Mar 11 2020 11:03 PM
I'm a strong believer that there's not one single correct way to work from home, so it's great to see people sharing what works for them. Let's talk about the timeline of your work from home day. Does it look like a day in the office would? Do you stick to the same tasks at the same time every day? Or is it more fluid "go with the flow" depending on other family commitments and what you are currently working on?
I'll check in on Teams and triage my emails in the morning from my phone, while getting the kids ready for school, to see if anything new needs my urgent attention. If I don't have any meetings before 10am, I'll drop the kids off at school then go to the gym.
Once I'm home, it's team conversations and quick tasks (and good coffee), then settling into longer/harder focus tasks in the middle of the day. I mostly try and take a 30-45min lunch break, then carry on with focus tasks until school pickup.
Then when the kids are home, it's lighter/easier tasks or some MS Learn modules - things that can handle any interruptions once the kids are settled into their own homework tasks.
At night, I'm more flexible about what time the home office door gets shut (with dinnertime being a hard stop) and whether I'll return to any work after the kids go to bed. That call is made based on deadlines, my workload for the week and my energy levels.
How does your day roll when you work from home?
Mar 12 2020 08:25 AM
My WFH life has definitely challenged me to be more vigilant about managing my time @Sonia Cuff! I felt this week has run away from me so I'm putting in place changes next week to see how it goes. Feel free to try these at home!
Would love to hear your new practices! Tell us what you're experimenting with.
Mar 12 2020 09:18 AM
Mar 12 2020 09:23 AM
@Sonia Cuff My WFH and WFO schedule is very different tbh. I find myself to be way more efficient at home, but still remain very unstructued, which is something I try to improve.
I usually ensure that my family gets to kindergarden and work in the morning, and then I "go to work" at usually 8 AM, but thats dependent on the schedule for my wife and daughter. I then try to focus on specific tasks for 1-2 hours straigth, disconnecting from everything else. Phone, e-mail, social media etc. That works for me. I do take lunch, and usually try to take a run, gym or something like that during that time.
Afternoon is similar to before lunch, but I usually start by clearing e-mails after lunch. I have a hard stop to pick up my daugther at 4-5 PM, spend time with my family until 7-9 PM (with exceptions for MVP/PG calls) and then if needed I do community work or catch up on work after 9 PM. I usually sleep well, so I find that I dont need as much sleep, but prioritizes that when needed.
Mar 12 2020 09:49 AM
Mar 12 2020 03:56 PM
@Anna Chu I love the idea of a phone only / walking meeting! Thanks for that suggestion.
Mar 12 2020 04:49 PM - edited Mar 12 2020 04:50 PM