Tag: workplace

Working Remotely – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

When the subject of working from the comforts of my home was suggested to me, I couldn’t be more excited.  I thought about rolling out of bed, pulling out my laptop and moving to my enclosed deck still in my pajamas with a cup of coffee in my hand.  I even thought I was going to be able to keep my favorite talk shows on in the background.  After about a week, I realized I was not productive and working remotely was not all that I expected.

Being as I am not one to fail, I changed my attitude.  I realized that the first step was to put on real clothes…maybe not the suit, but jeans and decent shirt.  This helped me get my mind in the business state of mind.  I also set up a work area designated just for use during work hours.  Besides that bottle of water that I always have at my desk, all eating and drinking is done during my break and lunch times in a different room.  Work was back on track but then came the loneliness.

I feel that it is normally much more efficient to communicate with email, but since working remotely, I have adjusted my thinking.  In most recent weeks, I have picked up the phone to have that human contact and it has made a huge difference on my mental state.  I have also organized a lunch meeting monthly or bimonthly depending on the situation.

There are plusses and minuses to working from home.  It is all what you make of it!

Top 3 Bad Work Habits You Need To Overcome

 

We all want to do our best at work. But even the best intentions are sometimes met with bad habits. Here are 3 bad work habits you need to overcome today!

Being late for work or meetings
Unless your role at the company doesn’t require you to be at your desk and ready to face the day at a set time every day, start times are implemented for a reason. If you know that traffic can be unreasonable, allot yourself some extra commute time in the morning.

Being late for meetings is another bad work habit. If a meeting is set for an hour and you’re five minutes late, you’ve set the hour off and that can bleed into other commitments later in the day. Being on time is a sign that you respect other people’s time – and your own! It also goes a long way towards showing that you’re dependable.


Answering emails as they come in.
You may think that answering emails as soon as you see new ones in your inbox is a good idea. It’s not; in fact, it’s counterproductive. As email’s role in our work lives becomes more and more prominent, the number of messages you receive increases. If you spend all of your time checking your inbox, you’ll find little time for your other responsibilities!

Instead, schedule email processing time into your calendar. Spend some time with your inbox over your morning coffee when you arrive at the office, then schedule an afternoon session after lunch. If an email is informational and doesn’t need further action, move it to a reference folder or delete it. If an email can be responded to at that time, do so. If an email needs a bit more time to respond to, flag it for a future time.

Scheduling in your email time frees up the rest of the day for you to work on projects and tasks without an added distraction.

Not practicing proper hygiene

If you’re guilty of flossing your teeth or clipping your finger (or, please, no, toe) nails at your desk, stop this behavior immediately! Your boss and your coworkers will appreciate your well-groomed hands and your free-from-food mouth a lot more if you take care of that stuff in the privacy of your own home before you get to the office.

These top 3 work habits you need to overcome are just the tip of the iceberg. What other bad habits have you noticed in your office or overcome yourself?