they’re doing, share cute pictures of your pets and funny isolation stories. A bit of kindness can go a long way!