New to working from home? Like many people around the world right now, we are adapting to home-office life.
Two weeks ago, in response to the nationwide lockdown, White Triangle HQ temporarily relocated from our Mont-Blanc Base Camp office to our house. To help make the transition a little smoother, we asked our global creative team and clients to share their tips with us.
Here’s our collection of simple and practical tips…
1. Consider your workspace
If possible, choose an area of your home that you can use exclusively for work and shut the door on at the end of the day. Keep a water bottle close to hand to stay hydrated and why not pop a plant or some flowers nearby to brighten up your desk? One of our freelancers has chosen a workspace by a window, so she can see the outside world and get some fresh air while working.
“For me a view is everything. When you have the Mont Blanc massif as your muse, gaining perspective and inspiration for projects is infinite. Go find your window of wonder!”
2. Stay connected
We work with clients and freelancers in more than 10 countries, so already have experience here. Regular contact (especially via virtual video meetings) is vital for team morale and productivity when working remotely. It’s easy to keep communication very formal and miss out on ‘kitchen chat’ with colleagues, so we set aside time for virtual catch-ups that aren’t just work focused.
There are loads of great applications to choose from. At White Triangle we use Google Hangouts to keep in touch with our team. For video calls with clients we’ve found that Zoom works well, particularly when screen sharing and connecting with multiple people.
“With my team now working from home, we have been using Trello to project manage our daily activities and Zoom to have team meetings - it’s been working really well!
Our Goldsmith is working in isolation and uses WhatsApp video calling to show our designers pieces of jewellery he is working on.”
3. Re-invent your commute
One of the great benefits of working from home is not having to commute, but for many this ritual forms a key part of the daily routine. So why not re-invent the best parts of your commute at home? Whether that’s reading 10 pages of your book, or making a coffee in your KeepCup and walking twice round the block, taking a little time-out in the morning and evening helps us frame the working day with a clear start and finish.
“I love cycling to work! Since we’ve been on lockdown, I’ve set the turbo trainer up on our deck so I can recreate my commute at home. My new routine of hopping on the turbo for 20 minutes at either end of the day has become an important ritual for me. As well as enjoying the exercise, I find it makes a big difference to my mood when I ‘arrive’ at my home-office.”
4. Get the right tech
Fortunately there are loads of fantastic applications available for working collaboratively from a distance. Google Docs allow multiple users to view and modify spread sheets and Word documents, while Apps like Dropbox are brilliant for file sharing. In our industry Frame.io is an invaluable tool for reviewing and commenting on videos.
“I work remotely and am on the go all the time. Apps like Frame.io make managing video projects and meeting client expectations so much smoother. I can easily upload content my end for review and the client can quickly add feedback notes their end. Comments can be logged at specific time codes and you can even add drawings onto the frame, which helps make feedback super clear. This App has completely changed my workflow, making it much easier for me to sync up with clients remotely.”
5. schedule time for you
Whether it’s Yoga at lunchtime or checking in with a colleague for a cup of tea on FaceTime every Tuesday at 10:30am, we find that setting and sticking to regular times for breaks and social interactions help us make the most of the day and feel less isolated. Using a physical planner to map out the week has really helped us stick to our self-care goals.
“As part of my new lockdown routine, I spend 15 minutes stretching every morning and evening. It’s a bit like meditating. It makes my body feel calmer and frees my mind... helping me focus on something other than the crisis/work/lockdown/Nutella jar!”
6. Dress to impress
No need to don the suit and tie, but we find that making a conscious effort with our appearance each day helps us separate home and work life. Plus, getting changed into proper work attire stops things getting awkward when a colleague or client requests a video call!
“The temptation to walk over to my work station in the morning, cereal bowl in hand, while still in my PJs is big! But making sure I take the time to get properly up and dressed makes a huge difference to how I feel when I do sit down at my desk and start the day.”
7. Keep your body moving
This is a big one for us! Regular movement and exercise are really important for mental health, productivity and boosting creativity – particularly when stuck indoors isolating. One of our lovely clients, Pi Studios, have moved all their Pilates classes online to help people continue working out from home.
“Remember to get up and move throughout the day, building exercise into your daily routine. Make a space in your home to do some yoga or simple exercises. There are loads of Apps and online tutorials to help you get going. And if you need some extra motivation why not join a live online class with other people?”
8. Step away from the fridge!
Working from home with easy access to the fridge can be risky when it comes to snacking. We found ourselves raiding the cupboards for naughty treats at any opportunity, so sought some expert advice from a fellow Mont-Blanc Base Camp co-worker…
“Plan out meals and snacks - actually write down the times you are going to eat and pin this to the fridge so you can see it. Hopefully this will suppress the urge to eat every time you go into the kitchen or take a break from your desk.
When tempted to snack, ask yourself if you are genuinely hungry? Do you really need this? Rate your hunger out of 10... 1 being starving and 10 completely stuffed!
Choose higher protein snacks, as these will keep you feeling fuller for longer and slice up foods to help control portion size.
Remember to give yourself time to adjust and adapt to what will be your new routines. This is a stressful, emotional and testing time for us all, so allow for those days when your eating just doesn’t go to plan. ”
9. Make a team playlist
We’ve asked our team to contribute their favourite upbeat songs to a Spotify playlist. We may not be in the same office, but at least we can be enjoying the same tunes! Listen to our ‘Happy Home Working’ playlist here.
“Music makes the people come together!”
10. TAke care of yourself
Working from home, particularly during lockdown, can feel very isolating. It’s more important than ever to look after your mental health and be mindful of your mood. We can’t escape into the mountains right now, so we need to be creative to ensure we still get our moment of calm.
“If you’re not used to working from home, it’ll be an adjustment. It’s often not what we’re doing which is problematic but how we’re doing it.
A useful phrase taken from ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) is “I will do X as an expression of valuing Y’. If you’re used to lots of outdoor activity and can’t replicate it indoors - pick one or two aspects of it and enjoy those. For example: “I will sit for a moment with the window open and the sun on my face as an expression of valuing fresh air and the outdoors”.”
11. Embrace the perks
There are many fantastic benefits of home-working, from avoiding a long commute, to spending more time with family or having greater flexibility and control over your schedule. We’ve been doing our best to enjoy these positive changes that lockdown has brought.
“One of the many perks I have experienced working from home is that I get more time with my children and fiancée, which helps massively with my mental health and happiness. Work is important but family is the most important.”
12. Celebrate with Virtual after-work drinks!
Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy an after-work drink with colleagues! Finished a big project this week? Congratulate yourself by catching up with your team for a virtual beer or soda and celebrate a job well done. The only downside - you have to BYO! Last Friday, we caught up with fellow co-workers from Mont-Blanc Base Camp using the face to face social networking App Houseparty.
“I really miss working in the dynamic and vibrant office environment we have at Mont-Blanc Base Camp. Although we can’t all be in the same place during this time of uncertainty, it’s great to still be able to catch-up virtually with co-workers. We can continue to share ideas over an after-work drink from the comfort of own homes!”
And A bonus tip we couldn’t resist sharing…
“Pro-tip for couples suddenly working from home together: Get yourselves an imaginary co-worker to blame things on. In our apartment, Cheryl keeps leaving her dirty water cups all over the place and we really don’t know what to do about her.”
Blog written by: Stephanie & Gwyn (Co-directors, White Triangle Agency)