To help contain the spread of the coronavirus, more people are working from home. In fact, working from home is not new for those who take up freelance work or are active in volunteer service. So for those who are long-time office workers and are about to retire, home-stay at this critical time may help give you a taste of what it is going to be like when you finally work from home.
Set up a dedicated home office space
This is hard for most people in Hong Kong, where living space is very limited. However, do find yourself a table top with access to electricity and at the right height for a notebook computer and some shelf space within easy reach. A comfortable chair to protect your back is also very important. Make sure the space is well lit. Get a lamp if needed. Also make sure that everyone at home knows that it is YOUR office!
Establish a routine
Modern communication technology allows your office colleagues and clients to reach you any time they want, but they may not be available to receive your calls or read your messages at all times. Do follow a schedule which is used in the office unless it is something urgent. Try to avoid disturbing others during lunchtime and after office hours as they also have their home commitments to attend to. By the same token, you must remember to have proper meals. Have a good breakfast and prepare something simple for lunch. Dinners could be more elaborate as you can have time to prepare your dinner after a day’s work. Of course, you need to stay away from snacks which can be so easily accessible at home.
Dress properly
One tends to wear something very casual at home and you may regard it as the standard outfit when staying at home. If you respect your work, you should also respect the way you look and dress at the time when you work. While you do not need to dress up too properly at home, you still have to make yourself look respectable and decent while working. Modern technology has made it so easy for anyone to ask to have a video meeting at any time and you would not want to put yourself in an embarrassing situation.
Stay away from distractions
It is so easy to get distracted at home especially when you are following any drama series on the internet which run for 20 or more episodes. There are some apps which restrict you from browsing social media or watching online videos too often. But self-control is the most important thing and you must remember that your delay may affect others and if business is not as usual, it may jeopardize your job as well as others. Once you are accustomed to working from home, you would find that life could be very productive and you can achieve so much with all the time you have for yourselves.
Enjoy!
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