Businesses all over Australia have implemented work from home policies to help stop the spread of COVID-19. In this guide you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to work from home successfully and ensure your teams are as effective as they can be while working from home.
Work from home tips to help you and your team stay productive
Here are some tips on how you can work from home successfully.
Get into a morning routine
Starting your day off right with an effective morning routine is essential for having a successful day. It might be tempting to just roll out of bed 5 minutes before your start time and work in your PJs all day, but doing so won’t put you in the mindset for productivity. Set an alarm each morning and get up early each day so you can get dressed for work like you normally would. Make yourself a coffee and eat a healthy breakfast so you can ensure that your body gets the nutrients it needs to complete your day. All of these activities can help you put yourself into the mindset of having a successful and productive day while working from home.
Plan out your day with all the things you want to do
After you’ve completed your morning routine, now it’s time to start planning what you’ll be working on today. Write a to-do list of all the things you want to achieve today in order from most important to least important and then create a schedule of how you will execute on those tasks.
Find your spot
Find a quiet and peaceful spot in your home where you can set up a workspace. Eliminate distractions and turn off your phone notifications while you are working so you can focus on the tasks at hand.
Prepare your meals in advance
Meal prep your lunch the night before so you don’t have to spend time in the middle of the day preparing your lunch. Make sure you choose healthy meals so you are fueling your body with all the nutrients it needs to be productive and successful.
Take microbreaks throughout the day
Throughout the day while working from home, it can be quite easy to get tired and your attention can drift. If you find this happening, try and set up some microbreaks during the day so you can reset and relax for 10 minutes. Make yourself a cup of tea, stretch your legs or go for a short walk. This can help you work from home successfully and stay motivated to complete all your tasks.
Keep your work and personal time separate
It can be tempting to complete life admin tasks while you are working from home, but it’s important that when you are working during the day, you are dedicating your time to completing your work and being productive.
Connect with your colleagues
You may be feeling a bit disconnected from your colleagues while you are working from home, but that’s why it’s so important to make an effort to reach out to them and communicate as much as possible. A quick video call can help you connect with your colleagues so you can collaborate on work tasks more effectively and just help you feel more connected.
Remember to clock out
At the end of the day, it is also important to clock out of work so that you can ensure you set boundaries between your work time and your personal time. This can help you avoid burning out and will help you ensure that tomorrow you are refreshed and ready to start the day off right.
How to manage your team while working from home
Communicate with your team regularly
During this period of uncertainty, it’s really important to make an effort with your team and communicate with them as much as possible with updates on the company.
Communicate goals and expectations with your team
Ensure that your team is across what their goals and expectations are by setting up regular meetings with them so that they are aware of what the team’s goals are.
Daily standup meeting
To ensure that you are across what everyone in your team is working on each day, set up a regular daily standup meeting so everyone can go through what their tasks are for the day. If you’d like to learn more about how to structure your daily standup meeting and daily goals, download our daily work from home meeting guide here.
New work from home tax deductions Australia
Now that countless Australians are working from home to help flatten the curve of new COVID-19 cases, The Australian Taxation Office has made it easier to claim work from home tax deductions.
These changes will allow people to claim 80 cents per hour for all their home office expenses, instead of calculating costs for specific running expenses as taxpayers would under normal circumstances. You can learn more about the new home tax deduction rules here.
Maintain a sense of belonging with your community
With all the changes happening around Australia and the world it can be easy to feel disconnected from the world around us. Which is why it’s important to continually check in on our colleagues, partners, family and friends during this time so that we can maintain a sense of belonging and remind ourselves that we are not alone.