Remote Working Tips from a Psychologist

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Remote Working Tips from a Psychologist

Posted 06 April 2020 by
Melissa, MBTI Marketing Manager
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With millions more people working or taking classes from home, and many for the first time, we asked one of our resident occupational psychologists Helen Rayner for her advice on the topic.

Physical Work Space

If possible, try to dedicate a physical space to your work environment. If this isn’t possible and you are working in your living area, ensure you pack up your laptop and put it away at the end of the day.

Communication

Speak regularly with phone and video calls. Talk to your colleagues about work and non-work. It can be difficult when working from home to have non-work conversations. If this is a challenge for you, set up 5 or 10 minutes before the meeting starts to catch up on life and then move on to work topics.

Work Time Boundaries

Set boundaries around working hours. Try not to check your work email on your phone during non-work hours. It can be tempting to start clearing out your inbox Sunday afternoon or evening, but especially when you’re working remotely it’s crucial to create separation between work time and other time.

Celebrate Success

If you’re a manager, set a goal to call out or celebrate at least 1 success a week. It’s often easier to mention a job well done when passing by a co-worker than it is to reach out and send a congratulations in writing. If you’re not a manager, you can still make sure to send positive thank you emails to co-workers. Or point out a success of a co-worker on your next video call.

Routines & Screen Breaks

Keep to regular routines like taking regular coffee break and screen breaks. If you find yourself having a hard time focusing, use an app like Time Timer to set an amount of focused work time for yourself (30 min., 45 min, 1 hour) and then give yourself a 5 or 10 minute break after you’ve worked for that amount of time.

Keep Moving

Exercise or move around aka check your step count. Are you moving enough? Can you build in a morning/evening commute (on foot or on bike) to and from work?

Be Your Own Best Boss

Take advantage of apps that can help with your productivity where you struggle most like tools that stop you from accessing social media etc.

Want to save these tips for reference? Check out the infographic here.

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